What happens in the Early Childhood program? Children ages 2-6 are cared for in a family-like setting, wherein all classes are mixed-age. Each classroom is arranged like a home, and the children engage in home tasks, such as gardening, cooking, repairing, and cleaning. These practical activities build confidence through skill building, and they are balanced with artistic activities such as painting, coloring, and sewing. Throughout the days, broad portions of the day are dedicated to free play in the beautiful outdoors, where they discover their interests, test their capacities, and develop relationships.
What is Waldorf Education? Waldorf education meets each child’s individual needs, and so prepares them for our rapidly evolving world. This is done with consideration for the children’s psychological development. Here’s how we balance these three aspects:
- Each grade school class has a dedicated “class teacher” accompanying them from first through eighth grade. The relationship thus developed is an invaluable asset as children face life’s inevitable challenges.
- Our teachers extensively study the age-specific development of each age group, and design class content with this understanding in mind.
- Our education takes the students through the development of humanity, stage by stage. Waldorf graduates are therefore at home in a familiar world in which they gladly become active citizens.
What would my child’s experience be? Our curriculum spirals in breadth and depth as each year proceeds, revisiting previous topics in ever richer ways and creating a wholistic conception of the world. For the best results, delivery follows specific rhythms that nurture the capacity for hard work, engender emotional maturity, and awaken the intellect at the right moment. Classes take two forms:
- A daily, two-hour main lesson that changes on a monthly basis and introduces or deepens topics such as math, language arts, history, etc.
- Weekly subject classes that include typical academic subjects, as well as the following:
- Movement- physical education supports physical development and social/emotional life.
- Painting- education of the feeling life of the child through developing a deep relationship with color.
- Sculpting- experiencing space and form while engaging the body and feeling life.
- Mandarin and German- beginning in first grade two languages will be taught through memorization and movement and gradually brought into practical use.
- Music- we regularly incorporate all that is musical—rhythm, lyric, tone, interval, listening, responding, harmonizing, etc.
- Handwork- knitting, crocheting, and sewing engender attention to detail, support small-motor coordination, and improve focus.
- Form drawing- completely unique to Waldorf education, this practice nurtures hand-eye coordination, and a sense of balance, fairness, and beauty.
- Orchestra, woodworking, and gardening will be added as the children progress through the grades.
Who are the teachers? The faculty at Rose Rock School is enthusiastic about childhood, education, and human development. Teachers are certified in the Waldorf and/or LifeWays pedagogies, and they perpetually study as a means to deepen their understanding and their craft.