Director and Lead Teacher of Evergreen Garden Playschool, Sarah Arnold, with nature table, a fixture in every classroom with bulbs planted by children and framed by felted artwork.

By Samantha Bridgman

Happy Birthday to the Evergreen Garden Playschool in Devens! 2012 is the tenth anniversary of this amazing playschool, dedicated to nurturing children at the most formative period of life.

    Evergreen Garden, located at 270 Barnum Road in Devens, was first founded in Harvard. In 2009, increased enrollment prompted the search for a new home.

    “We were looking for something in the area that was spacious enough to meet childcare regulations but was also still accessible to existing families in Stow, Harvard, and Littleton,” said Director and Lead Teacher, Sarah Arnold.

    Arnold said the Barnum Road location was a perfect fit. The United States Army built the present Playschool building in the mid 1980’s as a daycare for children on the then active military base.

    “It’s a really beautiful building, a large open space… We are accessible to more towns now at our new location. We would love to have new families from Lunenburg, Groton, etc,” said Arnold.

    Teachers put care and attention into the design of Evergreen Playschool.

    “The materials, the colors, the teachers are warm,” said Arnold about Evergreen’s unique indoor environment. “When you surround [children] with beauty, it works on them internally.”

    Evergreen’s four classrooms resemble home settings. Unlike a typical public school classroom, an Evergreen room includes a kitchen area, play area and communal area. There are braided area rugs and the walls are painted with soft pinks and oranges, exuding a warm, calming ambience. Handmade felted artworks on walls represent night and day as well as the four seasons. All tables, chairs, play apparatus and toys are made from natural materials, wood or cloth and fiber.

    The playschool, licensed by the Department of Early Education and  Care, follows the Waldorf/Steiner education model, and values characteristics of vitality and exuberance over accelerated learning.

    Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf schools, said, “The work of the imagination shapes and builds the forms of the brain.”
    A day at playschool consists of free play, an art project, a rest period and circle, snack and outdoor times. Importance of play is stressed at Evergreen as it is in other Waldorf schools. Arnold explained that play engages the children completely: emotionally, physically, and mentally.

    “As a Waldorf school, we want to create a nurturing environment where children feel safe to play and grow,” said Arnold.

    Arnold, a native of Washington D.C. first learned encountered the Waldorf philosophy when she was studying for her masters in elementary education. It wasn’t until she was a mother, frustrated with her own son’s experience in preschool that she took a friend’s advice and enrolled him in a Waldorf school.

    “We were one of the founding families of the Evergreen Garden School,” said Arnold who has lived with her family in Harvard for 11 year. Arnold attended Sunbridge College and received her masters in Waldorf education.

    “I have so much fun doing what I do… like the other teachers here, I understand that working with early education, it comes from the heart, not the head,” said Arnold of her role at Evergreen.  

    Teachers at the Evergreen provide natural learning experiences for young children rather than structured academic instruction. Daily activities such as folding laundry, snack preparation and cleanup provide opportunities to learn through exploration, to question naturally and to absorb information.

    Circle time is a relaxed time of the day for small puppet shows, story and song time. Through participation, children memorize songs and poems that mirror the seasons.

    Outdoor all-season playtime is considered a vital part of Waldorf education. Along with increasing mobility, children develop a relationship with the natural world, and appreciation of nature, and a basic understanding of the rhythms of the weather and seasons.

    Evergreen is overseen by a Board of Directors and has three lead teachers, two assistants, and an instructor for a parent/child class at the playschool.

    The classes are named the Pinecones, Balsams and Cedars; respectively 2 years and 9 months (the age a child can be left with a teacher in the classroom) to 3 years, ages 3-5 years, and ages 4-6 years. The parent and child class is for parents with children younger than 2 years and 9 months. Class sizes are around 10 children.

    There is an Open House at the playschool on March 4 from 2 to 4 p.m.. All are welcome to attend.

    For more information call (978) 772-9595.