Waldorf School of the Peninsula’s early childhood programs create a nurturing play-based atmosphere of wonder, beauty, respect and security for children to begin their life-long process of engagement with the world.

Play is the genius of the young child. Play at every stage of development improves a child’s IQ, social-emotional growth, learning, and academic performance. Movement play, object play, imaginative play, social play, storytelling, and creative play all have separate and distinctive benefits for a young child’s growing body, burgeoning social sensibility, and developing brain.

In nature play, children learn about themselves in relation to their environment, which includes an awareness of others. Practice in problem-solving, compromise and conflict resolution is an everyday experience gained during creative free play. Development of imaginative play leads to critical thinking skills in later years. As the materials lend themselves to a metamorphic process—one day a particular piece of wood serves as a loaf of bread and the next it becomes a little toy dog—the children receive the gift of seeing how imagination transforms their world. They engage in play with logs, rocks, cloths, and wooden crates for a long and uninterrupted time period. Through such sustained play deep thinking skills are built.

Enchanting classroom environments strengthen the developing senses, from the soothing colors on the walls and filtered glow from the skylights, to the simple objects for play, including stones, wooden logs and natural fibers and textures. The child’s natural capacity for imitation is honored by our teachers, who are dedicated to being role models worthy of imitation, and who allow the natural blossoming of a healthy inner life within each child.

Our nursery school program has both half- and full-day options. Our kindergarten program is full day with an optional early bird pick-up. Both programs have extended care available until 5:45 pm.