Lower School Curriculum Overview

Rudolf Steiner created a curriculum for the Waldorf School based on the principle that each human being goes through distinct stages of physical, emotional and intellectual development.  By recognizing that children pass through distinct develpoment phases during which specific forces and capabilities are at work, the curriculum and the teaching methods are able to deliver the right stimulus at the right time and thus stimulate and support each developmental stage to unfold fully. 

All of Waldorf education is based on the principle that the human being learns through thinking, feeling and the will.  In the early grades, the will is the primary gateway to learning, and the lower school teacher uses rhythm and movement to support each academic lesson.  As each lesson is also imbedded in an artistic experience, the curriculum is always a balance of the holistic interaction of these activities.

The middle years of the child, from 7 – 14, are guided by imagination.  In First Grade, language is taught through the vehicle of the Fairy Tale.  Second Grade is full of animal stories, fables and legends.  Third Grade focuses on the early stories of the Hebrew people, but is also a year of practical work on the farm and with animals.  This is the year the child becomes more self-aware and is able to recognize that they need an earthly home.   By Fourth Grade, a more mature child is now able to begin the proper study of geography and zoology as well as delight in the Norse Myths with their new perspective.   

The curriculum is always blended, balanced and delivered to meet the needs of the individual class as well as the individual child.

During the years of Grades 5-8, the child accomplishes tremendous social/emotional development.  In Third and Fourth Grade, the child becomes self-aware, experiencing themselves more as an individual rather than primarily a member of a group.  This gradually develops into self-responsibility through the years of Grade 5-8.  They become more independent learners, able to take on academic tasks and learning that is individual.