About Steiner Education

The Steiner Waldorf education is one of the fastest growing educational movements in the world. The ethos of the school is influenced by the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner who believed that a true education should engage and nourish the whole child, body and spirit.The curriculum is broad and places the child at its centre, approaching the development of each child in a creative and holistic way. There is a special emphasis on nurturing the imagination of each child. Every day the children participate in group activities such as baking, painting, storytelling and puppetry. At the heart of the day is a warm meal that the children have helped to prepared and then share together. An appreciation of nature is a key component of the Steiner approach, and the children spend a large amount of time outdoors each day in the kindergarten’s beautiful garden. We aim to nourish each child as the individual that they are. Because of our low child-teacher ratio, the teachers at Two Rivers spend a significant amount of one-to-one time with each child and develop lasting relationships with them.

All About The Two Rivers Kindergarten

 

The Place

Two Rivers Kindergarten is magical place for small children to learn and grow. It is set in 30 wonderful organic acres beside the West Cork village of Ballydehob. The classroom is a wooden cabin lovingly built by the parents of the first small students 13 years ago. There are wooden swings, a sandpit, a musical garden, and a willow den – all built by parents over the years who have worked to develop this space into a beautiful environment for children.

The Children

The children paint, bake bread, and make crafts, in the spring and summer they help tend to the vegetable garden and everyday they sit down together and eat a meal prepared by the teachers. There is a particular emphasis on the rhythms of nature and the children are encouraged to learn though play and exploration. They mark the shift in the seasons with special celebrations- in summer they dance around the May Pole in the garden and in the depths of winter a huge Advent Spiral is laid out with evergreens so that each child can carry their candle through the spiral to the centre.

A Community of Families

Before enrolling your child at Two Rivers, it is important to understand that it is a small parent-run kindergarten that relies entirely on parental involvement to function. Parents may volunteer in a variety of functions vital to the running of the school including: board/committee roles, signing up to a laundry/shopping rota, taking home rubbish, and maintenance of grounds. More detail about roles and the structure of the Kinde may be found in the Parent Agreement .