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Foundation Year

To a healthy child, playing is not only a pleasurable pastime, but also an absolutely serious activity. Play flows in real earnest out of the child’s entire organism.

– Rudolf Steiner

Foundation Year, for 5 to 6 year olds, is the bridge from kindergarten to primary school years.

Students are gently eased to the rhythm and rigor of formal learning by being grouped with same-aged peers and engaging in crafts and projects that span days.

In our Foundation Year class, the teachers consciously cultivate:

  • An aesthetic environment that nurtures and does not overstimulate the children’s senses
  • Behaviors and inner qualities worthy of imitation
  • Child-directed free play
  • Real self-care tasks that foster fine and gross motor skills
  • A breathing rhythm of contraction and expansion between activity and stillness
  • The four foundational senses according to Rudolf Steiner

Our Foundation Year classroom is aMovable Classroom. First appearing in Scandinavia some 30 years ago, this concept replaces desks and chairs with multipurpose benches and cushions, which students can freely re-arrange for different activities. The endless possibilities and movement help young children focus and learn.