Three Cedars Waldorf School offers Parent & Tot, Preschool & Kindergarten programs for children from infancy to 6 years old. All of the children's work and play in the early childhood program is intended to foster their healthy and balanced intellectual, emotional, and physical development.

Imagination - In Waldorf schools, young children are supported in their natural development by an emphasis on imaginative play, purposeful activity, movement, social life, artistic sensibility and a rich oral tradition. At Three Cedars each early childhood classroom provides a warm and secure environment in which a child's imagination and sense of self may flourish. We regard this as our foundation in teaching that the world is good, and beautiful.

Simple play - We view authentic, enjoyable, and practical work as the fertile ground upon which faculties yet to unfold may develop. Waldorf teachers work from the premise that children younger than seven years learn best through doing. The kind of playful work in which children engage in the Waldorf classroom is very different from the media-saturated expectations generated by modern toy stores and electronic media. Young children are provided opportunities for undirected play and are particularly guided in co-creating a healthy social group.

Rhythm – In the preschool and kindergarten indoor and outdoor work and play are presented in a rhythmical schedule, optimizing engagement and learning with a well-timed cycle of activities throughout the day and the year. We observe that for the young child, a consistent, dependable rhythm provides a critical sense of security. Our rhythms include periods of free play -indoors and outdoors-  balanced with more focused artistic and practical activities such as cooking, painting, cleaning or sewing,  and circle time consisting of verses, nursery rhymes, songs and circle games, oral storytelling and puppetry.  Additionally, whole, organic foods are served at meal times.

Beauty –Our classroom environment is central to our goal. Classrooms are designed as beautiful, calm and purposeful areas for living and working. Toys are open-ended and from natural materials - wooden blocks and toys, shells and stones, watercolor paints and  beeswax crayons.Our playgrounds and grassy fields are enhanced by the magical "back woods."

Purposeful activities - An essential aim of our early childhood programs is to protect and nurture each child's enthusiasm for school towards readiness for the elementary school years. Songs, stories and rhymes cultivate intimacy with language while puppet shows and dramatic play strengthen the powers of memory and imagination. Counting games and rhythmic activities build a solid foundation for arithmetic and number skills. Painting and crafts help the children develop fine motor skills, coordination and the ability to concentrate. Vigorous play develops their gross motor skills, proprioception, vitality, and further develops concentration. Seasonal activities and outdoor play deepen the children's awareness of the natural world, while colorful seasonal festivals foster connections to the cycle of the year and to the noblest qualities of the human soul.