Early Childhood Education

Mulberry Waldorf School has a thriving early childhood program with classes for parents with infants, parents with toddlers, Morning Garden Preschool for ages 3 and 4, and Kindergarten. Please see our virtual tour video for an overview of our programs:

​​Parent and Infant Group (up to age one)

​The Parent and Infant Group is for parents with their babies from newborn to around age fifteen months. The group is free of charge. Join us one afternoon a week in our beautiful and peaceful early childhood room. Enjoy a cup of tea and talk about your observations of your baby week to week, and parenting topics in a supportive group. You will also learn rhymes, songs, games, and lullabies for your baby.

​Parent and Child (Ages 1-3) Monday-Friday 9:30-11:30

Join us one morning a week in a beautiful setting that encourages free, creative play with toys made of natural materials. Enjoy a nutritious, homemade snack, learn to craft simple toys for your child, and discuss a healthy start for your family. 
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The morning begins at 9:30 am with time for free play for the children, or a small “quieting story”, if necessary, and a craft or work experience for parents. At 10:30, there is a song-led transition to tidy up and guide the group into snack time. This time around our table is also a great opportunity for parents to chat. 

Around 11:00, we clear the table, wash hands and gather for circle time. The circle includes rhymes and songs both standing (walking, hopping, twirling, etc.) and sitting (finger games, clapping, etc.).  The songs are seasonal with home and garden themes, as is our simple story which follows. These stories are often based on a timeless folktale and are told over a period of 3-4 weeks. At the end of the morning, parent and child have an opportunity to play in a natural outdoor space.

​Morning Garden Preschool (Ages 3 and 4)

The Morning Garden preschool program is a gentle start for children three to four years of age. Our program is intended to be a child’s first independent school experience. Morning Garden preschool is developed around daily, weekly, and seasonal rhythms with two teachers working together with a maximum of twelve children. Mulberry Waldorf School is licensed under the Child Care and Early Years Act. 
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A great deal of importance is given to free, imaginative play. Our beautiful classroom is a homelike space, free of loud colours and clutter and where toys are simple and made of natural materials to encourage a child’s full sense of imagination to develop. It is through play that children develop capacities for the future: creativity, problem-solving, cooperation, resilience, and imagination.

At the start of the day, children busy themselves with seasonal tasks during free play in the form of raking, gardening, building with wood, splashing in puddles, or playing in the sandpit. After a song to transition to morning circle, children go inside to enjoy a wholesome, homemade snack. After snack time, children help tidy up and have an hour of indoor play.  The morning ends with a puppet story and movement circle.

A healthy lunch of brown rice, vegetable soup, quinoa, or pasta, with added organic beans,  legumes, or beans plus fresh fruits and vegetables is served. After lunch, children who stay for the morning are picked up and children who stay for the afternoon will have a rest time before heading back outside for outdoor play.

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Weekly Care Options: 
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• Three mornings per week (Monday-Wednesday) 
• Two mornings per week (Thursday and Friday) 
• Five mornings per week (Monday-Friday)

The Morning Garden program begins at 8:45 am and ends at noon, Monday-Friday. For children who stay in the afternoon, the program ends at 3:30 pm.
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Please contact our office for a personalized tour.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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Email: administrator@mulberrywaldorfschool.ca
Phone: (613) 542-0669.

​Please Note: 

​The Morning Garden program takes place in a classroom and play yard licensed under the Child Care and Early Years Act. Once children are settled into the school year, teachers will bring the children on short walks around the school perimeter.  
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We are closed for Professional Activity days, Professional Development days, two weeks over the winter holidays, two weeks over March Break, and all statutory holidays. We do not offer camp programs for Morning Garden during PD days and holidays. Our program does not operate over the summer.

​​Morning Garden Parent Handbook​

Kindergarten

​Clover and Meadow Gardens (Two mixed-age Kindergarten classrooms)

The day begins with a daily walk, visiting local natural spaces and parks. Upon returning to school, the children have time to play freely in the yard. Cedar stumps and wooden boards become houses, trains, boats, and obstacle courses while other children play chase or seasonal games, such as raking leaves and making nests in the piles. A simple snack is provided during this time.
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Then we transition inside for Storytime. The children’s imaginations are nourished by an oral story told by the teacher. The ability to hear language sounds and to create inner pictures is an important foundational literacy skill that is nurtured in the Waldorf Kindergarten. Once the children have heard the story repeated, they experience it as a puppet play or by helping to ‘pretend’ the tale.

A healthy, homemade lunch comes next where the children sing a song of thanks for their food. “Earth who gave to us this food, sun who made it ripe and good...” Our lunches include delicious and nutritious foods using whole grains, vegetables, legumes and fruit.  Children have the opportunity to help prepare meals by chopping vegetables for soup or kneading bread dough.
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A well-timed rest at midday follows and allows for the digestion of morning learning and support for a good night’s sleep. After, children engage in a variety of indoor activities such as free play, artistic work, food preparation, and song and movement circles. A simple afternoon snack is provided and the children return to outdoor play in the yard where they are picked up at 3:30 pm.

​"Thank you for this day.  For work and rest and play.  Thank you to every friend, soon we’ll meet again.”

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Please note: 

• Friday Care is available
• The program rhythm is modified in the event of a severe weather day
• KG classes will take up to 2 field trips/year, usually requiring a bus
• Lunch and snacks are provided by the school. Please inform us of any allergies. ​

​Please contact our office for a personalized tour.
We look forward to hearing from you!

​Email: administrator@mulberrywaldorfschool.ca
Phone: (613) 542-0669.