Kettle & Crow

Kettle & Crow provides a program that rhythmically alternates between outwardly expanding activities—singing, games, dancing, crafts, creative play, etc.—and quieter, more inwardly reflective activities, such as painting, drawing, modeling, storytelling, and puppet shows. Inspired by the world of nature, we weave the daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms into the cycle of the year through seasonal activities and festival celebrations.

We believe in magic and wonder, curiosity and quiet, in muddy feet and scraped knees. We believe in big bear hugs when invited and respecting boundaries when not. 

Most of all, we believe in play.

The unfiltered type of joyous, unstructured play that arises from within the young child. As parents and teachers, we play a vital role as facilitators and space holders, and yet, to a certain extent, we must learn to sit back and watch the world unfold. 

In Waldorf early childhood programs, the child’s work is play; creative play, that is. Each child intuitively knows how to create their own development. No one has to teach them what to do. Given the same basic elements, we can trust that children will follow the same creative development sequence. Their ways of play may vary, but each child will similarly play, with a purpose and for a reason.  

We offer open-ended toys, predominately found in nature; beautiful stones, curved and arching driftwood pieces, spoons and bowls, edible flowers and leaves, mud and sand, vibrant swaths of cloth woven from natural sources. They have an elemental quality that cannot be bought but must be lovingly collected. As the child explores through sensory-motor experiences, they will gradually bring their developing imagination to these toys, and then anything is possible! 

Your child will hear stories, rhymes, and songs at circle time and throughout the day. In the early childhood years, they will bring those images to play. As your child sings along while playing and enacting the stories they hear, we can be sure we have done our work well. We have offered mental pictures to foster their imagination. From this, the child can transform everything they touch at will.

Gross motor development is at its best with outdoor play. Children work hard moving logs, climbing with ropes, filling and emptying sand and water. Physics and scientific methods have their beginnings in child’s play. They rediscover and reinvent the world again and again as they experiment with balance and the relationship between their body and space. Child’s play is truly moving and extraordinary. 

Early childhood is also where the foundations of our worldview are set in motion. When we feel at home in the natural world our sense of belonging extends outside of our home and family and into our community and world.

Through tracking and exploration children find kinship in the trees, beetles, tadpoles, and stones. We discover that we are part of a bigger picture, a bigger family.

We gather in public places because it reinforces a sense of belonging in our local community. We see the world shift and grow through the seasons and see our own growth in that reflection. Learning that each new phase is natural and held by the same rhythm that brings the flowers to life each spring. 

Learning to orient to the land, navigate terrain, track weather patterns, maintain healthy body temperature and track proximity to the group are all skill sets empowered by an outdoor classroom. These skills promote a sense of self-sufficiency that provide a foundation of safe practices that transform the outdoors into a familiar and safe place where the children can feel comfortable and at home.

In an outdoor classroom, we learn to tend ourselves, our community and our planet, bringing a generation into the world that we can trust to protect and make choices that are rooted in a deep love for both humanity and the natural world.