My family was fortunate enough to learn about the Waldorf School at Moraine Farm when our daughter, Madeleine (now 6), was a baby. At that time, a friend enthusiastically recommended that we sign up for a Parent & Child session. Although the commute from our Marblehead home to the school’s location in Beverly was slightly daunting, experiencing the magic of that first class quickly turned our attention to learning as much as we could about the Waldorf philosophy and the rest is history. After two years in the delightful Parent & Child program and two years in a warm and nurturing Nursery program, our daughter is now a curious and thriving second year Kindergartener in a class full of imaginative and often hilarious children.
When we moved to the North Shore from Cambridge, we were initially without a community. For us, the Waldorf School at Moraine Farm became our community. We found empathetic parents and teachers who cared for our child as they would their own. We watched our daughter become engaged and fascinated with nature as she explored how far she could dig, how high she could climb, and how much of one enormous puddle she could come home with on her person. We watched her compassion and empathy blossom, which has been priceless. We witnessed her commence her first true friendship with fearless confidence and were equally impressed as she navigated playground conflict resolution. We basked in the glow of a child who went to school and felt safe, encouraged, and loved. We watched her simply be. No desks, no rote memorization, no pressure to perform childhood.
This past year, we began the journey again with our son, Henry, who will turn 2 in just a couple of months. Our wish for him is that he is able to create his own adventure, just like his big sister. We truly believe Madeleine’s experience at the Waldorf School at Moraine Farm is distinct and unique and could not have been realized anywhere else.
All of this is why we give.
Hayley and Ryan Beaudoin