Early Childhood

EarlyChild_crop

Bring your children to one of our Early Childhood Open Houses. Play, make bread, and learn about our Waldorf Early Childhood programs including our Parent and Child Classes, our Nursery Class, and our mixed-age Kindergartens. Open Houses will be held in our classrooms in the First Presbyterian Church (enter from Court Street) on the following dates:

  • March 10
  • March 24
  • April 21

All Open Houses will be from 10:00am-12:00pm and will feature a puppet show at 10:30am. Refreshments and enrollment materials will be available.

At the Ithaca Waldorf School we provide early childhood programming for children ages 20 months through 6 years. All of our classes provide a beautiful, healthy environment for growth and learning. Because young children imitate and take in their surroundings in a very deep way, our teachers create a warm, home-like setting with natural lighting, comfortable, handmade furnishings and playthings. In every classroom our teachers provide:

  • Creative play with simple, beautiful toys made from natural materials
  • Snacks made with organic whole foods
  • Songs and finger plays to learn and take into your family life
  • Puppet shows and stories to create wonder and joy
  • A gentle introduction to working and playing with others

Parent/teacher conversations include:

  • Practical parenting issues including sleeping, eating, care-giving, establishing rhythm and routines, and care and protection of the senses for the young child
  • How to support your child’s natural growth and healthy development
  • Ways to foster joy and self-confidence in your child
  • The benefits of allowing freedom of movement
  • The practice and benefit of observation
  • The emerging social life of the young child

Our programming includes:

 

Parent and Child Class
For children ages 20 months through 3 years (accompanied by a parent or care giver) – one or two mornings per week

Nursery Class
For children ages 3 through 4 years – three mornings per week

Kindergarten Class
For children ages 3 through 6 years – four or five mornings/days per week

After-school care from 3pm – 5:30pm is available Monday-Friday for all Early Childhood programs (except for Parent and Child classes).