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 school year of 2025-26, we offer two kindergarten and playgroup classes at our Kennedy Town campus and one kindergarten class at our Lamma campus:
Children younger than 4 will be given the choice of attending Daisy or Michelia for 3 (T-Th) or 5 half days.
Before you apply…
We warmly encourage all families to visit our kindergarten before applying. Join a parent-child trial session or attend a Waldorf Readiness Workshop to experience our school’s rhythm, environment, and values firsthand. You can learn more and book your visit:
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.