Comparison of Emerson Waldorf to Carolina Friends School??

[wednesdayo]

yes they are "media", but it's all about imitation, imagination, and play, not literacy skills. unless I'm wrong, the early childhood classrooms do not have children's books at all. they use various forms of storytelling with the children being actively involved. they do not teach alphabet and other reading skills until grade 1 when it is developmentally appropriate. they also do not have traditional textbooks in most classes until middle grades. the children create their own "Main Lesson Books" based on what they are learning.

[jgb]

It's definitely an alternative program.

I consider myself fairly alternative when it comes to education but I don't think this would work for our family. My son is four and he is just so curious about books, writing letters and numbers and trying to "read" that I don't think we could go that route. It would be a major deprivation for him.

But I don't consider myself an authority so say that delaying these things is necessarily bad. I think the spending more time outdoors is wonderful -- all the kids need more imaginative free play time.

I think finding the right fit for one's kids and family is key. That fit is different for everyone.

[wednesdayo]

Originally Posted by jgb

My son is four and he is just so curious about books, writing letters and numbers and trying to "read" that I don't think we could go that route. It would be a major deprivation for him.

My daughter has loved books pretty much her whole life, and I don't think I could completely be Waldorf at home no matter what. I do struggle with creating a balance. She recently played with a small group in the EWS Kindergarten, and she is so comfortable in that type of environment. Her preschool is somewhat Waldorf-inspired, but they also do some Montessori-inspired activities with all of that of imaginative play.

Originally Posted by jgb

I think finding the right fit for one's kids and family is key. That fit is different for everyone.

I couldn't agree more! Children are all so different from each other and sometimes very different at different ages, so flexibility is important.

[panchodog]

wednesdayo, what are you wanting to know? I have friends with kids in both programs.

Personally, if I were going to choose between those two schools for my kids I would pick Friends. I'm not really a fan of the Waldorf philosophy which does permeate the culture at EWS from what I understand. I also don't like gnomes !

It's my understanding that while Waldorf encourages a lot of handwork and experience in the natural world it really is fairly top-down directed rather than child-led. I can't speak to EWS in particular, but I know when I was looking for preschools 5 years ago I spoke with a woman in the area who had a home-based Waldorf-inspired nursery school. I mentioned that I had read that Waldorf philosophy did not encourage kids to mix colors when painting and she agreed with that and said that they would tell a little story about Mr Red not wanting to be mixed with Mr Green because then he would be all muddy, etc. That is so NOT my style or my kids' style. We're all about experimentation and process rather than product. So Waldorf would not be a good fit for us. That said I do know folks who absolutely love it, but I think they are also fans of the underlying Steiner philosophy.

I know a couple of families at Friends and some teachers there, too. I think it would be a much better fit for us.

Another school you might consider if you're looking for an alternative to traditional schools is Community Independent School just south of the Orange/Chatham line.

hth