AEWP Waldorf Educational Association Pucón

History of the School

The first Waldorf Pucon kindergarten opened its doors on April 5, 2006, after a pioneering family brought Waldorf education to the area. Pía had completed the teacher training seminar in Santiago and wanted to move south to improve her quality of life, that of her two children, Matías, 4, and Constanza, 5, and that of her husband, Jerry.

Once in Pucon, driven by the desire for their children to grow up in a kind environment connected to nature, free play, imagination, and reverence, they decided to start something. They also happened to meet Viktoria, a German Waldorf alumna and kindergarten teacher, who had moved to Pucon a few months earlier.

Together, Pía and Viktoria began the adventure of creating a nest for a wonderful group of 12 children, which continued to grow. In 2007, the first anthroposophical training program in southern Chile was brought to the area, featuring renowned teachers and artists of Waldorf pedagogy in Chile. In 2008, the primary school began, with Manuela as the first teacher. That same year, we formally established ourselves as the "Pucón Waldorf Children's Cultural Center" with an active group of mothers, fathers, and teachers. In 2009, we set up a small house next to the lake, which served as our home for six years. In 2010, we built our second kindergarten, also on Pucón's main beach. In 2012, we began construction on what would become our permanent school building in the Los Riscos area. And because we care about nature, we are committed to protecting resources and creating more habitats for plant and animal species, we decided to build it from straw bales, mud, grass roofs, and oriented towards the sun. Our purpose with this construction is also to create a living learning space where children can learn and benefit from inhabiting a natural environment. Where construction can be done step by step, by hands that aren't specialized in building, and where the dream of building it together gradually takes shape. In 2013 and 2014, we had the younger elementary school in the original house and the older elementary school in the home of the pioneering family who lent their house to the school during those years. In 2015, we moved the entire elementary school to Los Riscos, and that same year our beloved volcano erupted. In 2016, the kindergartens in Los Riscos were built, and finally, today we have two kindergarten classrooms on the main beach in Pucón with around 31 children, two kindergartens in Los Riscos with 33 children, and grades 1 through 8 with around 210 children in Los Riscos. Throughout this journey, we have created increasingly larger family circles. From having 5-10 children in the elementary classes, today we have classes of over 20 children, with teachers who have been with us for years and others who have come and gone, giving our school the identity of families who come from elsewhere and stay for a few or several years. Many people have been part of Waldorf Pucón and have left their mark. We have seen many families grow, and we are certain that many more will continue to come through here, because this school gives all immigrants to the area the opportunity to have an extended family that cares for children and believes that it is possible to live differently.