Children's Center - Preschool & Kindergarten Overview
The Oakland Steiner Preschool Program provides the opportunity for the young child to take the next step. The preschool children now come to class without their parents. Here many life skills, social skills and academic skills find their foundation in this rich curriculum. Baking, making various crafts, painting and open-ended play are some of the ways this foundation is laid in the preschool experience.
The Kindergarten years meets young children where they are most engaged, through activity! The program integrates active learning experiences with practical life skills. Real tasks such as baking, cooking, building, cleaning and creating are all part of the experiential learning, rather than virtual learning. It is often said that a child’s play is their work, therefore, in a play-based environment, the kindergarten child builds a foundation for later academic success through actual contact with the elements. The out-of-doors garden area, and the open-ended classroom materials provide a natural setting for such experiences to take place. These are part of the daily schedule in the Kindergarten. Literacy develops through oral story, song, poetry and movement. Numeracy is fostered through limb activity accompanied by counting games as well as practical tasks like setting the table for snack. These play and work experiences provide a variety of opportunities for learning in the kindergarten.
The Oakland Steiner School Early Childhood program provides a nurturing foundation for the growing child. By nourishing the mind and the senses through a healthy, beauty-filled environment, our program fosters the development of the whole child. Each classroom is warm, inviting, cared for and intentionally filled with beautiful, natural materials. Wood, seashells, beeswax for modeling and handcrafted dolls and toys encourage children to create and form games and stories. The Early Childhood classroom is a gentle place where children can imagine freely while feeling safe and comfortable. Play is at the heart of our Early Childhood program.
The children engage in playful activities both indoors and outdoors and experience the wonder of the changing climate. In play, children develop the capacity for creative thinking, problem solving, and social skills through their imaginative interactions and in teacher-directed activities. The structured and supported use of play lays a strong foundation for future academic success. The children listen to fairy and folk tales, they watch puppet plays and participate in dramatic play all of which strengthen their power of memory, comprehension, and imagination. The stories, songs and nursery rhymes told in class cultivate in the children a love for the wonders and joyful world of language. Participating in counting games and rhythmic activities as well as in the daily activities of bread baking, cooking, and table setting build the foundational experience for learning mathematics, sequencing, and number skills. Learning about the physical world through large and small motor work and imitative play prepares the child for studying the sciences. All of these learning activities are held in daily and seasonal rhythms that connect the children to the world around them and instill a sense of gratitude and reverence.
The Kindergarten years meets young children where they are most engaged, through activity! The program integrates active learning experiences with practical life skills. Real tasks such as baking, cooking, building, cleaning and creating are all part of the experiential learning, rather than virtual learning. It is often said that a child’s play is their work, therefore, in a play-based environment, the kindergarten child builds a foundation for later academic success through actual contact with the elements. The out-of-doors garden area, and the open-ended classroom materials provide a natural setting for such experiences to take place. These are part of the daily schedule in the Kindergarten. Literacy develops through oral story, song, poetry and movement. Numeracy is fostered through limb activity accompanied by counting games as well as practical tasks like setting the table for snack. These play and work experiences provide a variety of opportunities for learning in the kindergarten.
The Oakland Steiner School Early Childhood program provides a nurturing foundation for the growing child. By nourishing the mind and the senses through a healthy, beauty-filled environment, our program fosters the development of the whole child. Each classroom is warm, inviting, cared for and intentionally filled with beautiful, natural materials. Wood, seashells, beeswax for modeling and handcrafted dolls and toys encourage children to create and form games and stories. The Early Childhood classroom is a gentle place where children can imagine freely while feeling safe and comfortable. Play is at the heart of our Early Childhood program.
The children engage in playful activities both indoors and outdoors and experience the wonder of the changing climate. In play, children develop the capacity for creative thinking, problem solving, and social skills through their imaginative interactions and in teacher-directed activities. The structured and supported use of play lays a strong foundation for future academic success. The children listen to fairy and folk tales, they watch puppet plays and participate in dramatic play all of which strengthen their power of memory, comprehension, and imagination. The stories, songs and nursery rhymes told in class cultivate in the children a love for the wonders and joyful world of language. Participating in counting games and rhythmic activities as well as in the daily activities of bread baking, cooking, and table setting build the foundational experience for learning mathematics, sequencing, and number skills. Learning about the physical world through large and small motor work and imitative play prepares the child for studying the sciences. All of these learning activities are held in daily and seasonal rhythms that connect the children to the world around them and instill a sense of gratitude and reverence.