Waldorf-Inspired Early Childhood Education on San Juan Island
Sweetgrass Preschool offers a warm circle of protection to nourish children and support the slow unfurling of childhood.
We are a Waldorf-inspired, licensed outdoor nature-based early childhood program offering a home-away-from-home for your child and community for your family.
The fabric of our program is woven together through intentional and inspired Waldorf-based education not only for children, but parents and families too. Encouraging curiosity, wonder, and resiliency, Sweetgrass provides nurturing and inspiring spaces for children to learn, play, and explore.
We offer preschool for children ranging from 2.5 years old to pre-kindergarten age for the calendar school year to the San Juan Island community.
Please explore our website to learn more!
“The Waldorf approach encourages a love for lifelong learning, fostering a sense of wonder, curiosity, and a thirst for knowledge that extends far beyond the school years.”
Sweetgrass Preschool honors our Lummi, Samish, S'Klallam and Saanich neighbors, who continue to protect the Earth as their ancestors have done since time immemorial.
We endeavor to uphold the values of our Indigenous neighbors and take actions that would restore balance and harmony to this place. The sweetgrass plant for which the school is named is not endemic to this area, but for us it is a symbol of Indigenous knowledge and wisdom that sees the People and the Earth as one. When sweetgrass is harvested and braided, the three strands may represent past, present and future generations, which are bound together in community, forming a never-ending circle of connection.
“We are all bound by a covenant of mutual care and responsibility, and that giving thanks and returning gifts is essential.”
“The creation of Sweetgrass Preschool has been a barn raising of extraordinary measure. We could not have done it without the commitment of dedicated parents and the incredibly supportive community of San Juan Island. Thank you! ”
– Sweetgrass Founder, Angie Light