At the heart of the Waldorf approach is a recognition of the physical and emotional changes that occur as a child matures. At the grade school level, our teachers take care to introduce skills, subjects, and concepts appropriate to the child’s physiological, emotional, and spiritual development. We use a multi-sensory approach, integrating the arts into each subject to engage the whole child in the learning process rather than simply imparting intellectual information.
The Difference of a Waldorf Education
Waldorf students are provided with a classical education that introduces reading, writing, mathematics, literature, and the sciences in a developmentally thoughtful way. In the lower grades, we help children see the beauty in the world as part of a holistic education. In the early grades, we nurture students’ strong imaginations and blossoming intellectual capacities through experiential and artistic means.
Our comprehensive curriculum is carefully considered to inspire learning and understanding. The students develop lesson books for each subject filled with rich self-expression and academic content. In their work, students are encouraged to internalize each lesson and make it their own. The integration of the arts in the curriculum builds creativity in thinking. The imagination is continually nurtured, as is the capacity to meet the challenges of learning.
We strive to support our grade school students in unfolding their emotional lives by nurturing their growing sensitivities through every step of our curriculum. We do not simply teach students a set of facts they will need for high school; we help each child to develop a set of skills specific to their individual experience. Then when transitioning to high school, our students excel in their programs whether they continue with Waldorf or move on to an alternate independent school or the public system.
The Lower Grades
Students are held by their class teacher and supported by several subject teachers. The class teacher stays with a class from Grades 1 through 8 and delivers the core curriculum. Through their time together, the class teacher builds a deep understanding of each student while each student grows in confidence and security. Specialty teachers provide instruction in their areas of expertise.
The main lesson is an in-depth study of a particular subject delivered each morning in a block that lasts three to four weeks. Students are presented with concepts and skills in language arts, math, science, and social studies, reflecting their particular development stage. The arts are integrated with all academic work by creating main lesson books filled with compositions, observations, illustrations, and diagrams of their studies.
There are a variety of local field trips and excursions related to each grade’s curriculum. Beginning in grade 3, each class will go away on an overnight trip. Annual class trips into the oceans, forests, and farmlands are designed to meet the student’s developmental level, help them gain self-confidence, and encourage their connection to the natural world and each other.
- Grade 1: Day Trips
- Grade 2: Hiking Trips
- Grade 3: Farming Overnight Trip
- Grade 4: Cheakamus Centre Longhouse Overnight Trip
- Grade 5: Greek Games Multi-day Overnight Trip
“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives.”
“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives.”
~Rudolf Steiner