Overview: The Elementary School

Rudolf Steiner created a curriculum for Waldorf schools based on the development of the growing human being. By recognizing that children pass through distinct stages, the curriculum and the teaching methods are able to deliver the right stimulus at the right time and thus allow each developmental stage to unfold fully.

At its core, the Waldorf approach utilizes children's natural curiosity to develop a love of learning. Teachers aim to present all subjects in a pictorial, imaginative way to stimulate students' feelings and interest. Every subject-whether mathematics, history, or physics-is learned artistically. Drawing, painting, movement, music, singing, recitation, and drama are not treated as supplements; rather, they are the actual methods by which each subject is taught.

In the grade-school years, every child is a natural artist. The teacher's task is to transform intellectual knowledge into aesthetic experience that speaks to the whole child-the head, the heart, and the hands. By interweaving traditional academic disciplines with artistic and practical activities, the school provides a broad and balanced educational experience and encourages the development of capable, multifaceted individuals.

Teacher and Student Continuity
Each grade is entrusted to a class teacher who remains their guide, philosopher and friend from first through eighth grade. The class teacher introduces the principal subjects during these years in the form of the "Main Lesson." Several specialists provide additional lessons in languages, music, gymnastics, eurythmy, and handwork. But the person chiefly responsible for students' progress through these years is their class teacher. Thus, each child has a continuity of friendship and authority to look up to in school. The class teacher is also in an excellent position to understand the unique personality and learning styles of each student, enabling them to work more effectively with their students over the course of their years together.

The Main Lesson Approach
In the Waldorf curriculum, the major subjects of learning are given as Main Lessons for two hours at the beginning of each day. These Main Lesson subjects are taught in units of three to six weeks' duration. Students can give their undivided attention to each subject in succession. After each subject is studied, the curtain closes over one kind of work and opens anew on another. The curriculum flows naturally through the school year and from year to year.

Special Subjects
It is the responsibility of the main classroom teacher to deliver all the major subjects in the curriculum during the lower grade years, including mathematics, history, literature, English/grammar, geography, and sciences. Special subject teachers supplement the classroom teacher's lessons by providing expertise in the following subjects:

Foreign Languages: Beginning in first grade, the children learn two foreign languages-Spanish and German-using the same natural process in which the child first learned his or her native tongue.

Music: Singing and pentatonic flute playing start in first grade with the class teacher. In third grade, the pentatonic flute is exchanged for the recorder. Beginning in the fourth grade, each child learns to play a string instrument and participates in a school orchestra and chorus.

Handwork and Woodworking: Handwork teaches children to carry through with a task and appreciate the careful, persistent effort it takes to make things by hand. Beginning in first grade, children learn knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, felting, and sewing. Woodworking class, which is added in fifth grade, provides the opportunity to make finely crafted wooden bowls, spoons, and games. Clay work is also added in fifth grade.

Eurythmy: Eurythmy is the art of movement developed by Rudolf Steiner. It is taught throughout the elementary grades. Through it students learn to orient themselves in space. Using characteristic gestures, the sounds of language and music become visible as movement.