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The central figure in our Waldorf classrooms is the class teacher.
This teacher remains with the children, in most cases, for grades one through eight.
A child’s capacities unfold slowly, and we believe that
they are best supported by relationships that are given time to develop. In
a very short time the class and teacher become a family, with a special
relationship that deepens as their years together grow.
The curriculum rests on two core beliefs: that the types of activities and
instruction should be appropriate to the developmental stage of each age
group, and that the education of the whole child—“head, heart, and hands”—is
paramount. This means that not just the intellect, but also the artistic or
feeling realm, and the practical arts are present in both the curriculum and
within each lesson. The class teacher is responsible for the child’s
education in a full range of subjects, including mathematics, language arts,
history and science, painting, drawing, and music.
The day begins with a two hour period called Morning Lesson or Main Lesson.
In this time the teacher will typically ask the children to recall aspects
of the lesson from the previous day, and will then go on to present new
material. The hallmark of this approach is the focus on the teacher as the
source, speaking directly to the students, as opposed to using a textbook or
a computer screen.
We believe that young children benefit tremendously from this very personal,
humanistic style of teaching and learning. At the end of the Morning Lesson,
students will usually be asked to create a page in their Main Lesson books
reflecting the day’s content, and illustrating it themselves. These books
become their textbooks, precious to each individual author and illustrator
because of the effort each has made in bringing these books to life.
Working alongside the class teacher, a group of specialist teachers
introduces the primary school student to the other areas of the curriculum
in the course of the day. These areas include foreign language, handwork,
gardening, music, visual arts, eurythmy, and sports and games. In addition,
the upper grades have time set aside twice a week for extra work in
mathematics and language arts, in a Skills class that supplements the
material introduced in Main Lesson.
Through a rich curriculum integrating the academic, the artistic, and the
practical, the Waldorf School of Princeton guides children to foster
self-knowledge and to meet the world by awakening within them warmth of heart, clarity
or thought, and strength of purpose.
Click here to learn more about our admissions procedures, applications
and tuition.
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