Celebrating Academic Excellence

Mountain Oak School opened its doors on August 21st, 1999. A group of dedicated parents and community members had an educational vision of a Waldorf-methods charter school for Prescott. Waldorf, the fastest-growing independent school movement in the world, operates under the philosophy that in order to develop critical thinking, a child needs an active and creative imagination. Our focus is on educating the wholechild—head, heart and hands. Movement, handwork, music and Spanish language classes are an integral part of the student's daily curriculum. icon

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Gardening at Mountain Oak School

SR-garden_girlradishes Mountain Oak School continues to have a thriving gardening program at our new location on Willow Creek Road. Since 1999 Mountain Oak School has had a variety of fruitful gardens.

In 2007, the school used an early childhood block grant to develop a garden, which was used for unstructured nature play and curriculum gardening. A wishing well, an octagonal playhouse, and small wooden bridge were placed side by side with vegetable and flower gardens at our former Virginia Street location. There were stonewalls made by a parent as well as tree-shaded areas for children to imagine the magical world around them.

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Most recently this past year in 2011, the entire community of Mountain Oak School came together and created a school garden at Burnin' Daylight Farm in Chino Valley. Beginning in March on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons parents and children gathered to work in a beautiful space where children enjoyed being outside, planting seeds, playing in the garden and singing songs together. Under the care and guidance of farmers Carol Bigham and Sunshine Reilly the children planted peas, radishes, arugula, potatoes, flowers and salad greens. This past fall saw a wonderful harvest of sunflowers in the sunflower house, herbs from the spiral garden, along with tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelon planted by 2010-11 third-grade class taught by Mrs. Craig.

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Mountain Oak School depends on parents to work at the school as volunteers. We encourage every family to put some time in helping out. There is something for everyone to do— everything from picking up trash and stuffing envelopes to being on the Board of Directors. Some work is organized into committees, such as Marketing, Finance, Fundraising, and Buildings and Grounds. Other parents volunteer in the classrooms. Some are class coordinators (class parent). Talk to any Board member, the Office Manager, or the school Principal to volunteer. Throughout the year, expect to hear from your child’s class coordinator about needs throughout the school. Thank you for all you do!

IMPORTANT: Parents, please make sure that you have logged in your volunteer hours in the book located in the front office.

The Parent Assocation is greatly relied upon to staff many of the amazing events, activities and programs that we are able to provide each year.

Fundraising
Volunteering in the classroom
Helping with outdoor site activities
Building projects around the school
Sewing projects
Making crafts for school store and classrooms
Baking
Cleaning and organizing
Traffic/Outdoor safety duty
School Library
School Store
Many more....

One of the best ways to volunteer is to come to a MOS Parent Association Meeting

Parent participation is necessary to insure that various aspects of the school curriculum, such as handwork, gardening, cooking, and woodworking, are carried out successfully. Parent participation is necessary in order to envision, develop and maintain a naturally beautiful environment for the children, inside and outside the classroom.

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Ways You Can Support Your Child's Teacher

Learn about and embrace the principles of Waldorf education. We grow stronger as a community when we are working together and informed. The more we know about Waldorf methods, the better equipped we will be to support the education we’ve chosen for our children.
Communicate with teachers regularly, both with your concerns and your positive comments about what your child is learning. Teachers want and need to hear from parents about how various aspects of the curriculum unfold within each child. If you have particular concerns, voice them early. If you notice specific changes, positive or negative, in your child at home, make these known to the teacher.
Create a home environment that supports the teachers’ work. Encourage children to play imaginatively, and avoid relying on television to passively learn or entertain. Visual images on television and in films can interfere with a child’s imaginative capacities and contribute to disruptive behavior. Limiting and eliminating television, on the other hand, has no adverse affects.
Make sure children arrive on time and properly dressed for the weather. Unless the weather is dangerously wet or cold, children will play outside everyday, rain, snow, or shine. In addition to appropriate clothing layers, some class teachers ask that students have an indoor pair of soft-soled shoes to wear when inside the classroom. Please avoid open-backed shoes, which limit mobility.
Volunteer to assist with special activities such as class field trips, plays and fundraisers. There are several ways to learn about volunteer opportunities at the school: ask your classroom teacher, check the ‘Tuesday’ and bulletin board, or visit the website for project ideas. Don’t wait for someone to contact you. Ask the office staff or teachers what you can do to help. And, be sure to record your hours in the volunteer log in the front office.
Help with classroom projects such as painting, decorating, cleaning, and moving. We save money on cleaning, painting, general repairs, and other classroom maintenance by tapping into the talents of our parent body. Parents do things well, and this contributes to the safety and beauty of our classrooms and campus. Working in this way also contributes toward the required volunteer hours.

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