Preschool in a Waldorf school looks very different from mainstream preschool. It tends to look like your great-grandmother's garden, a piece of paradise on Earth where children can learn to be among other human beings besides family members, but still feel themselves to be with family. The preschool teacher is not only well-versed in child development as it's understood in the mainstream but also as it's understood in the Waldorf curriculum. The teacher sees the child as freshly set down upon the Earth, full of unconscious wisdom and ready to love all that presents itself. Because the children are indeed so open to the world and people around them, it is of utmost importance that the adult teaching them is worthy of imitation, speaking and behaving in ways that are able and worthy of imitation.
The Waldorf preschool is designed to build on the children's inner strength, love for the world and curiosity about all things. It is here in these early years of school where teachers provide the foundation for each child to grow and develop physically, intellectually and social-emotionally.
At Camellia, our preschoolers happily learn songs and stories, play with puppets, and dress up in capes and hats to enact imaginative scenarios of their own invention. They make friends, dig in the dirt, build worlds with blocks, "cook" in the play kitchen and help the teacher prepare snack, all the while discovering and practicing how to treat others kindly. The social lessons learned at this age will hold them in good stead throughout their lives at school and, indeed, throughout their lives.
To learn more about our program, visit our preschool page or email our enrollment director, admissions@camelliawaldorf.org.
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
– Albert Einstein
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