Early Childhood
We're here for you from the start. Many of our families find us when looking for a supportive community or an educational environment for their growing baby or toddler. Our Parent-Child classes offer an introduction to child development through a Waldorf lens during the first three years. Preschool and Kindergarten classrooms in Waldorf education are steeped in the rhythm of the day in which teachers create a safe, nurturing environment. Parents co-create a loving community-based network in which children grow their academic capacities and evolve their whole selves.
Parent-Child
From birth to age 3
- 4- to 10-week sessions year-round
- Meets once a week
- Community building
- Discussions on child development led by an Early Childhood expert
- An introduction to Waldorf education
Preschool
From 2 and a half years old to age 4
- Two-year program available
- Mixed-age classrooms
- Outdoor days
- Storytelling
- Integrated crafts, culture, & celebrations
Kindergarten
From 4 and a half years old to age 6
- Two-year program available
- Mixed-age classrooms
- Hiking days
- Storytelling
- Cooking & chores
- Crafts & handwork
- Integrated arts, culture, & celebrations
The experience is Waldorf
How do we build resilience? Our days have a steady rhythm and there is consistency, so when the unexpected happens, children are calm. Caught in a sudden downpour—a real deluge in the Presidio—the children's little hands were cold so they went to their packs for extra socks and turned them into socks mittens.
How do parents create a calm rhythm in a fast-paced city? What can you learn from quietly observing your baby? How can we nourish ourselves through community connection? Our classes have given generations of parents a place to consider the essential questions while little ones happily explore, play, and learn.
Research shows that most of the social and intellectual skills one needs to succeed in life and work are first developed through childhood play. The benefits continue through kindergarten, about ages 6 or 7.
"The importance of storytelling, of the natural rhythms of daily life, of the evolutionary changes in the child, of art as the necessary underpinning of learning, and of the aesthetic environment as a whole—all basic to Waldorf education for the past (100) years—are being 'discovered' and verified by researchers unconnected to the Waldorf movement."