| Elementary
School
(Grades 1-8)
Waldorf grade school students begin each day with a two-hour main
lesson in which one field of study is explored for a period of several
weeks. The class teacher has the freedom to structure the lessons
creatively by incorporating a variety of activities. For example,
music or movement enhances the teaching of mathematics, drama the
study of history, and clay modeling the understanding of anatomy.
Each student creates an ongoing record of main lesson work in individual
books that are filled with composition, diagrams, mathematical premises
or operations, as well as illustrations. These main lesson books,
carefully crafted with attention to detail and artistic presentation,
are a unique and vital part of Waldorf education.
Complementing the core academic curriculum are other academic,
artistic, and practical subjects taught by specialists in their
fields. These classes create a wholistic synergy with main lesson
work.
Following morning main lesson, students participate in foreign
language study, eurythmy (a modern art of creative movement), choral
and instrumental music, painting, gardening, games and physical
education, and the practical arts, such as sewing, knitting, and
woodworking. |