I offer a creative program inspired by my training as a Waldorf early childhood teacher. The program grows out of my observations of the children and my relationships with them. My home is located on 40 acres of woods with large vegetable and native plant gardens. Play is at the center of what we do here. It is the very valuable work of young children and perhaps their most useful learning tool. Children take in experiences and impressions from their environment and make them their own through play. I provide enriching activities that can become food for their imaginations. My early childhood program grows out of my observations of the children and my relationships with them. Young children are active. They need to move to develop physically and mentally. Their way of interacting with the world and learning is by doing things with their bodies: by having real, concrete, hands-on experiences in the physical world. We have a lot of these here -- small and large, indoors and out. We form a small community and each child is an important part of it and contributes to the whole. The children want to develop their competence and like to help with the necessary work of the day, such as cooking, clearing the table, sweeping, and harvesting food in the garden. I understand the importance of taking extra time to do things and letting things get a bit messy so the children have the chance to “do it themselves”. We eat a nutritious, whole grain, vegetarian lunch and snack, which, during the summer, often includes ingredients the children help harvest from our garden. The children play together and on their own, but even when they aren't playing together they show awareness of each other. They learn through both observation and their interactions. Young children also learn through imitation, so I strive to give them many things they can imitate -- from the way I help them solve problems with each other to puppet plays and songs. Outdoor play makes us feel good, lets us use our bodies and is full of educational opportunities. Feeling our connections to the natural world and the change of seasons is deeply satisfying to us as human beings. We spend time outside every day in all sorts of weather. We work and taste things in the garden, explore the woods, play in the mud and snow, and roll down the hill. We paint, draw, play with play dough, cut, and glue; we sing and play group games; we make up funny words to songs and rhymes; we laugh and have fun!