The Green Curriculum in Waldorf Schools ~ Part VII October 09 2015

The grade seven curriculum is filled with the vitality needed to match the seventh graders’ remarkable growth at this time as well as their developing intellects.  Social skills roller coast while artistic abilities flower.  The Renaissance leads the way with the great artists as inspiration for these practicing artisans of early adolescence. Guided by their class teacher, and building on years of observation and appreciation for the gifts of the Earth, the students continue the quest of deepening their understanding of humanity, and its place in the natural world.  On from the Renaissance, the students are led into the sciences to chemistry, mechanics, combustion, physiology, and astronomy.

The Green Curriculum in Waldorf Schools ~ Part VI October 08 2015

As the Waldorf class enters grade six, they step towards a wakeful readiness to tackle more conceptual aspects of their studies, with the active imaginations and flexible, mobile thinking that Waldorf pedagogy and curriculum foster throughout the grades. This also holds true specifically for the children’s further exploration and relationship to the natural world. Sixth graders get to the bottom of things with explorations into geology, an expansive study of the mineral kingdom, often leading from minerals to metals, gems and crystals, and completing this spectrum of complexity with some of the roles and functions of mineral substances in the human body.

The Green Curriculum in Waldorf Schools ~ Part V October 07 2015

The fifth grade curriculum builds rich tapestries of heroic myths, epic stories and the histories of ancient civilizations. But perhaps the most cherished centerpiece of the fifth grade experience takes place in the great outdoors: The Fifth Grade Olympiad. Based on the classic games of ancient Greece, the students prepare and participate in a pentathlon of javelin, discus, wrestling, long jump and running meets, often with other nearby Waldorf fifth grades. The games each bring distinct qualities to life – balance, beauty, precision, levity and gravity – in a celebration of these attributes, ever-present in human experience and in the natural world.

The Green Curriculum in Waldorf Schools ~ Part IV October 06 2015

Strong, willful experiences meet the fourth grader as they work their way through the ninth-year change. In epic tales of an imaginary world unlike our own, the sense of wonder and amazement kindled in early grades finds dramatic representation in Norse mythology: the stories impart spirited depictions of supernatural beings, gods, giants, elves and their animal friends and foes. The stories of mythology and poetry provide stirring personifications of animals, which encourage an interest and care for them that is too frequently under-cultivated in society today.

The Green Curriculum in Waldorf Schools ~ Part III October 05 2015

Among many other investigations, third grade addresses the question of how we live, survive, and thrive in relationship to the Earth. The children begin to experience story in connection to history, culture and tradition, as they hear stories from the Old Testament, from Native Americans and from other groups and cultures. Specifically, third grade offers many experiential explorations into how humanity works with and transforms nature to meet the needs of civilization. How did ancient peoples work and live with the land? How did they build their homes?

The Green Curriculum in Waldorf Schools ~ Part II October 02 2015

In second grade, many nature-filled legends and fables take center stage, as the children grow into greater awareness of contrast and difference in the world around them. As a result, they are increasingly available for stories about human nature and ideals. Many stories emphasize the relationship and responsibility between human beings and the natural world, especially the animal kingdom.

The Green Curriculum in Waldorf Schools October 01 2015

A Twelve Part Series
From Roots to Bloom

A few years ago on AWSNA’s “Green Pages” Sarah Hearn, Waldorf graduate from the New York City Rudolf Steiner School, with help from a class teacher or two, wrote a series of short articles on the many ways in which the curriculum in our schools connects a child to the Earth, awakens a devoted love of Nature and grows environmentalists who carry a passion for caring for the Earth and all its gifts. Sarah has agreed to have these little articles republished as a guest blogger here. She called her series “From Roots to Bloom,” to emphasize the growth in a human being as reflected in the plant kingdom.

As Michaelmas Approaches..... September 22 2015

Why Do Waldorf Schools Celebrate Michaelmas?

Excerpt from "Waldorf Journal Project #15 - Michaelmas"

Summer’s haze vanishes when the clear skies and crisp air of September arrive. This is the time we establish our rhythms for the year; in many respects it is more of a New Year than January 1. It is a time of separation and individualization. The cool, pristine air wakes us from our summer daze and our thinking becomes more precise. With the beginning of school, we send our young ones off with memories of our own education etched indelibly into our own personalities. It is a time when we naturally think back upon our own lives.

At Home in Harmony: Bringing Families and Communities Together in Song September 04 2015

If you walk into a room full of people and ask how many are singers, one or two might raise their hands. If you ask how many sing in the shower or along with the car radio, a lot more hands would go up. If you ask how many enjoy music, you’d be hard-pressed to find a hand not up in the air.

Working with Parents ~ A Different Perspective August 25 2015

Many years ago, when my two youngest children were still very small, I would occasionally visit a friend of my mother’s named Mrs. Robb. She was quite active in those days; at that time she was the oldest living survivor of the Titanic and was much in demand to give interviews, visit talk shows and taping her memoirs for different maritime museums. She was in her mid-nineties when I met her and she lived alone in the village where my mother also lived. She was losing her sight but still remained active in her small community and had many friends. I considered myself one of those many friends. Because we lived quite far away, I would see Mrs. Robb only every 4-6 months.

In Our Image: Why Make a “Waldorf” Doll? August 21 2015

Waldorf dolls, like many toys used in Waldorf classrooms, are handmade using natural materials and are very simple in appearance. Designed to encourage and stimulate a child’s imagination the doll’s simple expression easily reflects the child’s mood and creativity. This is one doll maker’s account of the magical process of making a Waldorf doll.

Temperaments in a Waldorf School August 18 2015

The four temperaments are used in Waldorf schools for evaluating the character of each child one is teaching. These temperaments provide the teacher with tools for forging an inner connection, making the child feel that his or her teacher knows with wisdom what is behind each decision made in the classroom. Diagnosing temperaments correctly helps to build trust between teacher and student, teacher and class. Teachers often arrange seating of children so that students with similar temperaments are seated together or near each other. This provides a kind of gentle “homeopathic” experience or mirror to the child that helps the child build balance within his or her character without being heavy-handed, or too didactic.

Hygienic and Therapeutic Eurythmy in Waldorf Schools August 14 2015

In our world we have accomplished wonders beyond imagining in this beautiful, material world of ours. Human beings have surpassed records of accomplishment in ways unimaginable in the past. We can feel satisfied at the miracles that have been wrought as we take material thinking and development to its outer limits.

This leads to a consideration of what might be the right way to proceed from here. We cannot push or pull human physical capacities any further without assistance from drugs or devices.

Multicultural? Why Waldorf Education Works Around the Globe August 11 2015

The unique view of child development used in Waldorf Education as the road map or architecture of the curriculum is at long last verified by scientific research in a number of areas of specialization. Brain development, multiple intelligences, sensory development, child psychology, neuroscience, have all illuminated in the last two decades that the practices in Waldorf education support perfectly the healthy development in body, mind and spirit of young human beings. Without the stress of testing, with child observation as the leading source of information about correct approaches in the classroom, and with strong development of capacities for concentration and work, children grow into confident, clear thinking, and compassionate people.

Waldorf Education is Developmentally Appropriate - What exactly does this mean? July 26 2015

When Waldorf teachers say their curriculum is developmentally appropriate they mean it! But Waldorf educators understand child development in a unique way. Child development in the Waldorf plan is very specific. The decisions about the curriculum are based on exactly what is happening in the child’s physical, and emotional development and also in the development of the child’s consciousness.

Foreign Languages in a Waldorf School July 13 2015

In front of the restaurant, famous for its Quebequoise regional cuisine, a cluster of tourists was gathered examining the menu. As one couple read with excitement the menu, glad to find a place with regional cuisine as part of their experience in the beautiful old cit of Quebec, another couple was heard saying, in loud, harsh despair with a sharp New York, distinctively American accent, “Oh no! The whole menu is in French! Can you see anything on there that looks like it could be a steak?” Couple number one turned and explained that the restaurant’s menu was very specifically not American, but devoted to genuine, Quebequoise cuisine. Couple number two expressed disgust and stalked off, expressing loudly their anger and hunger, to find a “better restaurant”.

What Do Children Learn in a Waldorf Kindergarten? Everything! July 08 2015

The grandmother of the birthday child in the Waldorf Kindergarten was pleased to be invited to her granddaughter’s birthday celebration at the Waldorf kindergarten. She ended up more deeply moved and impressed as she participated in the birthday celebration. When she came to the kindergarten, mid-morning, she noticed the soft beautiful colors of the room and the natural wood finish of the tables and chairs. She also felt the busy hum of the room as children cleaned up after having made bread dough. The aroma of bread baking filled the room. Two children smiled at her and excitedly said, “It’s bread roll day for Michaela’s birthday!” The special guest for the big day was invited to sit in a special chair and watched as her granddaughter was led by two children, holding her hands, to the chair prepared for the child with a rose-colored silken cloth draped over it.

Teaching Cultivates Gratitude –– Why Do We Teach & How Far Can it Reach? June 17 2015

Most teachers of teens have had this experience: One of them might look you in the eye and say, “I will never be a teacher. Too much work!” This is age-appropriate behavior because in our teenage years, the yearning can be very strong to be out in the world. Staying inside a school building for one’s work seems like prison. Inwardly the youngster thinks, “You’ve got to be nuts to put up with us!”

Four Phases of Teenage Development Reflected in the Waldorf High School Curriculum June 08 2015

The Waldorf Classroom and the Cycle of Eight Elementary Years with the Same Teacher June 03 2015

One characteristic of Waldorf schools in elementary grades is to keep one “Class Teacher” with a class from first through eighth grades. This practice has been adopted by public and private schools and is known as looping. In Waldorf schools this eight-year cycle could be called “giant looping.” Of course, this eight-year cycle is an ideal that is not always possible. Life, marriage, health, age, can all get in the way of completing this commitment. In some Waldorf schools it is even policy to have the looping go from grades...          READ MORE

The End of Year Report in Waldorf Schools May 30 2015

Assessment is a “hot topic” in the news and in educational debate. In Waldorf schools assessment takes many forms, none of which includes standardized testing.

During the year, concentrated “blocks” of study might include an end-of-block assessment. A block might be three or four weeks long and concentrate study on one topic. After a botany block in the fifth grade an outdoor “treasure” hunt to find, for example, a monocotyledon, a pistil, a tap root, a deciduous conifer branch, a dicotyledon, and so on, might be the "test.” After a block on physiology in grade seven, an essay entitled, “The Diary of a Sandwich,” might be the means of assessment..... READ MORE     

The Rose Ceremony in Waldorf Schools May 27 2015

In Waldorf schools effort is made to observe significant moments in childhood and to celebrate these with rituals that have meaning for children. The Rose Ceremony in Waldorf schools around the world has a long tradition reaching back to the very first Waldorf school.

The Rose Ceremony happens twice each year: on the first day of school and on the last day of school. The ceremony at the school’s beginning is designed for the oldest students in the school (8^th grade or 12^th   grade) to welcome in the youngest children...      READ MORE

Discovering the Waldorf Pentathlon: An Overview May 20 2015

All across North America during the month of May Waldorf schools gather fifth graders for the annual Pentathlon. Three to seven different schools’ fifth grade classes gather at one hosting Waldorf school to compete in this annual celebration of fifth grade grace, skill, and determination, as a crowning salute to the curriculum of the fifth grade in Waldorf schools around the world. We owe gratitude to the “Spacial Dynamics Movement” for developing this rewarding tradition that gives schools a day of social interaction as well as affirmation of the curriculum, specifically Greek history...     READ MORE

"No Homework Day" and Homework in Waldorf Schools May 06 2015

Over the last decade or so homework has taken center stage in many child development debates and research projects. The increased scrutiny has even sparked a national “No Homework Day” which is celebrated today, May 6.

In a child’s early years, there is concern that homework will restrict a child’s active learning by limiting...     READ MORE