Joe Smith

1234 Brown Street

Anytow

n, RI 02879

What is W

aldorf?By H

annah Gardner

Novem

ber 2012

A POSSIBLE WALDORF SCHEDULE

8:00 - 10:15 Main Lesson

• Students need to be thoughtful and focused

10:15 - 10:40 Snack & Recess

10:45 - 11:25 Painting

10:30 - 12:10 Nature

• These classes promote emotional connections

12:15 - 1:25 Lunch & Recess

12:45 - 1:25 Handwork

1:30 - 2:10 Movement

2:15 - 2:55 Math

• These classes promote movement and balances out the focus of the morning

3:00 - 3:15 Chores & Dismissal

• All of the students have chores at the end of the day which teaches responsibility

WHAT IS

WALDORF?

A Guide to the Waldorf Grade

School

“The Work of the Imagination shapes and builds the forms of the brain” - Rudolf Steiner

HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY

Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, developed the Waldorf pedagogy in the early 1900s. He believed that education should develop a child in three aspects: head, heart, and hands. A child should not just focus on his strengths but should be well-rounded and develop his weaknesses as well. Boys would learn how to knit and girls would learn how to carve. The curriculum he created looks at where the child is developmentally at each grade and basing the lessons on that. Because of this, there is a strong emotional bond between the students and what they are learning. It makes the information memorable and thus learning is fun. His goal was to create lifelong learners and he did just this.

General Themes for Each GradeGeneral Themes for Each Grade

Grade 1 Fairy Tales

Grade 2 Fables, Animal Stories & Saints

Grade 3 Farming & Stories from the Hebrew Bible

Grade 4 Local Geography, Norse Mythology & Native American Stories

Grade 5 Greek History & Legends and Myths from Ancient Civilizations

Grade 6 Roman History, Business Math

Grade 7 Explorers, Physiology

Grade 8 Colonial History

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION

One of the unique aspects of the Waldorf education is its emphasis on artistic expression, whether is be painting, drawing, singing, or playing an instrument. By including art in the curriculum, it fosters creativity, plays a role in brain development, and allows children to release emotions. It is incorporated into everything. For example, a 7th grade class might do a science experiment on light and the teacher asks the students to draw exactly what they see when a candle is burning. This challenges their powers of observation. This might end up in a child’s main lesson book. Instead of having textbooks, children create their “own” textbook. Everything reinforces individuality and creativity once again.