Preschool

Preschool Class on the Farm!

Welcome to "Sun Star Farm," where children blossom through a nature and play-based curriculum inspired by Waldorf education philosophy.

Our preschool class is Monday through Friday from 8:45am to 12:45pm. 4-day (Mon-Thur) and 5-day options are available. Your child must be age 3 prior to 8/31, or they are eligible for the Toddler Program.

We strive to provide a warm and nurturing environment with a daily and weekly rhythm that includes caring for animals, bread baking, storytelling, songs, seasonal celebrations and imaginative indoor and outdoor play. We have an outdoor play area, swings, sandbox, a forested trail, vegetable garden and beautiful cozy playroom with wonderful natural toys and silks! Each day we visit with our horses, sheep, pigs, donkey, goats, miniature-llama, chickens, ducks and bunnies.

What is your daily schedule?

We start each day outdoors. If the needs of the group or inclement weather warrants an indoor start, the rhythm may be shifted.

8:45-9:00 Greeting and receiving children (outdoor playground play and parent goodbyes).
9:00- 10:00 Outside play, animal care and nature walk
10:00-10:15 Seasonal circle, transition, go to the bathroom, hand washing, snack, clear away, “wooly” rest

10:45- 11:00 Puppet show/story time
11:00-12:15 Outdoor play, and seasonal activity, outdoor cleanup

12:15-12:30 Transition for snack, bathroom, hand washing, lunch
12:45 Pick up time

Free Play develops the child’s imagination and creativity, this forms the foundation for reading comprehension and learning abstract concepts. Through play children engage in compromises and negotiations, “trying on” different roles that help teach flexibility, adaptability and creativity. The amount and richness of children’s play has been directly linked to future executive functioning and the ability to self-regulate, which is absolutely essential to future success in life.
Tidy-Up and setting up for snack engage the child’s brain in pre-mathematical concepts such as ordering, sorting and one-to-one correspondence.
Practical Activities such as hand crafts, and feeding and caring for the animals are artfully modeled by the teachers with intention and joy, this fosters collaboration, empathy and mindfulness. In baking math skills are learned as we measure, use fractions (diving the apple into 8 pieces etc.) and count.
Circle Time with rhythmic movement and song helps build coordination, vocabulary, language skills, body awareness and develops gross and fine motor skills.
Story Time artfully created stories told from the heart and presented visually through handmade table puppets, develop listening comprehension, imagination and strengthen the capacity for memory and empathy.
Social and Emotional Development is embodied through creative play and collaborative projects. Empathy, social inclusion, sharing and kindness are modeled and practiced in all that we do.

What is your yearly schedule?

School Calendar

Summer hours are offered as individual "camp" Mon - Fri weeks.

Does my child need to be potty trained first?

Children entering the PK3's class need to be potty trained.

Do you provide lunch?

Children bring their own lunches and snacks from home.

Parent Testimonials...

"We found Sun Star Farm School while doing a web search for caring, nurturing and play based environments for small children in the Triangle NC area. Having come from a 'Waldorf' background with two parents who have been lifelong Waldorf educators and consultants to the pedagogical movement worldwide (US, Russia, UK and China) we were naturally intrigued by this new 'Waldorf Inspired' group in Apex. After contacting the very gregarious founder of the program Mrs. Heidi, we went to our first complimentary Morning Garden session with our then 16 month old child in early March 2013. My son was so taken by the atmosphere and environment both indoor and out, that we immediately decided this was the social program for him. Combining outdoor activities, such as an engaging playground, walks in nature and interacting with the wonderful animals hygienically kept on a portion of the property, with indoor craft making, storytelling, homemade snack preparation and an incredibly well thought out and equipped play area with all natural toys, we felt right at home, welcomed and privileged to be a part of this growing group of parents and children. It is just the right mix of rhythmical activity and social interaction for our son, set on a spacious yet very secure rural campus and he immediately lights up when we arrive on our scheduled day each week. Currently our son just completed the one day per week Spring 2013 Morning Garden session appropriate to his age, and we look forward to the next year when he is a bit older and can begin spending more time with the other children his age, learning, growing and budding in this truly supportive, nurturing and enriching environment, set on an idyllic residential-rural/hobby farm. From our time spent thus far onsite, I cannot recommend this place enough and it seems equally appropriate for those who are new and interested in Waldorf inspired childhood development methods, or those who prefer any kind of age appropriate and natural social development for their children, as the founders are very well travelled and knowledgeable caregivers in many areas, both traditional and so-called 'alternative' culturally/humanitarianly sensitive methods."

- M. Young

We could not say enough good things about Sun Star Farm. We absolutely love it! Heidi and her fellow teachers are nurturing, caring, kind and thoughtful and it shows in everything they do with the children. We have had wonderful experiences in both the preschool and the summer camp programs. We feel so loved and cared for, whether it be their daily rhythm, seasonal stories and crafts, or community festivals. The focus on outdoor play and on learning social skills has really helped our 4 year old. She learns kindness through taking care of the animals, and she learns how to respect and work as a team with her peers by playing with them in nature. She has developed a beautiful imagination, a strong sense of self, and her social skills are blossoming. When we pick her up she doesn’t want to leave, and every morning she’s excited to go to school. What more could we ask for? We tried out Montessori preschool before joining the Sun Star family and we have found the Waldorf / Reggio Emilia philosophy to be so much more in line with what we want for our children. We needed more guidance and rhythm than Montessori provided us, and we wanted more creative play to inspire our daughter’s imagination.

- C. Huchan

When my kids come home from Sun Star Farm, boots full of sand, I hear about the great adventures that took place that day. Sliding down mud banks into the creek. Building houses for the fairies and the gnomes. Treks around the Christmas Tree Farm where they rolled down the hill. Last week they even watched a hedgehog take a bath. I think "this is why we go to Sunstar Farm. Of course there are many other reasons...
It is a child's idyllic place, set in beautiful open countryside, with tree forts, swings, and animals to care for. A place of adventure where their young imaginations flourish. Where if you are lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a fairy or at least find a special jewel they left behind.
Miss Heidi and her wonderful teachers support and guide the children as they play. Helping them to cooperate, negotiate and overcome obstacles. All important stuff. The children listen to stories about animals and nature...and play with wild abandon. What magical memories are being made. This is why we go to Sun Star Farm!

- J. Malloy

Sun Star Farm School

WHERE CHILDREN GROW AT THEIR OWN PACE...