Contact & FAQ
We understand that choosing the right learning environment for your child is an important decision,
and we are here to support you in this process.
Would you like to learn more about our pedagogical approach? Enroll your child?
We would be happy to talk with you and provide any information you need.
How to Reach Us
Phone : +1 (263) 881-4275
Location : 4017 av Kent, H3S 1N5, MONTREAL
Email : admin@centrepastel.org
Availability :
We answer telephone and email inquiries on working days, from 8am to 5pm.
REGISTRATION OPEN ALL YEAR
Because every family moves at its own pace, we offer enrollment opportunities even after the school year has started. Steps:
1. Individual meeting with the parents and the child
2. Discussion about our educational approach
3. Registration and contract signing
Let’s talk about your needs
Looking for details before getting in touch?
What is your teaching approach?
The Center’s methodology is inspired by Rudolf Steiner’s pedagogy and, in addition, draws on other teaching approaches, such as nature-based education, recent scientific findings in neuroscience and psychology, as well as our own experiences and observations in working with children.
Imagine a place where childhood flourishes in a balance of freedom and form,where children discover the world by exploring nature, creating with their hands, and growing at their own pace, driven by curiosity. The Centre Pastel is more than a day-care center or preschool, it’s a living learning environment that nurtures a child’s sense of wonder.
What are your opening hours?
- Daycare & preschool: Monday to Friday, 8am – 3:30pm (After-school Care available from 3:30pm to 5:00 pm)
- Primary school house: Monday to Thursday, 8am – 3:30pm (After-school Care available from 3:30pm to 5:00 pm)
- Art workshops: Saturdays, flexible hours
We respond to phone calls and emails on weekdays, from 8am to 5pm.
How do I register my child?
Registration open all year : Because every family moves at its own pace, we offer enrollment opportunities even after the school year has started. Steps: 1. Individual meeting with the parents and the child 2. Discussion about our educational approach 3. Registration and contract signing
Important: Our spaces are limited, and early registration is recommended.
What are your fees?
Our fees vary according to the program chosen :
- For the Daycare/Preschool program, our Fees are detailed here, at the bottom of the page
- For the Primary Home School program, our Fees are detailed here, at the bottom of the page
Contact us for more information.
Can I visit Centre Pastel before enrolling my child?
Yes, we organize information meetings for families on our educational approach. They take place at the Centre Pastel. This is the first step in our admission process.
Who provides meals and snacks?
Parents provide the lunch box for dinner. The Centre Pastel takes care of offering children a healthy snack in the morning.
Do you accept children with special needs?
Our approach is inclusive and caring. As each situation is unique, we invite you to contact us to see together if our environment is right for your child.
Are screens used at your center?
No, we recommend avoiding screens until the age of 10. We believe that it is essential to preserve time and space for our children to enjoy the deep experiences that are essential to childhood and a healthy early development. Instead, we encourage :
- Arts and crafts
- Playing in nature
- Reading
Can I register my child only for the Saturday “after-school workshops”?
Yes, “after-school workshops” are Saturday art workshops open to all children. Whether your child is enrolled at the Center during the week, or elsewhere, he or she is welcome to participate in the “after-school workshops” offered throughout the year at the Center.
How can I contact you for more information?
Phone: +1 (263) 881-4275
Email: admin@centrepastel.org
Response times: Weekdays 8am – 5pm
You can also write us via our contact form above. A member of our team will contact you shortly.
WHO ARE WE?
Prune Desgeorges
Educator
Co-founder
prunedesgeorges@centrepastel.org
My first years of primary school were pivotal in my life and in inspiring this project. I had the privilege of doing my primary/elementary education in a school at Mont Boron in the hills of Nice, France. Our schoolmaster and his wife welcomed some forty pupils in 2 multi-age classes. These very warm and enriching moments nourished my dream of creating a family educational environment in a human, intergenerational climate.
My inspiration continued to be enriched during the last 10 years, when I had the opportunity to study and teach Steiner pedagogy in Québec. While raising my two children, I devoted my time to learning more about this fascinating pedagogy from experienced teachers and colleagues.
These experiences have strengthened my conviction that nurturing these moments of childhood is so important. Develop young children’s creativity in a simple, natural environment : this is the vocation of Centre Pastel, a center for co-education with parents.
Monica Gonzalez-Karg
Educator
I was born in the large city of Mexico. Even though my childhood took place in a very urban environment, I spent hours in my grandmother’s garden with my brother and cousins. We would prepare “meals” out of leaves and invent imaginary games among the bushes and tall rosebushes.
From a very young age, I was drawn to doing things differently, stepping outside the box in search of deeper meaning. This naturally shaped my view of education. When I worked with preschool-aged children, it didn’t feel right to expect them to sit still for long periods or to produce identical work. I quickly came to understand that children are beings of movement, exploration, and free expression. That’s what led me to study pedagogy and to pursue a more vibrant, creative approach to education—one enriched by art and art therapy. Over the years, I have worked with children of various ages, always seeking to connect with each person’s inner child. I’ve gained experience and training in the Reggio Emilia philosophy, and I truly enjoy working at Centre Pastel, where I deeply relate to its vision of children and education.
Being the mother of three children has only strengthened my belief that each child is a unique universe, with their own rhythm, interests, and way of flourishing. Accompanying them in daily life constantly reaffirms for me that education is a shared journey of discovery, full of creativity and wonder.
Vanessa Weibel
Educator
Having grown up in a small village in the Swiss Jura, I spent much of my time outdoors — exploring, sensing, touching, climbing, and dreaming in complete freedom. I feel deeply how precious this intimate relationship with the Living World has been, allowing me to develop my creativity and my self-confidence.
As the mother of two children, I practiced homeschooling for two years while also accompanying a group of children in nature. Today, I continue on this path with the desire to offer children spaces where they can explore freely, marvel, connect with nature — and with themselves. I am convinced that it is within this living relationship that trust, joy, and a profound sense of belonging and gratitude can arise.
In parallel, I continue training in naturopathy and herbalism. I have completed training in Écorituels® and facilitate workshops in ecopsychology and nature connection for both children and adults. All these experiences nourish my role as a guide and strengthen my conviction that a living bond with nature supports our balance, our health, and our capacity to inhabit the world with greater integrity and joy.
Anke Scheinfeld
Mentor
Co-founder
Dr. Anke Scheinfeld has been an early childhood educator for more than twenty years. She earned a Master’s degree in Steiner early childhood education from Sunbridge College. Before teaching, she worked as a physician and researcher in Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. This experience gave her a profound perspective on human development and on the importance of an education that supports the child’s overall well-being.
In her work as an educator, Anke respects each child’s uniqueness and individual development, while guiding them toward experiences that foster balanced growth. As the mother of two children who completed their entire schooling in a Waldorf school, she brings a deep and lived understanding of this pedagogy.
With this background, Anke is a valuable support and a reference for Centre Pastel, and she is the ideal point of contact for the English-speaking families.
Marjorie Taliano-Nordás
Eurythmy Teacher
Marjorie has been practicing and teaching eurythmy for many years in different countries and cultures. After her training at the London School of Eurythmy (UK), she continued her artistic development at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland—where she also worked in French —and became part of the Stage Ensemble. She earned a BFA at the Rudolf Steiner College in Oslo (Norway) and an MFA, with a focus on Performing Arts, at Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft in Germany. Alongside these studies, she furthered her stage eurythmy experience and took part in artistic tours across Europe and China. Since 1992, she has taught eurythmy in various professional trainings as well as in Steiner-Waldorf schools in Sweden, Norway, and now in Quebec.
Mellissa Brophy
Fibre arts Teacher
Fibre arts have been in my family for generations and it is a tradition that I wholeheartedly carry forward. I learned to knit as a child from my grandmother but it was when my first child was born that I took it up with newfound passion. In March 2025 I graduated from the four year Applied Arts Handwork Teacher Training program at the Fiber Craft Studio in Spring Valley, NY. During my training, I taught Saturday morning knitting classes to children in Montreal and am now leading the workshop series at Centre Pastel.
When we teach children to knit or weave or sew, we are teaching them so much more than the skill of the craft. While learning any handwork skill, children are really having an experience of their minds, heart, and hands working together harmoniously. It is a meaningful experience for a child to create something beautiful and useful with their own hands, it helps to build their confidence, autonomy and their sense of rightness in the world. It is a joy for me to bring fibre arts to children in a developmentally appropriate way that honours the child and their spirit.
Ludovic Le Draoullec
Administration
Finances
Choosing the education given to your kid, freely and conscientiously. It’s a process that no longer seems easy. So many parents seem resigned to endure an education with a system, public or private, whose flaws and challenges they grudgingly tolerate.
It’s only with the arrival of my children that I’ve grasped the importance of the daily food they are given. And I’m not talking about meals. I’m talking about learning, discovery, awakening, everything that is born and learned with the help of adults, arts and nature. I want to believe, and I invite everyone to believe, that something else is possible, and that the education of our children is always something to be rethought and improved.
The project of Centre Pastel is part of this irresistible desire to offer the most enriching experience for young children. Website, administration, conformity, finances, gardening: in keeping with my skills, which go beyond being a lawyer in civil practice in downtown Montreal, I’m committed to support this vision so that the project can blossom in a thousand ways. Long live Centre Pastel!