Curriculum

Curriculum

From age 6 rising 7 all children study a rich and balanced range of subjects grounded in the stages of child development. These include all recognised subjects of the national curriculum as well as some specific to the Steiner curriculum. Core subjects are taught in thematic blocks (Main Lessons) with a balance of artistic, practical and intellectual content, with engaging, real world learning experiences.

Classes 1 and 2 (6-8)

First grade is the beginning of formal schooling marked by children's new interest in learning, inspired by the awakening abilities of memory and thinking. Steiner Education meets the student's innate curiosity and desire to grow with a rich multisensory experience. Students sculpt, draw, move, listen, imagine and sound out—all ways to engage different learning styles—to stimulate the young mind so that the students become motivated eager learners.

Students establish good habits of classroom life and work that will form the basis for all subsequent learning at school. The students and teacher build the foundation for an ever-deepening relationship while forming a socially cohesive group during this special year of "beginnings".

The children familiarize themselves with the fundamentals of arithmetic and literacy,  developing a repertoire of strong core skills. The curriculum content for this age serves to cultivate a sense of breadth and richness of the language of the feelings and emotions. Teachers use movement, rhythm and rhyme as a key instructional tool.

Core Subjects

Speciality Subjects
The alphabet Foreign languages
Spelling Handwork: weaving, knitting, crochet
Reading Music: singing, pentatonic flute, recorder
Writing  Eurythmy
Introduction to the elements of grammar  Games
Arithmetic: all four processes  

History and literature:

Fairy tales, nature stories and folk tales
(retold and dramatized by the class)
Fables and legends (retold and dramatized, leading to composition in the child's own words)

  
Form Drawing  
Painting  
Arts and Crafts  

 

Classes 3 and 4 (8-10) 

Noticeable physiological, psychological and cognitive changes take place in the child this year. The nine/ten year threshold represents a very significant step in self-awareness. Children realize they are separate from their surroundings and meet the world as individuals, often resulting in increased questions, self-doubt and wonder. Questions take on a personal twist: "How do you know?".


Therefore, every possible opportunity is given to meet these oppositions in ways in which the child can have the experience of crossing and, at the same time being led towards a wholesome resolution.

Through imaginatively presented lessons, the teacher meets the growing interest of the children in more concrete areas of knowledge and provides them with opportunities for more independence in their work. The curriculum helps the children form a sense of their relationship to their environment, in both a social and geographical sense.

In form drawing, Celtic knots are challenging tangles of skill and beauty. The theme of separateness is reflected in the mathematics curriculum with the study of fractions, introduced with concrete objects to demonstrate truths before forming mental concepts. Throughout the year we hear and read stories of heroes. The hero emerges as someone to look up to, emulate, laugh at, respect. There may still be the miraculous feats and yet, the human qualities - the emotions, the struggles and the confrontations - are emphasized.


During the same school year the children learn about real farming. They experience how the farmer has to work with and even constrain the forces of nature, weeding the crops, building fences, protecting the lambs, draining the land. It is important that children have direct experience of the work, and many classes not only visit a farm, but pick potatoes, rake hay etc. Where possible children can sow a patch of corn, tend it, harvest it, mill and bake it into bread to eat.

They learn how houses are built, how raw materials are transformed and used in building. As well as visiting a building site, it is usual to undertake a building project, often involving brick -laying, to make a garden wall, or a brick oven or playhouse for the kindergarten.
 

Core Subjects

Speciality Subjects
Language Arts: spelling, reading, grammar (noun, verb and adjective), cursive writing, composition Foreign languages
Mathematics: multiplication and division, measurement, money and time, fractions Handwork: knitting, crochet, embroidery and cross stitch
Housing, farming Music: singing and recorder, introduction to string instruments and choir
Local Geography Eurythmy
Comparative study of human beings and animals Games

History and literature:

Hebrew stories and introduction to history
Norse myths and sagas

  
Form Drawing  
Art  

 

Class 5 to 10 (11 -16)

As the curriculum develops all students learn a rich and varied curriculum including:

  • English - poetry, creative writing, short stories, composition, grammar, literature
  • Mathematics - including business maths, geometry, combinatorics, algebra , trigonometry
  • Geography
  • History - including ancient civilizations, Roman and medieval history, late Middle Ages and Renaissance history, explorers, 1700 to present, modern world history, art history
  • Music - ensemble orchestra, choir, strings, recorder, music theory
  • Independent projects
  • Physics - including thermodynamics, mechanics
  • Chemistry - including organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry
  • Biology - including anatomy, physiology, embryology, botany, cellular biology

  • Earth Sciences - Astronomy, Meteorology, Mineralogy
  • Foreign Languages
  • Arts and Practial Activities
    • Geometric drawing
    • Calligraphy
    • Perspective Drawing
    • Woodwork, spoon making, bowl making
    • Pattern making, sewing, doll making, machine sewing
    • Bookbinding
    • Sculpting, textiles, drawing, painting, puppetry
  • Technology - keyboarding, computer basics, hardware, programming
  • Global Studies - human rights, developing countries
  • Health and Physical Education

Reference: The Educational Tasks and Content of the Steiner Waldorf Curriculum,
Edited by Martyn Rawson and Tobias Ritcher

Photos included from Motueka Rudolf Steiner School, New Zealand