Clarkston’s Acorn KinderHouse ended the 2019-20 school year with a special ceremony created by and celebrated in Waldorf Schools around the world.
This annual event marks the transition of the Pre-K children ending their time at the KinderHouse and moving to Kindergarten.
The children and parents gathered outside, socially distanced, with the faculty and staff of the KinderHouse to plant and dedicate the inaugural class oak tree on the main playground.
Then, the families followed the children to the woods where they shared poems and rhymes. Lead Teacher Abigail Lee-Wright told a beautiful story of children crossing the Rainbow Bridge.
At the conclusion of the story, those children moving on to Kindergarten were called by name to come forward to go over the Rainbow Bridge.
Each child was given a gift with things to take with them on their journey, including a star stone, a tool for writing, and an acorn for remembering their friends and teachers at the KinderHouse.
Finally, they donned a golden cloak for protection and courage.
The teacher and faculty sent each student across the Rainbow Bridge from the land of “imagination and play” to the land of “letters and numbers” that signifies the next stage in their educational development.
The Acorn KinderHouse, located at 5300 Maybee Road, utilizes a Waldorf curriculum and approach to children in early childhood which includes Preschool, “Golden Acorns” (Junior Kindergarten/Young Fives), Infant and Mama, Parent and Child, and adult education and enrichment classes.
The intentionally small class size of the mixed age Preschool and the “Golden Acorns” classes meet predominantly outside (weather permitting) and provide daily one-on-one time with the teacher.
Waldorf Education, developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1919, is based on an understanding of human development that addresses the needs of the growing child.
Waldorf teachers strive to transform education into an art that educates the whole child – the heart and the hands, as well as the head.
With more than 100 years of experience and over 1,000 schools worldwide, Waldorf Education is one of the world’s leading educational movements.
Acorn KinderHouse is non-sectarian.
For more information or to register a child, contact Acorn KinderHouse by email at acornkinderhouse@gmail.com or by calling 248-310-1059.

— Abigail Lee-Wright