With Waldorf principals at the center, Apple Valley School’s programs nurture the whole student, awakening their thinking capacity, supporting the development of their tactile skills and habits and guiding the healthy growth of their social and emotional life.
The school has been in operation since September 1st and is providing children with the time, space and tools for undirected, uninterrupted and imaginative play. Currently, their programs serve children from one and a half to five years old. Apple Valley School operates five days per week from 7:45 am to 5:15 pm to support working families with full daycare.
The school provides a welcoming, educational space for children that:
- honors and protects childhood.
- allows children to develop in their own time and at their own pace.
- instills a life-long love of learning.
- fosters a love of nature and the arts, alongside respect for others and the earth.
- prepares children to meet the world in an engaged and curious way.
I attended the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork from first through eighth grade. Following my graduation and integration into a public high school and liberal arts college, my curiosity about the foundational tenets of my own education grew, eventually leading me to complete a three-year Waldorf Teacher Training program at Sunbridge Institute. Waldorf Education, which was founded based on the philosophies of child development created by Rudolf Steiner, emphasizes educating the whole human being. Simply put, it educates the head, heart and hands. My feeling is that Waldorf Education is an exploration of the world and an experiential endeavor that the teacher and students take on together. The experience of being a student in a Waldorf environment is one that breeds curiosity, cultivates imagination and opens doors to exploration. The work of the teacher is to bring the curriculum content to life for the students so they develop a relational connection to it, allowing them to feel their way into understanding, not just think their way into knowing the material. In a Waldorf School, artistic expression, music and hands on learning are all fundamental mediums in getting to know the world, to learning mathematics, literature and science. Maureen Fox, Director – describes Waldorf education
Apple Valley School would like to thank the LOR Foundation for a generous grant that helped lift the school off the ground.
For more information about Apple Valley School, visit www.applevalleyschool.org or email [email protected].
To learn more about the LOR Foundation, visit www.lorfoundation.org.