At Richmond Waldorf School, the Early Childhood program includes both preschool and Kindergarten. Our program fosters creativity, cooperation, and imagination. Focused creative play, rich storytelling, goal-oriented tasks, and healthy social interactions provide the foundation for future academic excellence and personal well-being.
Our mixed-age classrooms provide children with a homelike and loving environment where they can grow and thrive. Each day has rhythm and balance to give children the space they need to enliven their imaginations and use their will as they explore, play, and socialize. Our teachers know they are educating the whole child, building cognitive connections and laying a strong foundation for creative, conceptual, and abstract thinking. We take great care to create a structured, nurturing, consistent, and enriching environment.
Waldorf educators seek to nurture all capacities of the child – physical, emotional, intellectual, artistic, moral, and spiritual. We believe in letting children be children, and we guide them through a healthy mixture of child-led and teacher-led activities that include:
- Storytelling, puppet and marionette plays
- Singing, circle games, and movement
- Painting, drawing, and beeswax modeling
- Baking and cooking
- Outdoor play and work
- Festival and seasonal celebrations
Through these activities, children are prepared for the academic, artistic, and social challenges of the elementary grades. For more information about the importance of play, go to the New York Times article, “Taking Play Seriously”.
Program Options: 8:15 am – 1:00 pm. Aftercare is available for all programs until 6:00 pm daily.
5-day classrooms, Monday – Friday; Three mixed-age classes include Kindergarten and preschool students ages 3½ to 6 years old with an 8:1 ratio. Kindergarten is considered 5 by June 15. Birthday cutoff June 15, 2019 for 2024-2025 school year.
3-day classrooms, Two classrooms Monday – Wednesday and Wednesday – Friday; Mixed-age classes of preschoolers, 3 to 5 years old with a 7:1 ratio. Limited spaces for youngest children. Birthday cutoff September 1, 2021 for 2024-2025 school year
All children must be fully potty trained to participate.
Learn more about our Parent/Toddler Program, Sprouts, for children 18 months old to 3 years old.
