Haleakala Waldorf School

Academic Programs

'Apapane Preschool

The Apapane preschool serves 16 children with two, three, and five day programs offered, each with a 12:30 pm or 2:30 pm dismissal. The Apapane preschool accepts children who will be 3 years old by June 1st of the year they are applying through “young” four year olds. All children should be weaned and potty trained.

Play is the heart of the Waldorf Early Childhood program. Children develop the capacity for creative thinking, problem-solving abilities and social skills through their free imaginative play. The equipment is simple and made of beautiful, natural materials, so that a child’s imagination can be stimulated. For example, a length of silk fabric may become the king’s cape, a tent for travelers, or a tablecloth for tea.

Celebration and rhythm are also important aspects of the young child’s daily experience. Each day’s activities include creative play, morning circle and storytelling time. Fairy tales, which provide strong archetypes for the child’s imagination as well as rich language, are the basis for the stories. In morning circle, the child learns to enjoy the sounds of language, to share through socializing games, and to achieve coordination and balance through a variety of rhythmical activities. The yearly rhythm of festivals and holidays provides many important celebrations in the preschool. All these activities enrich the early childhood experience in daily, weekly and seasonal rhythms that create a bridge from home to school. This creates an eagerness for the academics that follow in the grades.

See enrollment information and our Early Childhood Program FAQ page.