 Seventh grade student painting from study of the Renaissance |
Elementary School
The curriculum of the elementary school (grades one through eight) is rich and diversified. It offers a balance of humantities, mathematics, science, and the arts. All subject matter is approached imaginatively. The aim is to reach and stimulate the inner resources of the students through enthusiasm and involvement.
Each day begins with the Main Lesson, a two-hour period of concentrated activity focused around a particular subject of the curriculum. Movement, rhythmic activities, speech, singing, and recorder playing preceed academic work. New material is presented and received in a personal exchange between teacher and student rather than from a dry or abstract textbook. Students work with the content of the lesson, creating their own books which contain written texts, original compositiions, and artwork. Each main lesson subject is taught in a three or four week block of time.
The
Main Lesson is followed by an outdoor recess after which there are two
40-minute classes in subjects such as French, English or math skills,
which require regular repetition. After lunch the children devote themselves
to fine and practical arts, gardening, handwork, movement, and sports.
What is being studied in the main lesson is often integrated into the
curriculum of special subjects. Thus, the rhythm of the day starts with
the work that requires intellectual focus, and ends with the more physical
activities that engage the body and hands. In structuring the year, class
teachers will order the main lessons so that the subjects unfold in a
varied and orderly sequence.
Teachers
foster an attitude of cooperation. Each child’s potential is appreciated
and carefully nurtured. Rather than receiving grades, the children are
given written evaluations from their class teacher as well as from special
subject teachers twice a year.
The Waldorf philosophy recognizes a basic need in elementary-aged children for genuine authority– rooted in love and respect. This need for authority leads to one of the most distinctive features of Waldorf education, the class teacher, who ideally advances with the students from first through eighth grade. The class teacher presents the main academic subjects, coordinates with the special subject teachers, and provides the link between home and school.
The class teacher is able to bring continuity to the curriculum. Through
intimate knowledge of the group of children, the class teacher is also
able to select, emphasize, and draw upon those aspects of a discipline
that best address the needs and interests of the class. The students grow
in confidence and security as their teacher's knowledge of them grows.
The Arts
In a Waldorf school the arts are an integral part of the curriculum. Each art follows a sequence of development from year to year and all of them supplement and reinforce the main lesson curriculum. More importantly, exposure to the arts supports the inner development of the growing emotional core of each child by engaging the heart.
All
students learn to paint and draw, sculpt, sing, play the recorder and
stringed instrument, and read music. Each year, every grade presents a
play that relates to its academic program.
The practical arts--handcrafts and woodwork--balance and complement the students' academic and artistic work. By learning to knit, crochet, sew and work with wood and clay, students develop manual dexterity, patience, coordination, skill, appreciation for natural materials, a feeling for color, form, and design, and a personal sense of achievement.
Learning to Learn
A school fulfills its function to the extent that its teaching is transformed into creative capacities for life. Waldorf graduates find that their learning has become a part of them, a resource upon which to draw, a guide to full and responsive living. Because of our rich curriculum and innovative teaching methods, our students develop a love of learning, a depth of understanding, and a distinctive individuality. Learning includes the acquisition of skills, abilities, and information; but learning also becomes a lifetime voyage of discovery.