Enrolling NOW for FALL 2012

Just a few spots left for Fall 2012!

Call us to register at:

(408) 903-3710

{early registration}

Early registration is open until June 1st! Come and join us!

You can register by contacting Jes Anthonis at: jesanthonis@gmail.com

{About our Playschool}

{About our Playschool}

Our Mission~

To provide a caring environment for nourishing childrens' senses through imaginative work and play, seasonal celebrations and crafts. We aspire to have seasonal and daily rhythms create a sense of peace, predictability and tranquility for the children, while learning from nature. Children learn to care for themselves and their environment through daily activities and a group dynamic that resembles how a family works together. Our small program allows us to know and care for each child.

Our space~

Our space is a magical spot with ample wooded and field space, perennial garden beds, vegetable garden and chicken coop. We have a great small Cedarworks play structure and picnic benches for snacking and working outside. We have apple trees, plenty of rock walls for climbing and a small trickling stream for tromping though in the spring!

Festivals & Celebrations~

We celebrate seasonal festivals and make seasonal crafts that we use for our celebrations. We invite parents to join in some of the festival celebrations like Soltice Spiral and Lantern Walk. We also join with Ashwood for special days like the May Faire, as well as celebrate in our own way at school. We celebrate each child's birthday (or half birthday if they are a summer baby) and invite parents and siblings to join us in those celebrations.

Crafts~

We make crafts according to season and daily activities as well. Recently, we have planted wheatgrass, felted eggs, made beeswax snails with real shells and we have done some hand sewing. We are artists and avid crafters and it is a delight to weave these projects into our natural daily rhythm.  Each child has their own craft basket labeled with their symbol, and has an ongoing project that they can work on at their own pace throughout the year.

Natural Toys~

Our toys are made from all-natural products such as wood, wool, beeswax and silk. We incorporate as much of the natural world as possible to bring warmth to the children's play. Many of our toys are made in Maine by local crafters.

{Our Rhythm}

~Our Morning Garden~

*Summer Session*

Monday, Tuesday Wednesday,8:30 -12:30 with extended day 12:30-3:45 2 day option available

{Our rhythm}

8-15-8:30 ~

Arrival and goodbyes to parents.

8:30 ~

We gather at the table for a light breakfast. It is more casual than lunch but we do have a candle. We will learn to pour water and teas. We will eat organic snacks such as porridge, apples and cheese, almond butter and almonds, cream with maple syrup. Gathering at the beginning of our day is a great way to gently go into our classroom time. The children clear their places and one child will help with clean up.

9:00 ~

Freeplay: The children are free to play in the room with wooden toys, silks, play stands, simple dolls and dress up. We clean up together with a song.

9:45 ~

We all gather at the table for the day's activity. Each child has his or her own apron just their size! We use this time generally to prepare lunch, and in the case of "painting day" I will prepare lunch while the children are hard at work with brushes in hand!

10:15~

Circle time, we dance and sing songs of the season as well as play some simple games with nursery rhymes. At the end of circle time there is a little rest time for sheepskins and buckwheat pillows. Rest that last about the length of our favorite lullaby. This is a great quiet down time for the children and helps nourish them throughout the rest of our day together.

10:45~ 

Outside time, we play together, tend the garden and check the bird feeders. We will check on our chickens and do any work needed to feed or water them during this time. We have a small play structure and will work on our sandbox this Spring. We clean up all together and the children haul toys in wagons to pick up. We all work together at this time to prepare to go inside for lunch.

11:45~

Lunch, We light our candle and sing our blessing on our meal. One of the children will get to snuff the candle. After lunch we put our things away and go outside to await parents arrival.

12:30~

We sing our goodbye song joined by parents and siblings.

{Aftercare}

The children who are staying on for the afternoon will spend a bit more time outside before returning to the classroom for a rest. We rest on mats with a pillow a blanket from home. Usually all the children end up sleeping and I rock those who need it and tend to each child as called for. We sometimes read a story or I tell a seasonal story as they drift off to sleep.

2:45-3~

We wake gently and begin to put or rest things away. Freeplay until the parents arrive between 3 and 3:45 for pickup.

{Activity & Menu}

{Activity and Menu}

Activity by day of the week~

Tuesday: Painting day

There is a time to wash our painting boards with sponges, smooth the water color paper and get to work with our paints.

Wednesday: Soup day

We wash and scrub our vegetables, many have been brought from home to share with all. The children use their crinkle cutters to chip chop and add to the soup pot. It is so fun seeing our crinkle cut carrots and potatoes later in the day in our soup and guessing who chopped which one!

Thursday: Bread Day

Each child gets a sprinkle of flour and a ball of dough and when they are finished the get to work on another. We knead the dough, each child has his her own bun and can shape in any way they like. Snails and babies are favorite shapes in our class this year!

Menu by day of the week~

Tuesday: Rice with Beans and golden coins (carrots with butter and honey),Apples and toasted almonds,Tea

Wednesday: Vegetable soup with lentils or barley,Apples and raisins,Tea

Thursday:     Homemade Bread with butter,Hard boiled eggs (from our very own hens!),Apples and Cheese,Tea

All the food that we eat at our School will be organic and whole foods, homemade where possible and fresh!

We encourage the bringing of vegetables from home (grown or store bought)to share and we will have a sign up sheet for children by the week.

{Aftercare}

The children who are staying on for the afternoon will spend a bit more time outside before returning to the classroom for a rest.

We rest on mats with a pillow a blanket from home. Usually all the children end up sleeping and some children need rocking as well. We sometimes read a story or tell a seasonal story as they drift off to sleep.

2:45-3~

We wake gently and begin to put or rest things away. Freeplay until the parents arrive between 3 and 3:45 for pickup.

{Our Teachers}

Miss Jes

Jes Anthonis has worked with young children for over 10 years. She worked in the Public School setting before finding her way to Waldorf teaching at the Ashwood Waldorf School. Jes worked in the Kindergarden, Nursery and Aftercare there. She then went on to teach Afternoon Kindergarten at The Cape Ann Waldorf School where her husband was also a teacher. At Merriconeag Jes assisted in Parent Child and helped out in the Nursery 3 afternoons a week along with her daughter Emma.

In 2010 she started her homebased Waldorf inspired program, Morning Glory Garden, which relocated to Belfast, Maine in 2011. Jes completed her degree in Art and Education at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2005. She is an avid crafter and has a line of wool clothing and toys crafted in the Waldorf Tradition. Jes also writes a resource blog for parents interested in simple living and is a guest blogger for Rhythm of the Home and Cookie Magazine.

Jes lives in the woods with her husband (also a Waldorf teacher) her spirited daughter and a heard of hens.

Toki Oshima has taught nursery, mixed age kindergarten, and parent/toddler classes for the past 12 years at Ashwood Waldorf School in Rockport. Her training includes Foundation Studies from Antioch, a 2 year part time class introducing many aspects of Waldorf Education and Anthroposophy. She had 2 years at Sophia's Hearth, studying the child from birth to age 3 in Keene, NH. She then earned her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education at Sunbridge College in 2008, studying child development, the arts, anthroposophy, and early childhood curriculum. Her time at Sunbridge culminated in her final project of writing and illustrating a book entitled "Everyday in the Waldorf Kindergarten," a simple story about what a child might encounter during a typical morning in the kindergarten, including free play time, baking bread, circle time, watercolor painting and outdoor play time.

Toki and Jes collaborated in a mixed age class in 2006 and 2007, and have been friends ever since. In addition to the offerings currently at Morning Glory Garden, Miss Toki will bring puppet shows, seasonal circle activities including songs and games, watercolor painting and crafts, and will offer parent/teacher conferences, and informative parent evenings on topics such as child development and healthy family . She very much enjoys working with families with young children.

Miss Toki lives with her husband, John Pranio, and 2 high school aged boys Sean and Jamie with 2 cats in Whitefield. They are all musicians, and have run a contra dance series for the past 20 years in their hometown. They hope to relocate to the Belfast area in the near future.

{Tuition Guidelines}

{Our Fees, Etc.}

(Fall/Spring 2012/2013)

Updates Coming