"The heart of the Waldorf method is that education is an art ~ it must speak to the child's experience. To educate the whole child, their heart and their will must be reached, as well as the mind."
-Rudolf Steiner
Our early childhood programs provide a warm, beautiful, safe and unhurried setting for the young child to make the bridge from home to school. Here children have time….time to play inside and out, to investigate the natural world, explore social relationships, and to expand their imaginative capacities at a developmentally appropriate pace. Striving to be figures worthy of imitation, our Waldorf early childhood educators nurture each child’s unique unfolding and endeavor to meet them with reverence, joy, and a deep interest in discovering who they are.
Our children explore the wonders of nature in every season, listen to magical stories, witness puppet plays, sing, learn to work with others, practice life skills, and enjoy seasonal crafts and artistic opportunities. Held in a loving environment in the belief that the world is good, the young child's intellectual, emotional, social and physical development is nurtured, forming a strong foundation for academic study in elementary school and beyond.
Our school is a member of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN)
Parent & Child
Parent & Child classes are offered for parents or caregivers, along with children aged 18 months through 3 years old, to deepen their intuitive parenting capacities and nourish their children during these formative years. These classes are a gentle step into group activities where you will have the opportunity to meet other families and learn more about Waldorf Education and creative parenting techniques.
Classes are a perfect introduction to our school and provide children with an easy transition between home and school life. Components include creative play time, nursery rhymes and songs, puppet stories, snack and occasional craft activities for parents.
- Fridays on campus 9:00 - 10:30AM or 11:00 - 12:30PM.
- 8 parent (or caregiver) & child pairs
- Children ages 18 months-36 months
- For more information contact: enroll@whws.org
Fall Session: Sept. 13, 20, 27, Oct. 4, 18, 25, Nov. 1, 8, 15. Tuition: $335
Winter Session: Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31, Feb. 7, 28, Mar. 14, 21, 28. Tuition: $335
Spring Session: April 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, June 6. Tuition: $300
Apply for Parent & Child Program Here
There is also a Waldorf Parent/ Child Group on Thursdays at Whatcom Falls Park run by Honeybees Haven School. For more information, please contact RhaeAnna Haven directly.
Preschool
A typical day in a Waldorf preschool classroom includes plenty of creative and imaginative play, snack preparation, seasonal songs and games in circle time, artistic activities and storytelling or puppetry. The day and week has a healthy rhythm of activity that the children come to know and love. You may hear about bread baking, playing in the forest, painting and puppet shows at home.
Here you will find that learning and joy live as one and the same. All of our classes have parent meetings where your teacher will lead discussions about child development, Waldorf education and parenting. Joining the preschool is joining the community of Whatcom Hills Waldorf School.
We have three mixed age preschool programs, each held by a lead and assistant teacher:
Chickadees Nursery Preschool
- 9 students per class
- Children must be 2 by March 1st
- A 4-day program
- Mon-Thurs, 8:30am - 3:00pm
- 8:30 - 12:30pm spaces available
Buttercup Preschool
- 12 students per class
- Children must be 3 by May 1st
- A 4-day program
- (Mon-Thurs) 8:30 - 3:00pm
- Limited half day spaces each year
Sweet Peas Preschool
- 12 students per class
- Children must be 3 by May 1st
- 5-day program
- Mon-Thurs, 8:30am - 3:00pm,
- Friday, 8:30 - 1:15pm
Kindergarten
A Waldorf Kindergarten is an extension of the family experience, an intermediary step for the child between home and formal academic schooling beginning in the grades. As in our preschool program, we provide a warm, calm, secure, and beautiful environment in which imagination and creativity can flourish, and where confidence and social skills can blossom.
The program includes ample free play, circle and story time, sharing of a meal, practical and artistic work, creative projects, and a healthy variety of gross and fine motor movement. Children enjoy tasks such as baking, sewing, finger knitting, hammering, sawing, sweeping, gardening and grinding grain with their friends. About half of each day is spent outdoors on or around our beautiful wooded campus, fostering a relationship with and a love for the natural world.
We have two mixed age kindergarten programs, each held by a lead and assistant teacher:
Lavender & Thimbleberry Kindergartens
- 18 students per class
- Children must be 4 by May 1st
- First Grade ready, 6 by May 1st
- A 5-day program
- Mon-Thurs, 8:30am - 3:00pm,
- Friday, 8:30 - 1:15pm
- Aftercare available until 5:30pm (mixed age K-5)
- Before Care available 7:30am onwards (mixed age K-8)
