Manchester Steiner

Here at Apple Blossom Waldorf Kindergarten everything is learned through imagination and imitation. Practical maths in the Waldorf kindergarten means exploring shape and form through play! By playing freely with different resources (without adult intervention) the children are learning the qualities of 3D shapes and physics of balance - without ever needing to be told. Their hearts & imaginations lead the way and through working with their hands, their young minds are growing, building strong connections and foundations for future learning.

This week at kindergarten has been filled with the gentle rhythm of working together. Indoors, we rolled up our sleeves for a little DIY. Together we built new boot boxes to welcome new friends who have recently joined us, and carefully unrolled our beautiful new fluffy carpet, made possible through the kind generosity of our family community 💕 These shared tasks help the children feel a sense of belonging and care for our space.

Outside and inside we spent time immersing ourselves in colour through acrylic and wet-on-wet watercolour paints. Brushes moving freely, the children explored through movement, feeling, and joy.

Storytelling has come alive in many forms this week! Puppet shows and stage performances with children taking turns to be storytellers and audience members... Listening closely and waiting patiently to honour one another’s stories.

Imaginative play has carried us through familiar seasonal moments too: christmas eve scenes and bonfire night play, bringing some coziness to a cold, windy week!

Here at Apple Blossom Kindergarten the first two weeks of January have been full of winter magic, muddy joy, and gentle lessons in togetherness.
We were welcomed back after the break by a visit from the snow and the children soon set about making little snowmen in the garden, using acorns we gathered in autumn to give them faces; a reminder of how the seasons weave into one another.
Indoors, the snow followed us in through our play. We made fresh, white playdough together, and the children were inspired to create snowy scenes, snow biscuits, and tiny snowmen - such joyful imaginations drawing from the world around them!
The following week brought plenty of rain and mud, which only added to our fun. On a very muddy trip around the park, we discovered a puddle just right for ‘fishing’ with sticks, before the children joyfully became little ‘mud fish’ themselves.
Our current story is The Three Butterflies - a tale of friendship, belonging, and care. As the butterflies face being turned away from garden flowers because of their colours, they choose to stay together and seek a place that welcomes them all. A simple yet powerful picture of kindness, inclusion, and standing side by side.

December is here! It has been a very rainy week, here in Cringle Park but the children didn’t let the weather dampen their play or their spirits! Waterproofs and welly boots on, they splashed happily through the garden, tipping water from buckets, discovering the most enormous puddles, and even lounging in “deck chairs” to watch the raindrops fall.

Inside Kindergarten everything has felt especially cosy, as the December afternoons draw-in. This week the children set up wonderful, imaginative scenes and took turns watching and performing stories; weaving their own words & little worlds together. These shared storytelling moments are such a lovely way for them to explore language, express themselves and to listen deeply to one another.

We have also been busy decorating our Christmas tree with hand-sewn felt wreaths, which the children have been working on, so carefully. Once the tree was ready we laid our slippers beneath it, ready for St Nicholas and the pine marten to visit… and in the morning, we found they had indeed stopped by, leaving gifts of satsumas inside each pair of slippers! Such a magical surprise!