Nursery & Kindergarten Years (3 to 6 years)
Imagination – Creative play – One with Nature – Will work – Fairy tales coming alive.
In Waldorf education the start of formal schooling is around the age of six or seven. The children attend the Kindergarten before they are six years old.
The Kindergarten years are characterized in Steiner/Waldorf education as being they years when an ethos of ‘goodness’ should prevail, where children’s good actions and good thoughts can be encouraged. They are also the years when children are at the stage of being imitators, when they absorb like sponges all elements, both good and bad, in their environment. The elements they absorb at this time play an important role in how the children develop in future.
Inodai Waldorf Kindergarten, therefore, places great emphasis on providing good examples for the children to imitate, along with beautiful ambience for them to absorb. The children play with natural objects such as hand-made dolls, wooden toys, shells, veils and become aware, albeit unconsciously, of the beauty in nature. They learn a lot through stories, painting and handwork.