EDUCATING THE WHOLE CHILD
IN A NURTURING, CREATIVE COMMUNITY
WHY WALDORF?
We know that education is more than the acquisition of information, rigid academic curricula, and high stakes testing. In fact, the world is changing so rapidly that no one can really predict what information our children will need to know in the future. However, it is clear that intellectual flexibility, creative thinking, independent judgment, moral discernment, refined written and oral communication skills, and the ability to collaborate effectively will be essential to success in today’s ever changing, global community.
The principles of Waldorf Education evolve from an understanding of human development that addresses the needs of the growing child. Waldorf schools offer a developmentally appropriate, experiential, and academically rigorous approach to education. They integrate the arts in all academic disciplines for children from preschool through twelfth grade to enhance and enrich learning. Here are some recent articles that support the approaches taken within our curriculum:
Why Kids Should Use Their Fingers In Math Class
Researchers have found that the better students’ knowledge of their fingers was in the first grade, the higher they scored on number comparison and estimation in the second grade.
Helping Our Kids Take the Lead on Saving the Planet
Exploration outdoors defined childhood, which meant endless opportunities to engage with and appreciate the importance of our natural world.
Should Children Be Ready for Kindergarten—Or Should Kindergarten Be Ready for Children?
Our growing obsession with kindergarten readiness can have real consequences.
Using Arts Education to Help Other Lessons Stick
The arts can be a source of joy in a child’s day, and also come in handy for memorizing times tables.
Stanford University Reviews Waldorf Education
Scientists, led by neuroscientist Larrison, not only found that Waldorf students significantly outperform their peers on standardized tests at the end of their middle school curriculum (8th grade), they emphasize that Waldorf students’ superior performance occurs even though the students do not have a history of taking standardized tests. These scientists also highlighted the need to correct the misperception that Waldorf education is somehow less rigorous, because it is more responsive to children at their developmental stage and holistic.