Escola Casa da Floresta

description of organisation

Escola Casa da Floresta is a Waldorf kindergarden and school open since more than 16 years located in the forest part of Lisbon. We are a organization with the main goals to contribute for the healthy and harmonious development of the children aged 3-12 years old through education, expanding the Waldorf education as a pedagogy capable of responding to today's educational challenges by UNESCO and contribute for social inclusion by welcoming children from low-income families.

The idea of our Waldorf kindergarden and school started almost 20 years ago, when a group of families and educators joined hands to create a social project, where there was a sharing of ideas, initiatives, where tasks and responsibilities were distributed, in communication, commitment and organization, in order to create a healthy space for children. The project started to be implemented initially with the foudation parents. Between the years 2004-2013, this project grew with the territory, being part of the local initiatives and festivities. During the period 2013 - 2020, the School it received the recognition of Waldorf Curriculum School by the Ministry of Education.

Currently, the kindergarden has a capacity for 41 children aged between 3 and 6 years, divided into two groups, one of which has capacity for 20 children and the other for 21. The groups are heterogeneous and organized in such a way that there is a balance at various levels, namely ages, gender, nationalities, as well as children's temperament. This organization encourages older children to help younger ones and promotes opportunities for the performance of different tasks, providing the youngest children with the possibility of having examples to follow.
In our kindergarden it is given preference to natural and aesthetic materials that privilege the sensory part and develop children's senses. The materials and toys are simple intentionally, thus leaving space for the child's own imagination and fantasy to develop.

The Kindergarden consists of two activity rooms with the respective entrance halls, a multipurpose room, two bathrooms for children and two bathrooms for adults, a desk, kitchen, pantry and outside space. The spaces in the rooms are painted with natural pigments with the appropriate colors for this age group, allowing the children to be surrounded by the emotions of calm and affection that the color transmits.
All materials used by children are natural, made of wood, wool, fabric, iron. The relationship that the child establishes between what lives inside him and the environment that surrounds the child is considered extremely important for child's development.

Our pedagogical work is based on the educational principles expressed by the International Association for Early Childhood Education Steiner / Waldorf (IASWECE). Therefore, our regular activities include:
- welcoming with loving interest and acceptance each child into our kindergarden
- promoting of opportunities for playing, initiated with simple materials, as an essential activity for the child's development;
- preparing the kindergarden spaces and environment in order to offer limits, structure and protection, as well as the possibility of risks and challenges for children;
- encouraging the children's healthy development of imagination and creativity through activities such as short stories, music, drawing, painting, modeling;
- promoting useful and meaningful activities for the children, such as cooking, gardening, sewing, carpentry, as these provide opportunities to experience complete processes and not just parts;
- making of toys and equipment, in collaboration with parents, friends and with the kindergarten educators and employees (the construction of the toy in a cooperative way is part of the kindergarten experience);
- celebration of festivities, aimed at experiencing constant rhythms throughout the day, week and year, promoting security and a sense of inter-relationship with nature, culture and community;
- organization and participation in events aimed at staff' self-development, skills improvement, in collaboration with partner organizations;
- staff meetings for monitoring, sharing and reporting on children's progresses and dynamics.

The primary school has 6 grades with the capacity of 20 children per group.