Life in the Kindergarten

Throughout the year the changing seasons, along with a number of festivals, are incorporated into the daily and weekly rhythms of the preschool. Each child’s birthday is celebrated with at least one parent present. Opportunities to observe a variety of multi-cultural and ethnic celebrations present themselves throughout the year.

Life in the Kindergarten

The Marin Waldorf School has two kindergarten classes; each has mixed age groups, from four years, three months to seven years old. Children must have turned four by June 1st to enter kindergarten in the fall. Two classes have two teachers and a maximum enrollment of 24 children. Kindergarten is a five-day program. An aftercare program is available for Kindergarteners from 1p.m. until as late as 5:20 p.m.

Before the age of seven the young child takes in the world primarily through their senses. Because kindergarten teachers understand that young children take in their environment so completely that they hardly distinguish themselves from their surroundings, teachers make every effort to nurture the senses of the young child with an environment that is beautiful, natural and carefully tended. The kindergarten room is softly painted, contains natural toys, a variety of objects from nature, simple dress-up items, various play environments, open space and an everchanging, seasonal nature table.

At this age, children learn about the world through imitation. Teachers strive to be models worthy of imitation for the young child and to bring joy to every activity. They seek to surround every child with genuine warmth. They also offer rich imagery through story and song to foster the children’s healthy play and to stimulate their imaginations. Play, the most natural activity of the young child, allows children to explore the world and their role as social beings. Simple, natural materials for play allow their imaginations to create and transform the environment as they explore and interact with their peers. Free play in the classroom and out on the yard are a large part of the kindergarten. Structured activities like circle time and story time give inspiration to children’s imaginative play.

During their morning activities, the teachers provide many examples and opportunities for meaningful work. The children help with preparing their daily snack, setting out painting supplies, washing dishes, sweeping, grinding grains, chopping fruits and vegetables, baking bread, and sewing. They also engage in seasonal projects such as creating handmade toys, dolls or crafts (for example, felting fire-balls for Michaelmas, sewing gnomes in winter, making knot dolls and table puppets in spring to later take home and care for). All of these activities foster a reverence for work—both practical and creative, develop an appreciation for the creative process, and build healthy habits and capacities for later life.

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Teachers bring a sense of harmony and security to the children. Each day brings the children from active creativity to quiet stillness, from fine-motor play to large motor movements. Teachers also strive to develop within each child a healthy sense of the self as an individual as well as their place as a vital member of the group. All of this helps to develop balance and wellbeing.

The weekly rhythm brings a different nutritious grain-based snack for each day of the week. Woodworking, painting, crafts, beeswax modeling, eurythmy and a hike in nature each has their day and provides a rich artistic experience to further nourish the senses. Within the rhythm of the year, the different moods of the seasons are brought as well as the celebrations of our community’s festival life.

Throughout the week, the teachers tell nature stories, folk tales or fairy tales from around the world. The magic of the spoken word touches the children’s picture-building imaginations and enriches their vocabularies while developing a love of language – all of which are the basis of literacy skills. Acting out these tales and seeing them as puppet shows allows the children to go deeply into their imaginations and explore the many roles of the human being. Albert Einstein once said, “If you want your children to be brilliant, tell them fairy tales. If you want them to be very brilliant tell them even more fairy tales.”

The children learn to care for the environment and respect the work of others by the practical activities of gardening, cooking, cleaning, polishing, sweeping, tidying up their toys and keeping everything in its place. Creating order in their world gives rise to a capacity for inner discipline and a respectful relationship with the environment.

The mood of the kindergarten is gentle and dreamlike. It is a homelike environment in which the child can live free of self-consciousness, guided by example rather than by explicit instruction. Pentatonic songs, the pentatonic lyre and glockenspiel support this mood. Additionally, the absence of electronic media and games creates a quieter, more calming environment.

The preschool and kindergarten faculty have a weekly meeting to study, plan and discuss their work. They host a yearly conference for Bay Area kindergarten teachers and attend the November Teacher’s Conference at Rudolf Steiner College. They also frequently attend workshops. They hold the responsibility of bringing many new families into the Waldorf community. This effort includes celebrating festivals, as well as hosting open houses, special workshops on parenting and handwork, and regular educational evenings for parents.

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