OUTDOOR Salmonberry Mixed Pre-K/Kindergarten Class
A multi-year program for children 4-6 years old.
Half-Day Early Learning: Monday - Thursday, 8:45 am - 12:45 pm
Full-Day Early Learning (For 5 & 6 year olds): Monday - Thursday, 8:45 am - 3:00 pm Friday Adventure Class, 8:45 am - 12:45 pm
Outdoor exploration and wonder abound in our fully outdoor early learning class. Our experienced team of teachers is excited to welcome your kindergartener to a morning of play and social interaction. The genius of the 4-year old’s free-flowing imagination, the 5-year old’s inventive social play and burgeoning skills enrich the entire class. Our nature- and play-based program encourages imaginative play and both gross and fine motor skill development to build a solid foundation for the academic work to come in grade school.
During our daily circle time and daily story time, Teacher Isaac sings and recites verses full of rich language, a precursor to writing. Learning to read and spell begins with phonological awareness - the ability to hear or perceive a spoken word as a sequence of individual sounds. In the Salmonberry class, the children hear rich language through songs, poems and stories full of alliteration and rhyming.
Each day will consist of free play and exploration, a circle time, a warm, school-provided snack and an age-appropriate story time.
Studies have shown that time spent in nature and imaginative play contribute far more to developing the crucial neurological building blocks of creativity, concentration and higher-level thinking that do early academics. Children graduate from Madrona School's kindergarten ready to begin formal schooling and embrace abstract concepts such as letters and numbers. Led by experienced Waldorf teachers and a team of trained assistants, each class provides:
Lots of learning by doing using real tools: making bread, carding wool, whittling wood, chopping vegetables, etc.
Integrated sensory-motor activities, such as climbing trees and large rocks, conducting elaborate projects in the sand pit, building large structures with oversized blocks and boards, all of which contribute to large muscle development, balance and coordination.
Daily story time that develops oral literacy, rich vocabularies and long attention spans.
Daily circle time with seasonal songs and poems integrated with movement, to enliven children’s imaginations and growing vocabularies.
A family-style snack with fresh fruit, warm organic grains, homemade bread or vegetable soup. In the winter, a cozy fire offers a place to cook, as well as a warm center for class activities.
Weekly handcrafting activities including woodworking, sewing, modeling beeswax, and painting.
Have a look at a post to our school blog from October 2018 talking about the program from the perspective of Isaac Kemsley, our kindergarten teacher.
Outdoor kindergarten programs, while gaining in popularity and availability here in the United States, have a longer tradition in Europe. Watch this inspiring video on Denmark's Forest Kindergartens. What great opportunities for developing movement and balance, and to see the universal joy children have in playing in nature. And, we notice especially how well these children are dressed. All weather is good weather when we are dressed for it! This is an inspiration and confirmation of our own outdoor program.
To find out more, or to arrange a tour of our school, fill out our inquiry form, or call the school office at (206) 855-8041.
"If a child has been able in his play to give up his whole living being to the world around him, he will be able, in the serious tasks of later life, to devote himself with confidence and power to the service of the world." --Rudolf Steiner
Some Frequently Asked Questions:
Are you outside rain or shine? Yes, we are! Our program makes full use of the outdoors in all weather. Each child wears appropriate layers and gear, and brings a backpack to school each day that includes a change of clothes. Our teachers monitor conditions and ensure children are kept warm and dry. Our school yard has a shelter too, where we can paint, bake bread, whittle, and eat snack out of the elements if needed.
Does weather ever prohibit outdoor classes? What do you consider inclement? Weather that includes high winds and/or temperatures below 15 degrees Fahrenheit will be considered inclement and you should expect communication as to any schedule changes for the day. In the normal course of a day, however, teachers are monitoring conditions. On wintry days we may build a fire to warm up and roast sausages for snack. On days with heavy rain, we will plan adventures to shelters appropriate for a dry snack.
Where do students go to the bathroom? We have facilities on campus; outside of school, teachers accompany students to public washrooms.
How do you keep students safe? How do you manage risk? We like developmentally appropriate risk! We have 3 rules for outdoor kindergarten: 1) We don’t hurt others; 2) We don’t hurt ourselves; and 3) We don’t hurt things. These rules work for most every situation and the children quickly learn them, guided by our teachers. When we take walks and hikes, there is always a teacher in front and a teacher in the back of the line. Children are allowed to climb trees and boulders only if they are able to do so on their own. Teachers monitor climbing areas for heights and suitability (sturdiness of branches, solid climbing surfaces, etc). Our teachers work to create a “container” of space for play wherever we are and the children respect the physical boundaries of our location even while they learn through the freedom that comes with learning to navigate a variety of our outdoor spaces, including our school yard, forests, meadows, and beaches.
