A secure start for your child’s education
In Waldorf education, the Early Years Programs for children 5 and under are held very closely to facilitate the best opportunity for a young child to feel at home in their first ‘away from home’ environment.
In Whistler, we offer both playschool and Kindergarten together in our Early Years programs to help foster a developmentally appropriate curriculum and environment. This principle is a foundational component of Waldorf education and is critical to maintain the health and well-being of a young child.
- Licensed group childcare is available for ages 30 months – 5 years old in Little Cedars @ Spruce Grove & the Early Years Centre @ Spring Creek.
- Kindergarten, also known as the Briar Rose @ Spruce Grove, is available for children in September if they turn five years old in the same year.
Financial Assistance for Childcare:
WWS has been accepted into B.C.’s Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative (CCFRI), which may provide a reduction of up to $545 per month for group care for children aged 3 to kindergarten, and up to $900/month for group toddler care (under 36 months). Parents do not need to apply; fee reductions are applied to fees.
In addition, qualified families are also recommended to apply for the Affordable Childcare Benefit for more assistance (for Little Cedars & Early Years Centre participants only).
Real, meaningful work with a purpose gives children something meaningful to imitate. This isn’t just for the outer effect – young children are also able to imitate our inner attitude—the devotion, care, and sense of purpose, focus, and creative spirit of the adult. Through working at the same tasks, expecting the child to do their best, every day, we are helping the child develop their own sense of purpose – their own will.
The Waldorf Early Years programs are rich in oral literacy. We learn songs and rhymes and finger plays, and tell stories by heart, usually for a couple of weeks, until the children take them into their hearts too. We mostly tell stories from nature, and classic fairy stories from around the world, with vivid imaginative pictures that live in the child’s own imagination.
We follow a predictable rhythm in both the playschool and the kindergarten: lunch is followed by a story, which is followed by a rest, which is followed by outdoor play. A strong, rhythmic schedule means that the child doesn’t have to worry about what is coming next or what might happen. She can relax and fully let go into imaginative play. Rhythm helps children gain a sense of security and confidence in the world and themselves.
Waldorf education encourages a healthy and balance lifestyle for the child – plenty of sleep, a healthy diet, and a less is more approach to everyday scheduling. It also strongly recommends that young children don’t have access to screen time, through TV, computers, smart phones or games, allowing children freedom from powerful images that so easily invade self-created imaginations. Our Waldorf playschool provides a rare opportunity for your child to experience a space that is totally free of advertising and media: a space for them to truly be themselves.
Welcome to WECAN, the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America. Their mission is to foster a new cultural impulse for the work with young child from pre-birth to age seven.