A Waldorf-inspired preschool for ages 3 to 5
Birch Lantern School is a small Waldorf-inspired preschool in Nashville, Indiana. Mornings begin at a low table with a lantern, and the days follow a rhythm children can feel before they can name it.
The rhythm of the year
The room changes with the weather and the calendar: a nature table, a festival, a song that comes back every year.
Leaves, apples and the first soup of the year. The season ends with a lantern walk at dusk, with families.
Wool, stones and the shortest days. The room gets a winter spiral of evergreen boughs, and the week keeps its baking day.
Seeds, herbs and wet watercolors. The children plant the patio pots, and May ends with a flower garland and a circle dance.
Outdoor easels, long mornings in the yard and a picnic to close the year. The school closes for July and August.
Programs
3-year-olds
Each group has a lead teacher and an assistant
4-year-olds
The oldest children in each group
Each group mixes ages 3 to 5, so a child usually stays with the same two teachers for the whole time at Birch. Five-year-olds are counted with the four-year-olds.
Sample programs.
Dates
Tours begin in the fall, applications open in the new year, and the festivals mark the seasons.
Early September · New children start with a short visit beside a parent.
October to April · A tour takes about an hour on a weekday morning, while the room is at work.
November · Families walk together at dusk with paper lanterns the children made.
December · A spiral of evergreen boughs and stones, walked slowly in the quiet room.
January · The form is on our enrollment page and takes a few minutes.
March · By email and a phone call, with a place or a spot on the waitlist.
May · A flower garland, a circle dance and a picnic in the yard.
July and August · The school closes for the summer. Other closures are shared at the start of the year.
Sample dates.
Safety and license
Licensed by FSSA, Office of Early Childhood
Child care center license · IN License # 000000Verify
1 adult to 10 children
3-year-olds
Group size: 20
1 adult to 12 children
4-year-olds
Group size: 20
Group size
Up to 20 children
with 2 adults
Capacity
40
Ages 3 years to 5 years
A teacher greets every child at the door and signs them in. At pickup a child goes only with the people on your list, and we ask for ID at the door until we know you.
The lantern on the morning table is lit and put out by a teacher, and it stays well out of the children's reach. No flame is used anywhere else in the school.
Tell us about allergies at the tour; we ask privately once you enroll. We ask families not to send nuts, and snack is made with the children each morning.
A child with a fever or a contagious illness stays home. If a child becomes ill at school, we call you right away and a teacher stays close until you arrive.
We practice fire and severe weather drills, and we count heads every time the group moves between the room, the yard and the garden.
Two adults go out with every group. Children stay inside the fenced yard, and we bring everyone in when the weather turns.
Ask us about child care assistance
Sample details.
The team
Six adults work at Birch: two lead teachers, two assistants, an afternoon teacher and a school administrator. Joan, the director, is one of the lead teachers, and Pascal, who also teaches handwork, is the other.
Director and lead teacher
Joan leads the school and one of the two groups. She tells the morning story from memory, she is at the door most mornings, and she is the person to ask about a tour.
Lead teacher and handwork guide
Pascal leads the second group and teaches handwork on Wednesdays: wool, simple sewing and felt. He keeps a basket of silks by the door for the youngest children.
Questions
Birch is for children ages 3 to 5, in two mixed-age groups. The morning programs run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the full day ends at 3:00 p.m. Afternoon care is available for families who need it.
Tours run on weekday mornings from October to April, while the room is at work. A tour takes about an hour. You see the room and the yard, meet a teacher, and ask anything you like. Children are welcome to come along.
It is a description of how we work, and nothing more. Our days follow a steady rhythm, the room is made of wood, wool and cotton, and the year turns with the seasons. The approach page shows what that looks like in a week.
Each weekday has its own work: painting, handwork, baking, the garden and a long story. Children can tell what comes next by the smell of the room and the song we sing, and that makes the mornings calm. Circle time, snack and outdoor time keep their place every day.
There are no screens in the rooms, and we ask families to keep phones away at drop-off and pickup. We would rather the children's mornings be filled with their own hands, voices and play.
The schedule you pick and the days a week. We do not print tuition on this site; the figures are on our enrollment page, and we go through them on a tour. How tuition works has the detail.
Tours run on weekday mornings from October to April. Book one, or call the school and we will find a time that works.