UNIQUE ASPECTS OF THE WALDORF CURRICULUM
Handwork and Practical Arts – The Waldorf curriculum cultivates manual dexterity thereby furthering cognitive development. Handwork and practical arts are integrated at all grade levels – not simply to teach a skill, but to support a student’s unfolding as a well-balanced individual.
Fine and Performing Arts - The Arts permeate all aspects of the Waldorf academic curriculum. Many aesthetic details contribute to the learning environment and experience. The integration of fine and performing arts – painting, sculpting, drawing, singing, instrumental ensembles, drama, and movement, provides a unique educational method. The Arts offer a cognitive experience that stresses observation, discernment, and an education of the senses. They also impart a discipline that teaches patience, flexibility, and concentration.
Movement – The movement curriculum recognizes that healthy physical activity lays the foundation for healthy brain development and enhances physical, emotional, ethical, and spiritual capacities. The program is designed to strengthen different abilities at each stage of development. Cooperative games in the early grades yield to competitive sports in Middle and High School.
Global Learning - Beginning in Grade 1, students study both Spanish and German. In Grade 8 they choose one or the other. Through our International Exchange Program, students have the option to study abroad or welcome into their homes students from other countries. Our program emphasizes that we are all part of a global humanity.
Phenomenological Science - All sciences begin with simple nature experiences in the PreK/Kindergarten and advance with the study of acoustics, heat, magnetism and electricity in Middle School to chemistry, biology, botany, zoology and modern physics in High School. The emphasis is on a direct encounter with observable phenomena -“Describe what happened. Evaluate what you have observed. What are the conditions under which the phenomena appear? How does this relate to what you already know?” Then students are asked to think through the experiment and discover the natural law that stands behind and within the phenomena.