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Kindergarten & playgroups

For an unhurried childhood
Children are wholly sense-organ, and react to all the impressions of the people around them. Therefore the essential thing is not to imagine that children can learn what is good or bad, that they can learn this or that, but to know that everything that is done in their presence is transformed in their childish organisms into spirit, soul, and body. The health of children for their whole life depends on how you conduct yourself in their presence.

The kindergarten and playgroup classes at Island Waldorf School focuses on the first seven years of life and offers an education that respects and protects early childhood.

We believe that the future development of each individual child and of humanity as a whole depends on health-giving experiences in the first seven years of life. In Waldorf kindergartens, foundations are laid for later learning and healthy development, including life-long physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual growth.

This education is based on an in-depth understanding of the unfolding development of the child. Activities in Waldorf kindergartens take into consideration the age-specific developmental needs of young children, from a focus on will-oriented physical activity in the first three years, then on imaginative play in the middle years of early childhood, and later a more cognitive approach to learning after the child enters primary school.

Kindergarten and playgroup students are given priority in admission to Class 1 of our primary and middle school.

In our kindergarten and playgroup classes, our teachers consciously cultivate:

  • Copious time immersing in nature
  • Child-directed free play, which would lay the foundation for lifelong physical, emotional, and social health as well as academic capacities
  • Real self-care tasks that foster fine and gross motor skills
  • A breathing rhythm of contraction and expansion between activity and stillness
  • An aesthetic environment that nurtures and does not overstimulate the children’s senses
  • Behaviors and inner qualities worthy of imitation
  • The four foundational senses according to Rudolf Steiner

In the current school year (2023-24), we offer four kindergarten and playgroup classes at our Kennedy Town campus:

Kapok

Upper kindergarten

For 4 to 6 y.o.
M-F: 2 days @ Lamma, 3 days @ Kennedy Town
AM+PM

Tulip

Lower kindergarten

For 2¾ to 4 y.o.
M-F: 2 days @ Lamma, 3 days @ Kennedy Town
Choice of 3 or 5 days, AM or AM+PM

Chamomile

Playgroup, accompanied

For 1½ to 2¾ y.o.
T-Th 9-11am @ Kennedy Town

Michelia

Playgroup, accompanied

For 1 to 4 y.o.
T-F 9-11am @ Lamma
Choice of 2 to 4 days per week

Clover

Playgroup, accompanied

For 9 month to 1.5 y.o.
F, once a month, 10-11:30am @ Kennedy Town

Before you apply…

We offer a monthly introductory session that is both informative and practical for parents who want to know more about our school and our education.

Attendance in a session is a pre-requisition to applying to our kindergarten; i.e. at least one parent of a child applying to our kindergarten should have attended a session. The application fee will be waived for those who have attended the session.

Introduction to Waldorf Kindergarten Education

For adults only
Dates: Jan 12, Feb 2, Mar 1, Apr 12, May 10, Jun 7 (Fridays)
Time: 9 to 11:30 am (2.5 hours)
Cost: HK$400 per adult or HK$600 per couple
Venue: Island Waldorf School kindergarten campus (near Kennedy Town MTR)

  • What is Waldorf education?
  • Parenting from the Waldorf perspective
  • Artistic activities
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They are learning about what it means to be human… and that’s a big job! It is challenging to be a child in this world.