Daycare & Kindergarten

Our Waldorf-inspired daycare welcomes children aged 3 to 6. We do everything we can to make children feel welcome, supported and guided, and to help them develop healthy lifestyle habits.

We focus on discovery through the senses, which fosters the development of the whole child.

Throughout the year, we offer children multiple, rich experiences through free play, daily contact with nature, storytelling, rounds, songs, movement, artistic and domestic activities.

"The heart of Waldorf education is to see education as an art. To educate the whole child, you have to touch his heart and will, as well as the mind."

- Rudolf Steiner -

Waldorf Education

Waldorf education is based on an in-depth knowledge of the child and their stages of development. Through academic subjects, artistic instruction and practical activities, it aims to inspire curiosity, willingness and interest in learning.

Children are encouraged to actively experience and feel things in order to understand them. In addition to imparting knowledge, the aim is to awaken the child’s full range of skills, in an age-appropriate way that respects the child’s developmental rhythms.

Every child is unique

Each child is a unique individual who develops at their own pace, with their own needs and interests.

Acknowledging children’s individuality requires careful observation on the part of the educational staff who work with them, so as to understand how to support their development through personalized support.

Our educational approach encourages the awakening of each child’s full potential, and the program as a whole is designed to enable each individual to flourish.

Ambiance and beauty of the place

The interior spaces are welcoming, colorful and uncluttered. Furniture and toys in natural materials are easy to move around, giving children the opportunity to reconstruct the space as they wish in their play.

Natural outdoor play areas offer children multiple ways of experiencing the elements, supporting their sensory experiences and motor development.

The team focuses on the physical environment and atmosphere of the day: safe layout, cleanliness, ventilation, natural light, noise levels, alternating indoor and outdoor activities.

Rhythm

A well-established rhythm brings a sense of security and relaxation, and makes children receptive to new learning experiences.

Children learn to situate themselves in space and time, through activities that are repeated daily and in tune with the rhythm of the seasons.

A day in the garden, like a breath of fresh air, is designed to support children in developing their own inner rhythm, enabling them to connect with the rhythm of nature and develop healthy lifestyle habits.

According to parents

“The greatest thing that connects us to ERSM is the respect and preciousness given to childhood.

Our child has developed practical skills in an environment that has encouraged his creativity, his freedom to think and play, and his self-esteem.”

Catherine, Émile’s mother

Contact with nature

Half of the program takes place outdoors. Rain or shine, the children take full advantage of the garden’s courtyards, as well as the many surrounding parks they visit on their daily walks.

L’École Rudolf Steiner de Montréal has a beehive, which it maintains in partnership with the urban beekeeping organization Alvéole, and actively practices composting. This compost is used by students in gardening classes and to maintain the vegetable garden.

Our hive: For the love of bees

The importance of gardening at ERSM

Cultural diversity

AWSNA recommends that all accredited schools set up a Diversity and Inclusion Task Group. Made up of staff members and parents with a strong commitment to this issue, the group offers awareness-raising activities and ongoing training based on research on social justice issues.

On a daily basis, the entire staff is committed to making ERSM ever more welcoming to all.

“Promoting the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is one of AWSNA’s strategic priorities. These priorities place equity and inclusion at the heart of our work and aim to bring us closer to the world we want for our young people.”

– AWSNA Statement of Inclusion and Equity