Early Childhood Programs

It's true. WIWS toddler, pre-school and kindergarten children are immersed in the natural world for 1 to 4 hours per day in all seasons. Why? Here is just one of the many reasons: Children who play and spend time in nature have increased concentration and cognitive skills, including mitigation of ADHD/ADD symptoms.

At WIWS and all Waldorf schools, the children’s play is the children’s work. We work to protect children by preserving their childhood. Imaginative play is a foundation in our Early Childhood programs. Making something from the inside is equal to making meaning of yourself. In unstructured play, children find their own way. Children work hard during their playtime, and not only physically. They are learning social skills, how to negotiate, how to stand up for themselves, how to ask to be seen and heard, how to begin to manage their emotions, how to understand what they want, and how to articulate that. We are working to grow healthy children. Phew! There is a lot going on in the playground!

Joy, wonder and health giving qualities are all important facets of our nature-based education. We work hard to protect our children’s early childhood experiences, and do not wish to rush our children through their early years. Rather, we nourish and nurture our children to be fully immersed in their development of where they are, now.

WIWS is a fully accredited member of WECAN - Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America. WECAN is a wonderful resource for parents, teachers, and all interested in children and childhood. You can find many parent resources on their site.

Working Connections Child Care (WCCC)

Helping families pay for Early Childhood child care.

When a family qualifies for child care subsidy benefits and chooses an eligible provider, such as Whidbey Island Waldorf School, the state pays a portion of the cost of child care. The parent may be responsible to pay a copayment to their provider each month.

Please see the link above for more information, and to apply.

First glance:

Polliwog CAREGIVER & child class, Little woods Toddlers (paused for 24/25), Huckleberry Pre-school, apple Blossom, cedar grove and Thimbleberry hybrid (indoor/outdoor) mixed-age Kindergarten Programs and Meadow outdoor mixed-age Kindergarten

Our Polliwog Parent/Caregiver & Child program serves young children, ages 0-3, with their parent/caregiver.

Our mixed age Toddler program, Pre-school and Kindergarten classes provide a bridge between home life and school.

The Little Woods Toddler program serves our youngest students, age 15 months to three years of age. This program is paused for the 24/25 school year due to space availability on campus, and will be resumed for the school year 25/26.

The Huckleberry Pre-School serve children ages 3-4. In 2024/25, because we are pausing the Little Woods class, Huckleberry will serve children ages 2.5-3.

The Meadow, Apple Blossom, Cedar Grove and Thimbleberry mixed-age Kindergarten classes include children from three to six to years old.

Early Childhood classes (with the exception of the Polliwog Parent & Child class) begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at either 12:30 p.m., or at 3p.m.

Note: we have an Early Release day (Wednesday at 1pm) each week at WIWS. However, care until 3pm continues Wednesdays all school year for all Early Childhood children enrolled in the Afternoon program.

Children entering into the Little Woods Toddler program must be at least 15 months old by September of the year they begin school, toddling/walking and have no morning nap. Please note, Little Woods is paused for the 24/25 school year, and will resume again in 25/26.

Children in the Pre-School and Kindergarten classes must be toilet trained.

Children must be 6 by May 31st of the year they are entering into 1st Grade with WIWS

Polliwog days & hours: Our Polliwog Caregiver & Child program typically runs all school year; Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. Polliwog classes are two hours long and are usually held on Saturday mornings. Classes are facilitated by our Apple Blossom Kindergarten teacher, Vanessa Rochon-Tierney. Fall and Spring Polliwog classes are held at least in part outdoors. Winter Polliwog classes are held in our Apple Blossom Kinder classroom. Summer Polliwog are held outside in the Meadow.

Please note: currently enrolled WIWS families and newly enrolling children to WIWS will receive priority placement when enrolling in any of our Polliwog class series.

Please email enrollment@wiws.org if you would like to pre- register for Spring 2024 Polliwog classes.

Fall Dates: 6 Saturday mornings, 9am - 11am

April 13, 27, May 4, 18, 25 and June 1

9am - 11am, $150 for the 6 classes Maximum 9 families

Please note, Polliwog children receive WIWS class enrollment priority status into the Little Woods Toddler and Huckleberry Preschool class. Other WIWS wait pool priority: 1) Teacher/Staff Child 2) Siblings 3) returning/previous Waldorf school student and/or stated commitment to Waldorf Education

Little Woods Toddlers days & hours: This program is paused for the 24/25 school year due to facility constraints, and will resume in 25/26. Our Little Woods Toddler program runs Monday through Friday, and includes a 2-day option (Thursday-Friday), a 3-day option (Monday - Wednesday) and a 5-day option (Monday-Friday). Toddler classes begin the day outdoors in our Early Childhood playground, then transition indoors to the Little Woods Toddler classroom. 2-day and 3-day options are limited, as are afternoon program spaces.

Huckleberry Pre-School days & hours: Our Huckleberry Pre-School runs Monday through Friday, with 4/5 day option. Huckleberry Pre-school classes start indoors but spend some portion of each morning outdoors in our Early Childhood playground and occasional walks on the land. Huckleberry students come together in an indoor classroom for the afternoon program. Spaces are limited. Huckleberry PreSchool is a hybrid (indoor/outdoor) program. Children enrolling into the Huckleberry Pre-School children must be toilet trained.

Mixed-Age Kindergarten days and hours: We offer 4-day (Monday - Thursday ) and 5-day (Monday-Friday) for all four of our Mixed-Age Kindergarten programs, Thimbleberry, Cedar Grove, Apple Blossom and Meadow. Kindergarten children must be toilet trained. Meadow KG is entirely outdoors, a Forest Kindergarten. Apple Blossom, Cedar Grove and Thimbleberry are hybrid (indoor/outdoor) Kindergartens, with the majority time spent outdoors.

Please note: WIWS offers end of day for Early Childhood at 12:30pm and 3pm. Spaces for 3pm end of day are limited and are on a first come-first serve basis.

Deeper look:

Polliwog caregiver-Child Program- for birth - 3 yrs old

Welcome to the Polliwog Parent and Child program at Whidbey Island Waldorf School! We offer Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer Polliwog programs for parents/caregivers and their infants and toddlers, including expectant parents.

The Polliwog class is held in a friendly, welcoming school setting. The emphasis is on ease, for parents and children alike. The grownups have the opportunity to learn more about the principles of Waldorf Early Childhood education through the teacher, and if desired, how they can apply them at home. The atmosphere is warm and supportive. Companionship with other families is gently held by a trained Waldorf educator, creating an experience for both parents and children that is nurturing and beautiful. 

All Polliwog classes include play, songs, movement, a healthy snack and, if weather permits, a walk outdoors.

The youngest children thrive in indoor/outdoor Nursery settings

by former Little Woods Toddler program teacher Catherine Falknor.

Published in Lifeways North America, January 2022

Little Woods toddlers- 15 months - 3 years old

(1-2 hours outdoors)

Please note the LW Toddler class is paused for the 24/25 school year due to facility constraints, and will resume in 25/26.

for children who are at least 15 months by September of the year enrolled - (child must be 1-year old by May 31st prior to year of enrollment) , who are walking, and who do not need a morning nap

Our Little Woods Toddler program is a beautiful and inviting place, and provides a most important bridge between home life and school.

In the Little Woods Toddlers we provide care so that the child develops trust with the caregiver and a sense of respect and competency during care-giving routines. Mindful observations are made in order to more fully understand and assess the gifts and needs of the class and individual children.

Rhythm is of the utmost importance as we develop a breathing quality to the flow of the day so that the children can anticipate and relax within child-centered activities. Our environment establishes an open-ended, natural play space indoors and outdoors that invites a variety of fine motor, gross motor and creative play opportunities. Socialization is built as we actively support children through conflicts in order to build skills necessary for healthy participation in community.

The Toddler class children begin their day in the Little Woods play yard, in their rain gear and rain boots. The children are gradually transitioned into the classroom for indoor play, a daily activity offering, circle/story and lunch time. Daily rhythms include outside nature play, inside circle time with songs and movement, a hearty organic lunch, and inside play. Toddler program children with a 12:30 pick up time end their day outdoors again in the Little Woods play yard. Toddler program children with a 3:00pm pick up time will be picked up from the Little Woods cubby area.

Huckleberry Preschool- 2.5 - 3 years old

(1-2 hours outdoors)

Our preschool is a warm and welcoming place for your child. We have a strong and consistent daily and weekly rhythm that offers the children a sense of security, allowing them to freely explore what life in the preschool has to offer. Play is the work of the young child, and imitation is their natural way to learn. In this way the warmth, security, and natural beauty that abound in our wholesome, home-like classroom is an ideal setting for their growth - where we offer activities such as storytelling, singing, puppetry, costume play, circle games, seasonal crafts, watercolor painting, drawing with beeswax crayons, baking, cleaning, outdoor and indoor play, and festivals.

Songs and nursery rhymes cultivate a lively sense of language. Listening to stories, watching puppet shows and acting in dramatic play enrich language and strengthen a child’s memory and imagination. Counting games and rhythmic activities build a solid foundation for arithmetic and number skills. Work and play activities develop coordination, concentration, and a healthy social sensitivity. Participation in seasonal activities and festivals provides joyful experience and develop a child’s inner life.

We serve a hearty and healthy family style snack each day and with only twelve students and two teachers our students are cared for in an unhurried atmosphere of warmth and love where they are sure to thrive. Huckleberry Preschoolers will be well on the way towards potty training, possibly wearing a pullup - not diapers.

Meadow mixed-age outdoor Kindergarten - for 3-6 year olds

(4 hours outdoors)

Providing a strong and consistent daily and weekly rhythm that holds the children so that they can feel free to explore their environment in a predictable setting, the Meadow class uses the fields and woods as its "home room" and spends the entirety of its 4-hour morning outside.  Waldorf early childhood education values the importance of imaginative play, teaching out of imitation rather than through explanation, creating predictability and stability through rhythm and consistency among the adults, nourishing developing senses such as balance and self-movement and well-being and touch, and valuing the sensory and motor integration so easy to obtain from time spent moving in natural and uneven and varying terrains.  

We roast potatoes in the coals of a bonfire and cook tea or rice with a mountaineering stove; various outdoor "rooms" provide the perfect spot for seasonal movement circles, stories, and puppet shows; children's imaginative play blossoms in these same outdoor rooms; we sculpt and create art in nature such as cairns, fairy houses, and functional and artistic designs such spirals; and children tune themselves to qualities of expansion and contraction (loud or soft voice; vigorous or gentle movement) naturally in response to the open or closed terrain.  We are outside in all weather, and experienced teachers guide the morning in ways to keep the children comfortable by seeking warmer or cooler spots and making judicious use of warming huts such as the Little Glass House.  Our generous amount of time outside frees children from any sense of haste or hurry; they have time to receive the benefits of seeing a process begun and completed. 

Our morning begins a brief walk from the main campus to the outdoor classroom at the Meadow, and concludes back at the WIWS main campus. 

Apple Blossom, Cedar Grove and Thimbleberry mixed-age/hybrid Kindergartens - for 3-6 year olds

all 3 classes are hybrid (indoor/outdoor) KGs (approximately 3 hours outdoors)

Encompassed by the enchantments of the surrounding 100 acre wood, Apple Blossom, Cedar Grove and Thimbleberry Kindergartens move through each day and week balancing the experiences of the classroom or heated yurt indoors and the forest and playground outdoors. Each environment supports ample imaginative free play, practical work, artistic and creative projects, and a healthy variety of gross and fine motor movement. The children in the Apple Blossom, Cedar Grove and Thimbleberry Kindergarten classes enjoy the merriment of song and verse during regular circle time, the gift of imaginative moving pictures during story time, the joy of purposeful work and play, and a healthy homemade snack served family style.

The Apple Blossom, Cedar Grove week is carried by a strong weekly rhythm whereby we enjoy starting “at home” and then moving into a “hike day”, while Thimbleberry may begin outdoors and then move indoors for their time “at home”, each Kindergarten morning beginning and ending in a predictable, safe way.

The transitions of the morning are held with loving care as we breathe our way between the “expected to” and “free to” activities of each day. Hikes are accompanied by backpacks, water bottles, ample outdoor gear, and our picnic style homemade snacks. On all days, the children are given ample time to build, to imagine, and to engage fully in the child’s true work of collaborative play, the whole of which builds a healthy foundation for the child’s developing senses of balance, movement, touch and well being. Childhood is a thing to be-hold, and not to be rushed. It is, simply put, to be.

Afternoon Care to 3p.m. in the Early Childhood programs (Full program)

Care to 3pm in the Huckleberry Pre-School and three mixed-age hybrid Kindergartens runs from 8:30am - 3pm, Monday-Friday. Enrollment for the Afternoon program is on a first come-first served basis. Spaces are limited.

The program is thoughtfully designed with the students' daily rhythm in mind; it offers ample time for lunch, rest, and quiet activity after a full and busy morning. The programs are designed by the Lead Teachers and care is coordinated and carried out by their assistant(s).

Huckleberry Pre-School will have their afternoons in the Huckleberry Pre-School classroom.

Apple Blossom, Cedar Grove and Thimbleberry Kindergartens will have their afternoon programs in their respective school classrooms/ heated Robin’s Nest yurt in the Meadow.

Meadow Outdoor Kindergarten will have their afternoon program in the heated Coyote Den yurt in the Meadow.

Care to 3pm is offered on days of school enrollment only; the cost of attendance is added to monthly tuition via the family's FAST financial agreement each month.

Wednesdays are an Early Release day at WIWS. The Grades are released at 1pm. However care to 3pm will continue in the Early Childhood on Wednesdays.

Note: WIWS provides sensory screening for all 4 and 6 year olds in our Early Childhood programs. All screenings take place in April. The fee is included in the tuition. Please check the WIWS Academic Calendar for dates.

Note: All currently enrolled and newly enrolling rising 1st Grade (6 year old) children require sensory screenings before being enrolled into 1st Grade. Screenings for newly enrolling children will likely take place after April. Payment for the screenings will be required.

Taking time to focus on our Rising 1st Graders through a lens of developmental movement patterns and physical milestones is a great gift, not only to the child, but also the adults who care for them. 

Screenings will be conducted by the WIWS Early Childhood team, led by the WIWS Early Childhood Pedagogical Director.

Math and Science in the Waldorf Kindergarten Early Childhood

“The connections and associations that the child experiences through play, through experiments with the play materials, and through the use of his entire body coalesce into a still-unconscious physical-kinesthetic intelligence.  This builds the foundation for the exacting, mathematical and scientific thinking and understanding in later life”. 

 The way in which the activities our WIWS Kindergarten teachers provide children in many educational settings is the term "real-world application" - it's STEAM education before STEAM education was a buzzword (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). But it’s even deeper - because our teachers observe the children day after day and know many of the things that deeply help them learn based on child development research and philosophy, and also the things that they are deeply interested in learning about.

The article looks at Math and Science learning in a Waldorf kindergarten classroom and very concretely describes all of the tiny moments of connection and the love of learning and play that our teachers have with their class children. Math matters - and our Kindergartens teach math in a way that matters to your child and resonates - through fun, art and games.

Activities in this article inspire ways to naturally and intentionally incorporate science and math at home and provide a window into what our teachers are doing at school. Playing is learning. For all of us. 

https://lifewaysnorthamerica.org/math-and-science-in-the-kindergarten-waldorf-early-childhood-settings/

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