Admissions

Come join our circle.

We are starting small, the way a garden does — and there is room for only a few.

We are opening with one joyful day together each week and one festival to celebrate each turning month. This is a place to brighten your family’s days and enrich the learning you already do at home; it is never meant to replace the beautiful work you are doing. You are, and always will be, the heart and the first teacher of your child’s life.

How families begin

Four steps, at a gentle pace.

Say hello

Read our family guidelines, then send us your application below. Tell us about your children and what you are hoping for.

Let’s talk

A warm phone or video chat, so we can get to know one another and share what matters most to us both.

Come visit

Spend a two-week visit with us when there is room, and see how it feels for your family before anything is settled.

Settle in

We will be in touch, and if it feels right for us both, you will settle in within the week.

What we ask

What we ask of families.

This is a co-op, so the garden is only as warm as the families in it. None of what follows is a rulebook — it is simply what makes the day work.

Come, and keep coming. The rhythm is what the children rely on.
Take your turn. Parents help with the day and bring food to the shared table.
Keep the days screen-free. No screens or store-bought characters while we are together.
Dress for the weather. We go out in nearly all of it.
Come to the festivals. They are the heart of the year, and they need families in them.

Co-leaders

Help me hold the circle.

A garden grows best with more than one pair of hands in it. As we begin, I am looking for one or two co-leaders — mothers who feel called to help carry this co-op alongside me, so that the rhythm stays steady whatever a season may bring.

Plan and organize together. Help shape the seasonal calendar, the weekly gatherings, and the festivals.
Tend the small things. Share the admin — messages to families, RSVPs, supplies, and the quiet work that lets a day unfold smoothly.
Be a steady second. If I am ill or away, you would hold the circle so the children’s day goes on just as they expect it to.
Come every week, as much as life allows. The children rely on familiar faces, and on a co-leader’s most of all.

In gratitude for your help in leading, co-leaders pay no dues. Your family takes part in everything — the weekly gatherings, the festivals, the shared table — as a full member of the circle.

If you’re feeling the call, please fill out the application below and tell us more about yourself and that you would like to be considered as a co-leader. Thank you and I look forward to speaking with you!

Apply as a Co-Leader

Dues

What it costs.

Dues are set each season to cover materials, the space, and the shared table — nothing more. We keep them as low as we honestly can, and we will share the current figure when we talk.

If cost is the only thing standing between your family and this circle, please say so when you write. We would rather have that conversation than lose you to it.

The application

Tell us about your family.

Take your time with it. We read every word, and it is the beginning of the conversation rather than a test to pass.

Enrollment Application

First Name

Last Name

Phone

Tell us about your child(ren) — their ages and what lights them up.

What do you hope to find in a Waldorf-inspired community?

What is your experience with storytelling, nature, the arts, handwork, movement, cooking, or practical work — and with Waldorf education? (Beginners are warmly welcome.)

Once you’re settled, what class, subject, or responsibility could you imagine helping to carry?

Our co-op is parent-participation. Can you stay and remain responsible for your own children throughout each gathering?

Yes

Are you able to travel to gathering spots around Mobile and take part in our monthly festivals?

Yes

Have you read our guidelines? Are there any questions you’d like to discuss?

What days and times work best for a phone or Zoom conversation?

Consent

I understand this is an application, not enrollment, and that admitted families are invited to complete enrollment and sign a participation waiver.

Questions families ask

Before you write to us.

What ages do you take?

Two circles: ages three to four, and ages five to eight. A group for ages nine to fourteen will come along in a later season.

Is this a school?

No. Sunflower Story Garden is a parent-participation co-op that gathers one day a week, and it is not a private school or a full-time program. We do not hand you a grade-level curriculum, and we are not a substitute for the homeschooling you do at home.

How is this different from a drop-off program?

Families are part of the day. Parents take turns helping, bring food to the shared table, and join us for festivals. The community is the point.

Do we need to be a Waldorf family already?

Not at all. Many families arrive curious rather than committed. What matters is that the rhythm, the screen-free days, and the time outdoors sound like something you want for your children.

What does it cost?

Dues are set each season to cover materials, space, and the shared table, and we keep them as low as we honestly can. We will share the current figure when we talk — and if cost is the only thing standing in the way, say so.

What if we can only come sometimes?

The rhythm is the thing that makes it work, so we ask families to commit to the day. If your season is too full for that right now, that is a good and honest reason to wait.

What about the weather?

We go out in nearly all of it. Send boots and a rain jacket, and it stops being a problem very quickly.

Still deciding?

Write to us anyway. A conversation costs nothing, and it is the best way to know.

Come Join Our Circle