Each class in a Waldorf Steiner grade school has a story theme. These stories become the starting points for teaching many Language Arts lessons. Stories nurture a Student’s imagination. Stories and lessons are presented in creative and artistic ways to deepen a Student’s feelings and engage a Student’s connection with different subjects. Fundamental Maths concepts are often introduced through stories.
Science, Geography, and History teaching are also enhanced through stories. Folk tales and nature stories, Bible stories and Norse myths in Lower School, stories of ancient Greece and Rome, Explorers, Renaissance, and Industrial Revolutions in Middle School, Odyssey, Parsifal and Faust stories, and stories in History Through Art, History Through Music and Architecture in Upper School – these lessons are presented with stories and artistic and purposeful activities that resonate with the students’ inner lives at each phase of their journey into young adulthood.
Main Teacher
The Main Teacher is a generalist teacher who teaches and guides the same class from Class 1 up to Class 8. This Teacher teaches Language Arts, Maths, History, Geography, and Sciences, and integrates arts, music, and other experiential activities into the main lessons and skills practice classes. The consistent affiliation of the Main Teacher to the same class fosters a bond of understanding between a Teacher, a Student, and a Student’s family. The teacher gets to know a student and a Student’s family through the years. When a Teacher forms a relationship with Students and Parents over an extended period of time, as is done in a Waldorf Steiner school, we share both the joys and the sorrows of life.
This also lends itself to some significant benefits such as:
Class routines and expectations are consistent and a Teacher can be highly creative and adaptable with lessons and class rhythm. New Students, quickly pick up on a class rhythm. Experience has shown that a Student responds positively to a Main Teacher’s courage and openness to teach what is relevant and meaningful across all subjects and activities.
Perhaps most importantly, a Teacher becomes an example of one who sees others for who they are and stays. In moments big or small, and especially as a Student enters puberty, one finds a valuable gift in the unconditional acceptance of a Teacher, a steadfast adult who has known a Student closely for much of one’s school life.
The World is True
Building Capacities for Balanced Discernment to Creatively Meet the Challenges of Our Time
Curriculum Guide
Main Lessons and Subject Classes
Class 1: I Am
(7 years)
Class 1 is a transitional year that supports a seven-year-old child who is playful and is now ready to begin to learn to work with his or her mind. Ideas and concepts are taught in pictorial and exploratory ways, with love, sympathy, and wonder. New skills are developed and lessons are structured to provide a child with ample opportunities to ease into a class rhythm, explore new ideas, and learn social skills. Qualities of numbers, the alphabet as well as other subjects are learned with stories.
Main Lesson Blocks
- Form Drawing as Preparation to Writing
- Capital Letters, Lower Case Letters Alphabet Through Stories: Fairy Tales From Around The World
- Nature Studies: Exploration of The Four Elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air
- Nature Studies: Exploration of the Four Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
- Whole Numbers, Roman Numerals
- Four Arithmetic Operations, Simple Mental Math, Story Problems
- Tongue Twisters, Poetry, Speech, Phonetics, Sounds of The Letters, Word Families
- Simple Circle Class Play as a Chorus Inside One’s Classroom
Subject Classes
MUSIC
- Pentatonic Music and Songs
- Interval Flutes
- Folk Songs
- Seasonal Songs
MOVEMENT and SPATIAL DYNAMICS
- Rhythmic Precision Movement
- Circle Games
- Simple Eurythmy
PRACTICAL and FINE ARTS
- Form Drawing
- Beeswax Modelling
- Watercolor Painting
- Drama
- Finger Knitting, Knitting, Crafts
FILIPINO LANGUAGE
- Listening, Recitation, Oral Learning Through Poetry, Stories, Songs, Crafts, Circle Games
TRIPS
- Class One Nature and Surroundings Trips to nearby Beach, Farm, Vegetable Garden
Class 2: I Am – You Are
(8 years)
A child’s new abilities learned in Class 1 are developed further in Class 2. A child’s alertness and observation skills increase and a child starts to discover his relationship to the world around him and is eager to participate in everything that comes his way. Stories about resilience, perseverance, responsibility, and overcoming hardship help nurture a child’s inner life as he receives his own new experiences.
Main Lesson Blocks
- Form Drawing as Preparation to Cursive Writing
- Lower Case and Upper Case Letters
- Animal Fables, Folklore, Saints and Hero Stories
- Philippine Legends and Folk Tales
- Exploring Nature Studies
- Four Arithmetic Operations, Multiplication Tables
- Mental Math, Number Patterns, Simple Story Problems
- Poetry, Speech, Tongue Twisters
- Simple Circle Class Play as a Chorus Inside One’s Classroom
Skills Classes
- Maths
- English
Subject Classes
MUSIC
- Pentatonic Flute Music and Songs
- Interval Flutes
- Folk Songs
- Seasonal Songs
MOVEMENT and SPATIAL DYNAMICS
- Rhythmic Precision Movement
- Body Geography Games
- Folk Dance
- Eurythmy
PRACTICAL and FINE ARTS
- Form Drawing
- Beeswax Modelling
- Watercolor Painting
- Drama
- Knitting, Purling, Crafts
FILIPINO LANGUAGE
- Oral Learning and Speaking, Oral Composition of Simple Sentences Using Previously Learned Vocabulary
- Poetry, Stories, Songs, Crafts, Circle Games
TRIPS AND WORK EXPERIENCE
- Class Two Trip To A Bee Farm, Zoo, or Animal Farm
Class 3: I Am, Who Are You?
(9 years)
This is a time when a child starts to experience his individuality and starts to live more consciously on the earth. Stories of the Old Testament meet the unfolding inner life of a Class 3 child. The curriculum is designed to support and help a child to understand the physical world and learn self-reliance with the Gardening, Farming, Men at Work, and Shelter studies. A study of Measurement, Time, Currency, and Borrowing contribute to learning about healthy living in a community.
Main Lesson Blocks
- Spelling, Writing Skills and Grammar Through Old Testament Stories
- Native Tales
- Nature Study
- Four Arithmetic Operations, Mental Math, Time, Measurement, Prime Numbers
- Long Division, Long Multiplication
- Currency, Carrying, and Borrowing, Simple Story Problems
- Speech, Poetry, Tongue Twisters
- Gardening/Farming
- Men At Work
- Shelters
- Class Play: Choral Recitation Inside One’s Classroom with a Small Audience
Skills Classes
- Maths
- English
Subject Classes
MUSIC
- Interval Flutes, C and G Scales, B flat and F sharp are introduced
- Diatonic Flute Music
- Singing and Playing Diatonic Flute Music in Rounds
- Seasonal Songs
- Folk Songs
- Stringed Instrument: Violin or Cello
- Reading Music Begins
MOVEMENT and SPATIAL DYNAMICS
- Rhythmic Precision Movement
- Cooperative Games
- Folk Dance
- Circus Arts
- Eurythmy
PRACTICAL and FINE ARTS
- Form Drawing
- Beeswax Modelling
- Watercolor Painting
- Drama
- Embroidery, Crochet, Crafts
- Gardening
FILIPINO LANGUAGE
- Oral and Written Learning Through Poetry, Stories, Songs, Crafts, Games
- Oral Reading, Writing, Spelling, Vocabulary, Grammar
TRIPS AND WORK EXPERIENCE
- Farm Work Experience
- Class Three Men at Work Trip
- Class Three Nature and Surroundings Camp at a Nearby Locale
Class 4: Who I Am, Where I Am?
(10 years)
A Class 4 child has come to an end of one’s childhood and starts to develop greater confidence, independence, a sense of one’s self, and an awakening to one’s place in the world. This is a year to explore and work with possibilities. A child works harmoniously with others and finds stability and strength in the rich stories of Norse Myths, and stories of Local History, and discovers the wonders of Zoology and Maths Fractions.
Main Lesson Blocks
- Form Drawing – Cursive
- Local History and Geography, Map Making
- Norse Mythology
- Man and Animal, Zoology
- Nature Study: Landforms and Water Features
- Four Arithmetic Operations, Mental Math, Fractions
- Long Multiplication, Long Division, Story Problems
- Speech, Poetry, Tongue Twisters
- English Grammar
- Class Play with an Audience
Skills Classes
- Maths
- English
Subject Classes
MUSIC
- Interval Flutes
- Round Songs, Part Songs
- Seasonal Songs
- Folk Songs in C Major Scale
- Stringed Instrument: Violin or Cello
- Sight Reading of Music and Working With Rhythms
- MOVEMENT and SPATIAL DYNAMICS
- Rhythmic Precision Movement
- Folk Dance
- Cooperative Games
- Eurythmy
PRACTICAL and FINE ARTS
- Geometric Drawing
- Clay Modelling
- Watercolor Painting
- Drama
- Embroidery and Cross Stitch, Crafts
- Woodwork
FILIPINO LANGUAGE
- Oral and Written Learning Through Poetry, Stories, Songs, Crafts, Games
- Writing, Reading and Vocabulary, Syntax, Grammar and Spelling, Short Talks, Dictations
TRIPS
- Class Four Local History and Geography Camp
Class 5: Where I Stand In The World
(11 years)
A Student in Class 5 is more socially confident and physically agile. He or she begins to flourish in harmonious balance. Ancient Civilizations, Greek Mythology, and History are taken up and a high point is a Greek Pentathlon, wherein a Student shows his or her grace and agility, and supports and competes in traditional Greek Pentathlon games.
Main Lesson Blocks
- Ancient Civilizations: India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt
- Greek Mythology
- Greek History
- Philippine Geography
- Botany: The Human Being And Plants
- Four Arithmetic Operations, Mental Math, Decimals, Metric System, Story Problems
- Decimal Fractions, Fractions
- Freehand Geometry
- Class Play with an Audience
Skills Classes
- Maths
- English
Subject Classes
MUSIC
- Write and Play Music With Scales in G, F, D
- Soprano, Alto, Tenor Flutes
- Folk Songs, Seasonal Songs
- Stringed Instrument: Violin or Cello, Orchestra or Ensemble
- Read Music and Work With Rhythms
- MOVEMENT and SPATIAL DYNAMICS
- Rhythmic Precision Movement
- Greek Olympic Pentathlon Games
- Folk Dance
- Eurythmy
PRACTICAL and FINE ARTS
- Geometric Drawing
- Watercolor Painting
- Drama
- Knitting, Purling, Dyeing Own Yarn, Crafts
- Woodwork
FILIPINO LANGUAGE
- Oral and Written Learning Through Poetry, Stories, Songs, Crafts, Games
- Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, Syntax, Short Talks, Grammar and Spelling, Comprehension, Dictations
- Exposure to Baybayin
- FOREIGN LANGUAGE
- Exposure to Sanskrit
TRIPS
- Class Five Greek Pentathlon Camp
Class 6: How I Stand In The World
(12 years)
Class 6 is a transition year into Middle School. A student becomes aware of the changes in his or her body and takes a firm and intentional step into the outer world. “As a student progresses through the challenges of adolescence, he or she explores the law and order of Rome and the rules of Geometry and Physics. These help a Student organize and make sense of his or her changing world.” This is also the right time for a study of the physical body and the earth, to support a Student’s increasing awareness of one’s self.
Main Lesson Blocks
- Rome
- Medieval History
- Cultural Studies, Asian Geography
- Physics of Sound, Light, Darkness
- Four Arithmetic Operations, Mental Math, Decimals, Metric System
- Averages, Factoring, Ratios, Percentages, Business Math, Story Problems
- Geometry
- Geology, Mineralogy
- Class Play with an Audience
Skills Classes
- Maths
- English
Subject Classes
MUSIC
- Medieval Music
- Seasonal Songs
- Folk Songs
- Stringed Instrument: Violin or Cello, Orchestra or Ensemble
- Reading Music and Working with Rhythms
MOVEMENT and SPATIAL DYNAMICS
- Rhythmic Precision Movement
- Team Games
- Folk Dance
- Eurythmy
PRACTICAL and FINE ARTS
- Black and White Drawing
- Black and White Painting
- Calligraphy
- Drama
- Three-Dimensional Hand-Sewing, Crafts
- Woodwork
FILIPINO LANGUAGE
- Oral and Written Learning Through Poetry, Stories, Songs, Crafts, Games
- Philippine Geography and Art
- Vocabulary, Reading, Writing, Grammar and Spelling, Dictations
TRIPS
- Class Six Geology Camp
Class 7: What I Will Carry Into The World
(13 years)
A Class 7 Student enters puberty and has a spirit of inquiry and exploration. This is a time when a Student’s analytical mind begins to develop and comes to know one’s self alone and in relation to others. A balance of the laws of physical life is introduced in Physics and Physiology. A study of Geography, Renaissance, Reformation, and Age of Exploration allows a Student to explore a changing world.
Main Lesson Blocks
- Age of Exploration
- Renaissance
- Asian Geography
- Physics of Simple Machines
- Creative Writing
- Astronomy
- Inorganic Chemistry (Salts and Bases)
- Physiology: Digestive and Reproductive Systems
- Algebra
- Class Play with an Audience
Skills Classes
- Maths
- English
Subject Classes
MUSIC
- Choral: Renaissance Music and Songs, Madrigals, African Music
- Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass Recorder
- Seasonal Songs
- Stringed Instruments, Orchestra or Ensemble
- Reading Music and Working With Rhythms
MOVEMENT and SPATIAL DYNAMICS
- Rhythmic Precision Movement
- Team Games
- Circus Arts
- Eurythmy, Bothmer Gymnastics
- Aikido
PRACTICAL and FINE ARTS
- Perspective Drawing
- Charcoal and Pastel Drawing
- Watercolor Painting
- Drama
- Fiber Arts, Wool Felting, Tying Knots, Crafts
- Woodwork
FILIPINO LANGUAGE
- Oral and Written Learning Through Poetry, Stories, Songs, Crafts, Games
- Philippine Geography and Art
- Vocabulary, Reading, Conversations, Writing, Grammar and Spelling Drills, Dictations
TRIPS
- Class Seven Explorers Sailing Trip
Class 8: Identity
(14 years)
A Class 8 Student experiences significant growth and reflection as he or she prepares to enter Upper School. A Class 8 Student delves deeper into schoolwork, demonstrates maturity, and prepares for more serious and analytical work to come. Over the course of the school year, a Class 8 Student develops a project of his or her own, with help from a mentor. “A Class 8 project deepens a Student’s interests and has an inter-disciplinary approach, with an oral and written report, and a mechanical or artistic creation. This is presented to the community near the end of a school year.”
Main Lesson Blocks
- Age of Reformation, Revolutions, Industrial Revolution
- Civil Rights, Modern 20th Century History
- African Geography
- Physics of Electricity and Magnetism
- Short Story, Creative Writing
- Organic Chemistry: Starch, Sugar, Protein and Fats
- Physiology, Anatomy of the Eye, Human Skeleton, Muscles and Bones
- Climatology
- Algebra
- Stereotomy, Platonic Solids
- Class Play with an Audience
Skills Classes
- Maths
- English
Subject Classes
MUSIC
- Choral music: Madrigals, Songs from Around the World
- Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass Recorder
- Seasonal Songs
- Stringed Instruments, Orchestra or Ensemble
- Reading Music and Working With Rhythms
MOVEMENT and SPATIAL DYNAMICS
- Rhythmic Precision Movement
- Team Games
- Folk Dancing, Circus Arts
- Eurythmy, Bothmer Gymnastics
- Gymnastics
- Aikido
PRACTICAL and FINE ARTS
- Watercolor Painting
- Charcoal and Pastel Drawing
- Drama
- Machine-Sewing, Crafts
- Woodwork
FILIPINO LANGUAGE
- Oral and Written Learning Through Poetry, Stories, Songs, Crafts, Games
- Philippine Geography and Art
- Vocabulary, Reading, and Conversations, Writing, Grammar, Drills, Dictations, Oral Presentations
TRIPS
- Class Eight History and Geography Trip