For terms three and four of 2009 alexis attended our local Waldorf/Steiner nursery. Nursery is just like a kindy, but for 2.5-4 year olds, to distinguish itself from their kindergartens that are for 4-6 year olds.
Lexi was going just one morning a week until at the very end of the year she went two mornings per week, on her request.
Her nursery has a very natural, old fashioned sort of garden (unlike most modern kindies - no plastic in sight!), with a big sandpit, which has big rope swings over it-
big slices of tree trunk for clambering over, little rope swings, a bar to hang upside down from, little gardens that the kids help to tend, and a wooden dinghy!
and possibly the favourite thing was the massive patch of alpine strawberries, with the kids free to help themselves to the tiny, pale, but sweet wee strawberries!
at the end of the year the kids and parents all gathered for their advent spiral event...
(faces blurred for anonymity)
before being led into the specially decorated nursery-
the older children walk the spiral with a lit candle, but the nursery kids were deemed too little, despite having dipped their own beeswax candles previously (so hot wax = fine, lit candles = bad, ok?), but we still were treated to lots of advent songs, and a nativity story acted out with puppets by a team of five teachers on the little stage in the top right of the photo.
then the children were all presented with their artwork from the year, and a little plant, grown by their nursery teachers, to take home!
i think she has enjoyed it!
and in 2010 she'll be doing two mornings per week in one of the kindergartens, and is really, really looking forward to it!!
Lexi was going just one morning a week until at the very end of the year she went two mornings per week, on her request.
Her nursery has a very natural, old fashioned sort of garden (unlike most modern kindies - no plastic in sight!), with a big sandpit, which has big rope swings over it-
big slices of tree trunk for clambering over, little rope swings, a bar to hang upside down from, little gardens that the kids help to tend, and a wooden dinghy!
and possibly the favourite thing was the massive patch of alpine strawberries, with the kids free to help themselves to the tiny, pale, but sweet wee strawberries!
at the end of the year the kids and parents all gathered for their advent spiral event...
(faces blurred for anonymity)
before being led into the specially decorated nursery-
the older children walk the spiral with a lit candle, but the nursery kids were deemed too little, despite having dipped their own beeswax candles previously (so hot wax = fine, lit candles = bad, ok?), but we still were treated to lots of advent songs, and a nativity story acted out with puppets by a team of five teachers on the little stage in the top right of the photo.then the children were all presented with their artwork from the year, and a little plant, grown by their nursery teachers, to take home!
i think she has enjoyed it!
and in 2010 she'll be doing two mornings per week in one of the kindergartens, and is really, really looking forward to it!!
