Nurturing children through cooperative work and play
About Evergreen Garden
Philosophy
Evergreen Garden Playschool is a Waldorf preschool program whose founding members were, and continue to be, inspired by the Steiner Education movement. The Three R’s associated with our view of the educational experience that is appropriate for the young child are Rhythm, Routine and Reverence. It is the program’s philosophy that human development takes place in stages throughout the entire course of one’s life. It is neither simple nor homogeneous. A young child’s course of education must take into account human needs including intellectual learning and basic skills training (thinking), but not at the expense of two equally important needs: the cultivation of balanced feelings, and the development of the ability to initiate and complete actions out of one’s own strength of will.
The early childhood teacher nurtures the children's power of imagination particular to the age.
We seek to help families to decrease, or eliminate, the use of media and related electronics in caring for their young child. We consider television viewing, movies, and other electronic devices such as computers and hand-held computer games to be inappropriate for a young child’s use. Media and related electronics have powerful effects on the feeling-life of a child and screen viewing directly affects the child’s nervous system and engages him/her in a passive form of non-participation that is not helpful to the development of self-controlled and self-directed will activity.
A rich curriculum, including the telling of nature stories, fairy tales, and cultural stories, watercolor painting, outdoor play, crafts, handwork, baking, cooking, and the celebration of seasonal festivals is intended to provide the foundation for a well-balanced adult life.
When the early childhood experience is consciously honored with appropriate activities that are supported with a properly placed routine, and if they are presented in a nurturing environment by adults who are working to do their best, then childhood flourishes. It is our hope that as adults, children who experience this program will discover within themselves a place that remains evergreen and serves them well throughout their life.
At Evergreen Garden Playschool we strive to do our best with gratitude to the Waldorf education movement and its founder Rudolf Steiner.
History
Evergreen Garden Playschool began as a heartfelt wish shared by three mothers to establish a Waldorf preschool in their community. They looked for Waldorf trained teachers who would share their enthusiasm and join the project. In the summer of 2001 this small group began to work together and soon three more families joined their efforts. In the autumn of 2001 a Home Day Care program was formed in Harvard, MA to the delight of all.
In 2002 a site that would hold a larger group was found, and with the space at the Fellowship building of The Unitarian Universalist Church in Harvard, MA as a new home, Evergreen Garden Playschool became a Group Day Care with one class.
In the summer of 2009 Evergreen Garden moved to Devens, MA. Here we offer four programs including parent-child classes, pre-school classes, and our first kindergarten class.
It is the hope of the founding members that as others join our community Evergreen Garden Playschool will flourish and be a gift to the children, their families, central Massachusetts communities, and the Waldorf/Steiner
