Kindergarten Teacher
Ms. Melissa McPartland joined CLWS in 2003. She has served as music teacher, kindergarten assistant, and lead preschool teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Saint Olaf College, a Master of Music from Boston University, and a Waldorf early childhood teaching certificate from Rudolf Steiner College. Read more about Melissa McPartland’s adventures in Cambridge, England, her love of the clarinet, and her respect for the brilliant simplicity of Waldorf education, on our blog.
Your kindergartner is building the capacity for creative thinking, problem solving and learning. Play is an essential part of this process.
Our classrooms offer a nurturing environment for discovery and learning. Whether inventing games of make-believe or splashing in puddles at Fair Oaks Park, we engage your preschooler’s senses and emotions. This gentle introduction lays the groundwork for learning in the grades.
During outdoor play, children are encouraged to run, skip, jump rope and balance in order to develop physical coordination. Inside, modeling with beeswax, helping to prepare food and finger knitting and painting, all help children develop the fine motor skills needed for reading and writing.
Teachers lead games, verses, songs, and folk stories. The children build a rich vocabulary, strengthen memory, practice comprehension and phonics – all invaluable skills for reading later on. They build the ability to listen with attention and focus because their natural curiosity is engaged.