A Warm Welcome to Little Lambs Early Care Center Families and Staff

Orchard Valley Waldorf School opened the doors to its new childcare center in Montpelier in September 2016, and the wonderful staff have made this a warm and charming place for the littlest members of our school family.

Located at 203 Country Club Road in a private spot of f Rt. 2, Little Lambs was designed to help meet the growing childcare needs in central Vermont. The location was custom-designed to our specifications and is filled with sweet toddler-size furniture and Waldorf-inspired quality wooden and cloth toys.

This is a new adventure for Orchard Valley, bridging a Waldorf gap between our parent-child program and our Apple Blossom program at the Child's Garden for 2 1/2-year-olds, as it meets the childcare needs of working parents. Currently, 24 children ages three months to three years spend between two and five days a week with us, for the morning or a full day.

There are three groups of children, divided by age and development; the Rosebud room is for the youngest children, the Sweet Pea room is for ages one to two, and the Dandelion Room is for ages two and up. As you might imagine, the Dandelion Room is very active, with much climbing, running, imaginative play and talking going on! The toddlers in Sweet Pea and Dandelion go outside nearly every day; the children in Rosebud are brought outside as napping and bottling schedules allow. 

With our experienced and loving caregivers, the children can begin to test their new sense of self in an environment designed to nurture and support their continued unfolding. Our daily rhythm provides a balance between active times and rest times, nourishing each child's sense of health and well-being. The daily rhythm includes creative free play inside and out, practical work (such as baking, cleaning and folding laundry for older children), wholesome organic snacks, storytelling and singing! The activities in our early childhood classrooms flow with a sense of "breathing in" to "breathing out," from the quiet moments of a story to the active moments of outside play, nature walks, and sledding and snowman-building in the snow. 

The infants in Rosebud experience the rhythms during awake times with free play and true respect for their own development with plenty of floor time on tummyand back. The littlest watch the more mobile crawlers and cruisers, reaching out for toys and companionship while strengthening little bodies-rolling over and learning to creep and crawl. The warmth and caring arms of our teachers and assistants work steadily to dry tears when they come and bring smiles and laughter.

The Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce will hold a formal Ribbon Cutting at Little Lambs Early Care Center later this winter. We'll keep you posted!