How does the admissions process work?
Arriving at the Waldorf Kindergarten Infância Viva is coming to know a cared for and revitalized nook in the world. We always invite families to come and visit with a scheduled visit or during the open days which happen throughout the year. We encourage this so that the families can get to know the space and feel of the Kindergarten.
After the families show interest, they can complete a registration form and after this they will be contacted by order of priority to start the admissions to the classroom groups. The first moment of admission coincides with a pedagogic interview with the educators, which is followed with a financial interview with members of the direction and finally the scheduling of the adaptation phase of the child.
How does the adaptation phase work?
The adaptation phase is a delicate, individual and gradual process in which the classroom team works with the family to find the best way to integrate the child. Normally it’s a process where the parents accompany the child in the mornings for some days. Gradually the adult reduces the time they spend in the Kindergarten. At the beginning of each school year we have two days of welcoming the new families and children in which the families along with the Kindergarten team help prepare the classrooms. This is an essential moment to create a link whereby the families feel integrated into the space.
What are the ages of the children?
The groups are made up of children from 3 to 6 years of age, or until the moment the children are ready to enter the first grade. To have diversity and social richness the class groups are mixed just like one big family where everyone has a role and everyone helps each other.
What are the monthly costs?
We believe that the right of choice in education is the right of every family, and as we are an IPSS association the monthly fees are calculated based on the earnings presented by the families and the financial sustainability of the Association. The calculations are made by the documentations presented in the financial interview between the family and the direction.
How are the day to day activities?
Our day starts at 9:00 with a circle of Bom dia to everyone, which is a time for all of the families to meet. Next comes the entrance to each respective classroom. In the classroom between 9:00 and 10:30 is the special moment of free play and the domestic and artistic experiences which are accompanied by the adults of the classroom. There follows a time for the Rhythmic Circle which is a moment of songs, rhythms, movements and gestures. Each season the educator brings a set of experiences tailored for the whole group in which each child also feels part of the group. In group we divide the morning fruit and the children then go outside to play in the yard.
The play in the yard is filled with different environments and experiences such as running and climbing, watering the plants and vegetables or other experiences such as cracking almonds or pine nuts which abundantly come to us.
The morning follows with a lunch hour where the smells and flavours make the mouth water and delicately everyone shares this moment. The morning ends with a story which follows the rhythm of the season allowing each child to create their internal images through the oral tale the educator tells.
At the end of the morning some children go home to continue the day whereas other children stay in the Kindergarten for the afternoon.
The afternoon starts with a moment of rest and sleep for all the children from which they naturally wake up and help with tasks or join together to play. There follows an afternoon snack and after the children play outside. Between 16:00 and 17:00 the children go home.