Welcome to The Rose Garden School

We are an early childhood program for children ages 2 to 5. Our home-based environment is rooted in the principals and practices of Lifeways/Waldorf which use home as the model and life as the curriculum for young children. We provide a comfortable, safe and secure environment where children can play, engage in artistic activity and explore the living world of nature.

We are conveniently located in southwest Vista near Oceanside and Carlsbad, easily accessible from most of North County San Diego.

Our caregivers are sincere, warm and inspirational. Our experience and training include Waldorf/Lifeways and Montessori early childhood education. We dedicate ourselves to living with meaning, purpose and integrity. Our work is to lay a foundation where children can experience joy in life and purpose in living.

Curriculum

In early childhood, daily life experience is the “curriculum”. The child’s relationships with their caregivers and the environment are two of the most important ways that they can experience healthy life rhythms and routines.

Through the practice of the Living Arts, we foster the healthy development of the young child. These include the Creative Arts, Domestic Arts, Nurturing Arts and Social Arts.

Creative Arts: The children engage in imaginative play, exploring nature, nursery rhymes, crafts, singing, story-telling and puppetry.

Domestic Arts: The children help wash dishes, sweep, tend the community garden etc. Their caregivers engage in meaningful and practical activities throughout the course of the day with devotion, a sense of purpose, focus and creativity and the children are free to participate in these meaningful activities.

Nurturing Arts: The children are nourished with wholesome food and regular meal times, lavender foot rubs at rest time, hair brushing, lap time and stories that are nourishing and healing. The caregivers strive to create a mood of gratitude, reverence and wonder in the environment.

Social Arts: Our mixed age program offers children the opportunity to learn in a ‘family style’ setting. Our younger children look up to the older children and they look forward to acquiring the skills and abilities they have developed. They are often drawn into the older children’s collaborative play, becoming a little puppy, kitten, baby animal or a member of the family. The older children develop the necessary leadership, care and nurturing skills needed to work with the younger children.

As a community, we celebrate yearly festivals in the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

Programs

Toddlers and Pre-schoolers

Our outdoor space is set up with a variety of play environments where the children can safely climb, swing, run, jump, build forts and play in the sandbox/mud kitchen. The children are given plenty of space to explore movement and the development of balance.

Our garden is abundant with fruit trees and garden boxes where the children help plant, water and care for the plants that we eat fresh from our seasonal garden! Composting with the children promotes hands on learning opportunities and love for nature and the environment.

Children participate in preparing the food that we eat. We enjoy baking bread, making home-made tortillas, soups, muffins etc. Our food is wholesome and delicious!

Our beautiful indoor environment is set up with naturally crafted toys; play kitchen, wooden play stands for fort building, handcrafted dolls, building blocks, puzzles, games and space for crafting.

Rhythm and Routine

Children thrive in an environment that offers the security and predictability of a strong, balanced rhythm. Healthy rhythms help us breath and help our days go more smoothly and joyfully. Children know what to expect rather than question what is happening next. Within the form of our rhythm is the freedom for the children to create, play and explore. In addition to our daily rhythm, we bring rhythm to our week; painting on Monday, bread making on Tuesday… and to our year when we celebrate the changing of the seasons and family festivals in Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

Song and Music

We celebrate life through song! We sing through the day as we work and play. Song is a wonderful way to transition from activity to activity and it brings the children great joy! At nap/rest time, we play the kinder-harp which helps the children relax before resting or going to sleep.

Crafts

We enjoy crafting at the Rose Garden; coloring with beautiful crayons, water color painting, modeling with wax and the lovely crafts that come from nature; leaves, flowers, sticks, stones, are all natural elements that we use to create unique works of art. The children enjoy the crafts associated with preparing for festivals and the change of the seasons.

Articulation/Language

Nursery Rhymes, Fairy Tales, Songs, Finger-Plays and Circle Games are all ways that we incorporate the rich use of language and movement. The Finger and Foot games are sung and played each day and help to develop motor skills.

Toilet Training

Toilet training is paced according to the individual child. It generally begins around two years of age. Caregivers and parents work together to create compatible routines.

Gallery