Wonder Garden Preschool - Garner

Location
Behind Garner Magnet High School, in neighborhood near hwy 70 and Timber Dr intersection.

Who is the teacher?
Teacher is Jean Marie Whaley. I am an experienced music teacher of many ages, but lately of elementary and preschool aged children.
Taught recently at first public Waldorf school in NC, Raleigh Oak Charter School. I am an individual member of WECAN (Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America) and will be using Waldorf inspired practices. I have not completed a Waldorf teacher training program, but I am looking forward to utilizing what I have learned.
I also have training in Conscious Discipline and Responsive Classroom, both programs with a focus on social-emotional skills.

Child ages
Wonder Garden Preschool is open to children three and a half to five years old as of September 1, 2020. Children must be potty trained to attend.
Child to adult ratio will be low, seven children maximum to one adult. One of these children will be my own four year old daughter.

Outdoor Setting
There are many benefits to children to spending time outdoors. In this time of Covid-19, the safest way to spend time together is to be outdoors. The backyard space is entirely fenced in and surrounded by deciduous trees, so the yard is shady in the summer and sunny in the winter.
If severe weather necessitates that we come inside, I will open all the windows and the door in that section of the house to maximize ventilation.

Hours
Wonder Garden Preschool is a five day morning preschool. We meet Monday through Friday 8:30am to 12:30pm during Daylight Savings Time. After DST ends Nov 1, we will meet 9am to 12pm.

Cost
Tuition is $106 per week, families will be invoiced every two weeks. Tuition includes morning snack and lunch.

Philosophy
Briefly, these are the essentials for a healthy early childhood program:
• Love and warmth
• Care for the environment and nourishment for the senses
• Creative, artistic experience
• Meaningful adult activity as an example for the child's imitation
• Free, imaginative play
• Protection for the forces of childhood
• Gratitude, reverence, and wonder
• Joy, humor, and happiness
• Adult caregivers on a path of inner development
Taken from Susan Howard's "Essentials of Waldorf Early Childhood Education" http://www.waldorfearlychildhood.org/uploads/Howard%20Article.pdf
To that end, our mornings will have a regular rhythm/routine including free play, gardening, preparing food, and guided activities such as music