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Grade R
5 — 6 years
Grade R at Michael Mount Waldorf School blends focused school readiness preparation with the warmth and intention of Waldorf early learning. This ensures that your child builds real, lasting foundations that prepare them for formal learning without losing the wonder of being a child. Every day balances a series of meaningful activities through a gentle structure, guided by passionate teachers who nurture the children in their care.
At the heart of Waldorf education is the following understanding of child development: that childhood is formative, not just preparatory. It is the time when neural pathways are forming at a rapid rate, and a conducive context greatly impacts these opportunities. Children are discovering the world primarily through movement and their senses, and their bodies are growing and developing the fine and gross motor skills needed for the remainder of their lives.
As such, our Grade R does not rush childhood; it protects it while building capacities for intellectual learning, because how a child spends these years shapes their capacities for decades to come.
Through rich, active, and age-appropriate experiences in our natural environments, children gradually develop healthy fine and gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, general balance, as well as language, oral and social skills. We allow the child to develop their own innate intelligence. Waldorf Grade R classrooms remain tech-free spaces to preserve the imagination and curiosity of the child.
Our environment consists of engaging outdoor spaces in beautiful gardens, as well as thoughtfully designed indoor spaces. Children at this age have heightened senses, experiencing everything around them and absorbing that information. In this environment, we develop the foundation of future skills. Toys of natural materials enhance sensory development and stimulate the connected development of neural pathways that remain with the child for life.
Our Waldorf Grade R programme continues to be a forerunner in nurturing strong, integrated physical, social, intellectual and emotional foundations for each child. In a time of AI and ongoing advancement, the children of today will need resilience, empathy, creativity, agency, confidence, curiosity, independent thinking, and emotional intelligence – qualities which Michael Mount Waldorf School instils from early childhood.
What we offer
- Healthy meals
- Free aftercare for children from 4 months old to Grade R (age 6), until 5.30pm every afternoon
- Tech-free environment
- Indoor-outdoor spaces with newly renovated classrooms filled with high-quality toys made of natural materials
- Meaningful, practical daily activities including sewing, weaving, baking, gardening, painting, beeswax moulding, and movement
- Circle time filled with song, verse, story and connection
- Ideal teacher-child ratio with focused observational care and passionate teachers
- Intentional, age-appropriate curriculum rooted in child development theory
- Imaginative free play that gifts children the time to learn, discover, and connect with the world around them
- A strong sense of community with seasonal festivals, events, and gatherings
Outcomes and experiences
- A stress-free, anxiety-free experience
- Preparation for life, laying strong foundations for formal learning and future competencies
- Discovery-based learning supports strong neural pathways and memory development
- Fine & gross motor skills, sensory faculties, proprioception and bilateral integration are honed
- Independent thinking, self-directedness, and initiative
- Confidence and a strong sense of self-worth and security
- Strong social skills including communication, empathy, listening and leadership
- Concentration, patience and resilience when approaching a task
- A secure, positive relationship with learning fuelled by intrinsic motivation and curiosity
- Stewardship for the natural world
Give your child a foundation that lasts a lifetime
With Grade R now recognised as the start of Foundation Phase learning, our teachers thoughtfully incorporate the relevant school readiness milestones with the sensory-rich, tech-free, play-based approach that defines Waldorf education.