Waldorf Kindergarten

Our kindergarten children learn through play, time in nature, rich literary influences, and hands-on skills in the constant care of compassionate and experienced teachers. Childhood education at Waldorf Academy is enriched and unrushed. 

Our experiential Kindergarten programs develop creative thinking and problem-solving through exploratory play and guided activities. Our aesthetically rich classrooms are furnished with simple, natural materials and handcrafted toys that allow the children to build imaginative scenarios and maximize their creative capacities. Children participate in outdoor play and seasonal crafts that support self-regulation, physical development, and healthy social interaction, laying a strong foundation for academic success. Emphasis is placed on the development of requisite skills and capacities that promote readiness for first grade. 

Each of our two Kindergarten classrooms is approximately 50% Junior Kindergarteners and 50% Senior Kindergartners. Your child will stay in the same Kindergarten classroom with the same teachers for the duration of their Kindergarten journey. The maximum capacity for each class is 18 students, with 2 full-time Kindergarten teachers, and a part-time assistant. 

Kindergarten at Waldorf Academy is a 5-day program. All programs include a hearty morning snack that they prepare with their teachers (children bring their own lunches), and all children have a 40-minute “quiet time” after lunch.

a dark haired child plays with a wooden castle in the kindergarten play-based program at the Waldorf Academy in Toronto Ontario
Three students in the Kindergarten program at the Waldorf Academy Toronto with harvested vegetables smiling in the garden with a fence behind them.
Kindergarten students at the Waldorf Academy in Toronto Ontario sit in a circle in their classroom with teacher in wooden chairs.
Kindergarten students at the Waldorf Academy Toronto sit in a circle outside for songs and verses that lay the foundations for reading and literacy.

The balance of the day includes: 

  • Unstructured play time, indoors and out.

  • Watercolour painting, drawing and beeswax modeling.

  • Circle time with rhymes, songs, and movement games.

  • Activities such as woodwork and finger-knitting. 

  • Storytelling accompanied by puppetry. 

  • Regular adventure walks to local parks and ravines. 

  • Special activities such as the fall Lantern Walk and a birthday story and celebration for each child.

To qualify for Junior Kindergarten or Senior Kindergarten, children must turn 4 or 5, respectively, by December 31st. Children born between October and December may have the opportunity to do an additional year in Kindergarten in consultation with the teacher.

Daily Schedule:

8:00am-9:00am - Children may be dropped off for outdoor play in our Back Yard. 

9:00am-3:00pm - The formal Kindergarten Day 

3:00pm-5:30pm - Optional Kinder Aftercare Program (limited spots)

Two kindergarten students at the Waldorf Academy in Toronto Ontario work with chisels on woodworking projects in their classroom.
Teachers at the Waldorf Academy Toronto present a puppet show for students using silks, stories and movement. A large group of students watch as teachers lift a silk off of the puppet play stage.
A dark haired kindergarten student smiles at the camera while wearing a flower crown and pastel colored dress at the Waldorf Academy in toronto Ontario.
Students and parents in a Kindergarten classroom at the Waldorf Academy in Toronto Ontario. Children and parents are sitting around a table with a window in the background