Our Team

Latha Madhusudhan, the founder of Prakriti Waldorf Kindergarten, has a varied educational background holding degrees in B.Ed, and M.Sc in Psychology. Latha started her career as a Montessori teacher having obtained a Diploma in Montessori Education from the London Montessori centre. She has put in thirty years of fruitful work in the field of Early Childhood Education and in Primary school education.She has a wide variety of experience, both Indian and international, as a Teacher, Teacher-trainer and Academic specialist. After getting introduced to Waldorf Education she found her anchor in Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy.This wealth of knowledge and experience resulted in 2009 in her founding Prakriti, a niche kindergarten in a quiet, yet centrally located neighbourhood, providing a one-of-a-kind experience to both children and their parents in a uniquely designed and constructed environment.

Leena Gokhaleis ,an experienced early childhood educator who has been with Prakriti since its inception. Leena has done her Masters in Chemistry, has completed a course in Early Childhood Education from Portland Community College, USA. She has over 17 years of experience in teaching. Leena also has a diploma in Early Childhood Education from Eurokids Teacher Training Institute. Her search for an ‘alternative’ and child friendly method of education led her to Prakriti, where she trained in the Steiner Philosophy under the guidance of Mrs. Latha and other visiting Mentors. She continues since the last 9 years, as a committed Teacher and in-house trainer at Prakriti.

Radhika Raju,having completed B.E. in Information Science, joined the IT Industry as Support Engineer for 8 years. This never satisfied her yearning to work with children and being involved in creative work. She saw how her young niece, who joined Prakriti, A Waldorf Kindergarten at a tender age, blossomed into a wonderful young girl. Having realized the wonders of the Waldorf (Rudolf Steiner) methodology in the wholesome growth of a child, Radhika decided to put her little one also in Prakriti, while she herself eagerly enrolled for training in the Foundation Course in Early Childhood Education. Having successfully completed the training under Mrs. Latha Madhusudhan, the next logical step for her was to join Prakriti as a Kindergarten Teacher, fulfilling her yearning & passion to work with the little angels.

Vision

Nurture and retain the spirit of childhood in an environment that is connected to nature, by bringing to the modern child the three “R’s of Rhythm, Repetition & Reverence, in order to retain a joyous, healthy and happy childhood.

Mission

Prakriti is a Waldorf Kindergarten, based on Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy, with a mission for the development of the "Whole child" i.e., the body, mind and soul or simply put, the 3 Hs - The Head, The Heart and The Hands. The School aims at giving the children ample scope for doing what they are best at: Being children.

Prakriti’s Story

Prakriti, which started in 2009, has gained a reputation for its unique ambience and appearance, more so for its endearing staff and happy children. The attempt has been to create a stimulating environment, without overpowering the child's senses and cluttering their orderly lives and little minds. The adage 'less is more' applies here. A nature table, natural fibre and simple homely everyday materials, which are from the realm of nature, are objects that children play with (nothing complicated or fancy like clockwork engines or Barbie dolls). The dolls and stuffed animals, which the children play with, are often made by the teacher to give urban children a feel of nature and help to enhance and retain their natural creativity and curiosity.

Prakriti is an active place, where children can give full expression to their imagination and create a world of magic,of Awe and Wonder; through simple means, guided by the gentle but firm personality of the ‘Waldorf Inspired’ teacher. Here, there is no teacher and the taught, but an adult to love, imitate and learn from! Today's generation requires a stress free schooling and not a paper-pencil academic learning. What they need most is 'Preparation to face Life's challenges', for which they need natural intelligence, high self-esteem, self-confidence and a great deal of self-belief....leading to the adage "Everyone should be his/her own King/Queen".

Prakriti is a member of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association in India called Sadhana and also a member of the International Association for Waldorf Early Childhood Education (IASWECE).

Our Approach

Prakriti is a Waldorf Kindergarten adhering to the Steiner philosophy. The kindergarten is an extension of the home providing children a secure and homely atmosphere.

The School aims at giving the children ample scope for doing what they are best at: being children. There is no sign of a blackboard or books but yet, they learn a great deal simply by doing, by imitating what is being done around them. The faculty of imitation is strongest at this age, and the children learn by using their senses, their limbs and their power of observation.

The teacher displays reverence to the child, kindles the love for learning within the child by doing away with competition and creating an internal motivation to learn.

Formal learning is developed through Domestic arts, Nurturing Arts, social arts and creative Arts.

School readiness is the ultimate goal.