Kinder and Prep (4-5 year olds)

In Tasmania most children start school in Kindergarten when they are 4 years of age. Children who are 5 years of age must be enrolled in a school (in Prep) or be provided with home education.  

Tamar Valley Steiner School offers a combined Kinder/Prep class at our beautiful St Leonards campus.
 
Our Kinders attend school for two and a half days each week:
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Kinder Group 1: Monday, Tuesday (9am to 3pm) and Wednesday (9am to 12noon).
Wednesday is Bush School day and held at the Trevallyn Nature Reserve. 

Kinder Group 2: Wednesday (9am to 12noon) and Thursday, Friday (9am to 3pm). 
Wednesday is Bush School day held at the Trevallyn Nature Reserve. 

Our Preps attend school five days a week:
Monday to Friday (9am to 3pm).
Wednesday is Bush School day and parents take their child to the Trevallyn Nature Reserve between 8.30am-9am. The children are then bussed to St Leonards for the normal finish time of 3pm.

“If a child has been able to play, to give up their whole living being to the world around, they will be able, in these serious tasks of later life, to devote themselves with confidence and purpose to the service of the world.”  Rudolf Steiner
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At this age, a key focus of learning and development is imaginative play and imitation, and our specially created environment encourages children to discover learning in a nurturing and supportive way.

We support healthy development by:

• Creating an atmosphere of loving warmth and guidance that promotes joy, wonder and reverence.
• Providing healthy rhythm and order to each day, along with the celebration of festivals during the year to support a sense of wholeness and community.
• Providing opportunities for self-initiated play with simple natural materials.
• Providing an environment with structure, protection, and boundaries that also gives children opportunities to take risks and be challenged.
• Providing artistic activities including storytelling, music, drawing, painting, modelling and rhythmic games.​