“Where there is love,
esteem and rhythm
a child finds security.
Where there is beauty
a child is filled with wonder.
Where there is purposeful activity
a child lives with joy.
What greater gifts
can we give
to our children?”
Trish Lague – Waldorf Playgroup Teacher Cape Town
Playgroup
In our Playgroup children experience a warm, home environment in which to take those very first steps towards big school. Playgroup provides a gentle bridge between home and school and offers a social and playful experience from three-year old’s who are potty trained.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten offers a wonderful environment for children aged four through to turning seven. Where they gain a solid foundation in learning and knowing through conscious rhythm by indoor and outdoor play, music and song, handwork and creative expression, food preparation and shared mealtimes.
Activities
The Waldorf approach promotes learning through ‘hands, heart, head’. Children in preschool learn primarily through imitation and active doing under the guidance of a loving teacher. They feel the rhythm of the day when they participate in the morning ring, free play, eating a meal together and listening to a story at the close of every day.
- Songs
- Games
- Stories
- Painting and drawing
- Cooking and baking
- Craft handwork
- Gardening and woodwork
- Playing musical instruments
- Puppet table plays
The Environment
Stellenbosch Waldorf School is set in a beautiful farm environment on the Spier Wine Estate. The Kindergarten and Playgroup are at the top of our property safely fenced off in their own area and under beautiful big trees. One of our most treasured values is the connection between us and nature, so aside from lots of free play in the garden there is also an emphasis on natural materials in the classroom. We only use toys made from lambs’ wool, wood, sea shells, stones, pine cones and other natural materials. The simpler the toy is, the more opportunity the child has to use his/her imagination which is the ground prepared for a fertile mind. In the classroom you will also find dress up clothes, clothes-horses, and cloths for building houses and ships.
“The whole point of a preschool is to give young children the opportunity to imitate life in a simple and wholesome way.”
THE CHILD’S CHANGING CONSCIOUSNESS, DR RUDOLF STEINER
The Role of the Teacher
The aim of the Waldorf teacher is to surround students with beauty, truth, and goodness. Out of the belief that children must have trust in the world as a foundation for healthy future development, the Waldorf teacher strives in the early years to be a model worthy of imitation, and to share all that is good in the world with the students.
Our teachers highly value working together with parents to facilitate a beautiful first step from home to preschool. They value good connections with parents in order to best serve the children and provide what they need. As an example, parents are not forced to enrol their children for a five-day week from the beginning, and in conversation and agreement between the teachers and the parents that bridge from home to school is made to be as fun and peaceful as possible.