Ragamuffins
• The Ragamuffin class consists of 8 or 9 children, and is designed for ages 3 through 5. Each class is a bit different in age and gender makeup.
• The Ragamuffin schedule is Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9:15 am - 12: 45 pm. We start in September and end in early June. There are approximately 100 days of school each year.
Scallywags
• The Scallywag class is smaller and is designed for ages 3 through 5.
• The Scallywags meet on Thursdays and Fridays, 9:15 am - 12: 45 pm. There are approximately 65 days of school.
The Ragamuffins began in 1997, when Betsy Weill was crowned "Queen of the Ragamuffins". Betsy has a WA State Teaching Credential and a Waldorf Education Certificate. Previous to her royal crowning, she was a grade school teacher for 8 years at the Seattle Waldorf School. Betsy is a faculty member at the Sound Circle Center, an institute for Waldorf Teacher Training and adult eduction. When she takes off her crown, she becomes the humble mother of Prince Ezra and Princess Una. Her husband, Tim Bennett, is a Kindergarten teacher at the Seattle Waldorf School and a teacher of circus arts.
Please call the Queen at (206) 527-1949 for further information or to set up a visit to the Ragamuffin Kingdom.
The Ragamuffin preschool is a perfect place for families who wish to nurture a love of nature in their children. We start everyday with a one-block walk to Licton Springs Park, where we frolic (rain or shine) amongst trees, pond, creek, water, mud, dirt, ducks and squirrels. We run, jump, swing, spin, slide and climb at the playground. We travel past the natural springs, roll down Ragamuffin mountain and make our way back to school.
After our hour-and-a-half sojourn, we arrive home to eat a snack of rice, oatmeal or homemade bread. Re-enlivened, the children play inside with wood, dolls, rocks, shells, cloths and playstands. These objects call upon the creative imagination of the children, as well as their social capacities, which are just beginning to unfold. Bakeries, campfires, train rides and sailing adventures arise and dissolve as the children imitate and elaborate their life experiences in their play fantasies. Weekly activities include drawing, bread baking and cleaning with soapy sponges - each accompanied by a song. Other seasonal activities are brought throughout the year.
We begin clean-up a bit after noon time. When things are tidied away, we have a circle time of songs, verses, movement and games. This is followed by storytime, in which I tell a story, show a puppet play or have the children act out the story we have heard. After this full day, we settle down to lunchtime until the parents arrive to take their dear ones home.
