CLASS SIZE - important to consider?

[rainsmom]

Ive done a search and read everything here on Waldorf, also have checked out every book on Waldorf from my library. I just want to get opinions.

I posted on another thread about sending my dd to a private preschool in town. THis preschool also goes to grade 5 and is excellent. Dd will go there in the fall for preschool.
http://www.primaveraschool.org/

But Saturday I went to an open house for the Waldorf Charter school in town. I was REALLY impressed. The only thing that is deterring me from making my decision is class size. The private school has only 12 children in the kindergarten and all the grades are small size. The waldorf will have 2 kindergartens with 21 kids per class, a teacher and assistant for each. Are there advantages to that large of a class size? They also changed the birthdate that they base their excepance on....which means dd can start next year and possibly do one or two years of kindergarten. Is that an advantage?

Please share your experience from the Waldorf perspective on class size.

thanks!

[BathrobeGoddess]

21 is the perfect class size for a waldorf class . My dd prek was 24 and it was great! Her kinder class was 12 and it was too small. The children got really clique-ish in K. and they had all know each other from prek.

Sinse early childhood waldorf isn't academic and the flow of the day isn't super ridged, larger classes are okay for them.

[grisandole]

As long as the teachers are good, 21 is fine. I've seen it both ways; my ds1 went to a private kindergarten with a 1:7 ratio; I worked as an assistant at a kindergarten with over 25 kids in the class, and both were great.

Kristi