Hogwarts + Liberal Expats = Dream School

Today, we found the little one's future school.  For us, that is no small accomplishment: even back in Portland we had already been devoting some serious brain time to deciding on the best educational pathway for the kid(s) (Public? Private? Montessori? Charter school? French International School? Magnet school for the arts or the environment?).  Once we got to France, our choices at first glance appeared to be limited to the traditional public school system, which is free of charge from kindergarten through university.  Kids typically start attending kindergarten (maternelle) at the age of 3.  Kindergarten lasts 3 years, after which students move on to primary school, then collège, then lycée (pretty much the equivalent of elementary, middle and high school in the US).  There is no school on Wednesdays: instead, students spend the day playing sports or doing other extracurricular activities.  The French school system has a reputation for being relatively rigid, and there appears to be a pretty heavy homework burden starting in some of the younger grades.  Neither L nor I was totally sold on this system, but we were not aware of many alternatives...

Until now.

These are two of the many buildings and open spaces that make up the incredible Steiner-Waldorf school in Verrières-le-Buisson, just 5 km away from us.  Upon the recommendation of our midwife, we checked out the open house this afternoon and were totally sold on the school from the moment we set foot on the property.  We foolishly forgot to bring our camera, so L snapped some quick photos on our super crappy cell phone camera.  I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos, but hopefully you will get the picture!

The school is a Waldorf school and is home to multiple expat families from all over.  They have a sheep on the property, as well as chickens, a woodworking shed, a freaking blacksmith shed (yes, kids learn to forge), as well as pottery, sculpture, foreign languages, and an incredible campus made up of multiple buildings and surrounded by nature.  The kindergarten classes (4 of them) each have 20-25 kids from the ages of 3-6, who share a common class and learn through arts, play, and interaction with the world around them. These are some photos of one of the kindergarten classrooms:

Notice anything crazy?  ... NO PLASTIC!!!  Students arrive at 8:40, and school ends at 3:30.  Students collectively eat lunch in the classroom, that is equipped with its own kitchen.  Even the 3 year olds help set the table, shake out the napkins, rinse plates, and compost the leftovers.

After lunch, the kids get to take naps at school in TRIPLE BUNK BEDS!  Aaaaah!  So cute, I almost died.  The photo is too dark to really see, but each little bunk has its own stuffed animal peeking out from under a soft comforter.  Kids spend a couple of hours snoozing in the afternoon before being allowed to wake up at their own rhythm.

Each kindergarten class also has its own garden play area.

We seriously got giddy walking around the campus.  I don't think we could have dreamed up such a magical school.  There are enormous stone mansions (seriously, think Hogwarts), contrasted with eco-friendly smaller structures and green spaces, and the whole campus just oozes with this awesome hippie commune vibe.  There are tons of international parents (English ones, too!) and maybe, just maybe, if we are really lucky, another gay or lesbian family.  No teacher or parent that I spoke to could think of anyone at the school with same-sex parents, but that response was also usually followed up by "but there's really no reason there shouldn't be!"

So there is a sliver of hope that we can finally connect with some like-minded souls here.  I know that both L and I feel like our own souls were nourished in the 2 hours we spent on campus - imagine the effect of YEARS in such an amazing environment. 

- E