I know this thread is old but thought I'd put my two cents in. My 3 and 4 year olds attend a steiner school 7 miles from me, my eldest in kindergarten and youngest in the preschool attached to the kindi.
I find it fantastic. I love that they don't wear uniforms, the children all seem a lot more relaxed. The only dress code in their school is that they don't wear characters on their clothing, so no Ben 10 or frozen, which is understandable as it can influence their play.
The kindergarten, which is for the 3-6 year olds in their school, is slightly separate from the upper school and is completely play based. They learn life skills such as cooking and how to look after each other, crafts like knitting and painting, and singing. My kids are really happy there. The only gnome I've heard of is in my daughters kindi, where apparently he lives and comes out to read them a story at circle time each day, which I think is sweet.
I also volunteer in one of the upper classes and love the fact they're allowing them to be creative and not learn exactly by the book like good little office workers. They teach them things from the curriculum, but also how to think outside the box.
The teachers all seem friendly and the children all call them by their first names. They all eat with the children as well at break and meal times, which makes it a much more informal and comfortable affair. x