Specialty Subject Guide
ART (Offered as part of Extra Main in Grades 1-3 and once or twice a week as a subject class in Grades 4-8)
While children interact with various art forms with classroom teachers daily, Art class is taught by a visual
art specialist. The focus is two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. For two-dimensional art, students
learn to draw many different subjects such as plants, animals, and human forms. Students learn to paint
with watercolors and acrylic. They also learn how to create with pastels, colored pencils, and graphite
pencils.
Three-dimensional art focuses on creating artwork out of clay and wood. In clay, students learn the basic
hand-building techniques. As the students become more comfortable with this media, they are challenged
with more complicated sculptures based on the human form. Woodwork begins with creating an egg shape
out of a block using rasps and sandpaper. Later projects have involved carving and carpentry.
ENGLISH (Offered as part of Extra Main in Grades 1-3 and twice a week as a subject class in Grades 4-8)
The purpose of the English Subject Class is to deepen the students’ skills in vocabulary, writing mechanics,
composition and literature. As so much of Main Lesson becomes increasingly writing intensive, and in
later years includes the of study note taking, outline creation, and formation of the expository essay, students
typically have two separate English classes a week, in conjunction with a single library class. Students are
given weekly vocabulary and spelling lists, which continued throughout much of the year. Vocabulary may
be chosen to juxtapose with the current Main Lesson block, selected from Grade-appropriate lists, or taken
from frequently misspelled words noted in the students’ Main Lesson compositions. Throughout the course
of the year, students have grammar blocks, which increase in complexity each year. Beginning with parts
of speech, students move on to a more complicated study of tenses, phrases, clauses, and basic sentence
diagramming in the upper grades. The students also work toward self and peer review of papers. In terms
of composition, the students build off of the Language Arts curriculum in Main Lesson (see attached packet
with curriculum). Book reports from different genres as well as journaling are particularly emphasized. In
addition to the expectation that students are continually reading grade-appropriate books throughout the
year, several class books are selected. The students engage in discussions of the themes and content of the
readings, and take weekly reading comprehension quizzes. As students rise to the highest grades, the goal
is to prepare the students so that they will be ready to receive the high school English curriculum.
GARDENING (Offered once a week to Grades 1-7)
Throughout the grades, gardening is woven into the curriculum as a way to develop environmental
consciousness in the students as well as an understanding of the cycles of life. Through this hands-on
approach, the students gain a deep understanding of the natural rhythms of our planet and gain a practical
understanding of how food is produced.
In the younger grades, the children learn the life cycle of plants through planting seeds and tending them.
They learn about the types of plants that live in our region and when they grow. The children help maintain
the garden through weeding and watering.
Students in the upper grades are taught how to build and maintain a healthy compost, and discover why it
is important for the soil. Math and reasoning skills are utilized when planning the garden beds. The students
are in charge of making sure the garden grows beautifully. When it is time to harvest, they enjoy making
delicious treats. Through creating healthy home-grown snacks, they deepen their understanding of what it
takes to get food from the garden to the table.
In all grades, nature crafts are implemented as a way to help bring the garden back into the classroom and
home.
HANDWORK (Offered twice a week to Grades 1-8)
The Handwork curriculum at a Waldorf school teaches Students to develop patience and perseverance,
through working on projects that may have several steps and take several months. It also helps them build
the capacity to concentrate and focus as well as solve problems. Throughout the grades students learn to
knit, crochet, sew, embroider, cross stitch, and knit in the round.
LIBRARY (Offered once a week to Grades 1-8)
The Library is currently located in the middle of the school and serves as a place for browsing, quiet reading,
tutoring, and library classes. Each class meets weekly with the librarian to hear stories and poetry, read,
browse the collection, and to select books to take home. As a component of the school’s language program,
library classes focus on introducing students to different genres of literature as well as different authors and
illustrators. Upper grades use the nonfiction collection to research and to enhance the curriculum for the
classroom. There is an emphasis on research skills.
Special programming occurs throughout Poetry Month and around Dr. Seuss’ birthday when we celebrate
reading and Dr. Seuss during an all-school morning of reading.
MATHEMATICS (Offered three to four times a week to Grades 4-8)
The purpose of the Math Special Section is to practice concepts introduced in Math main lessons, and
ultimately, begin introducing new, related concepts which will allow the students to progress to a level in
which they are ready for high school math courses. Beginning in 1st Grade, students work with all four
operations simultaneously, with the aid of manipulatives. Skip counting and movement-related counting
activities are incorporated with the times tables and number sense. The introduction of fractions in 4th
Grade and decimals in 5th Grade paves the way for more abstract concepts in the upper grades. After
ensuring the foundational skills in math are strong, 6th Grade students begin work with equations using
variables and the concept of percent. Probability and statistics, as well as managing bank accounts are also
the work of the 6th Grade. In 7th Grade, upper level geometry concepts such as area, the Pythagorean
Theorem, and the Golden Ratio are highlighted. The students also focus more on manipulating equations,
order of operations, and other pre-Algebra skills. In 8th Grade, concepts in Algebra I, volume and threedimensional geometry, and more detailed concepts in statistics are studied. We ensure that our math
specialists are well-versed in the typical high school curriculum to ensure that our students are ready to
fully engage in the high school to the best of their abilities.
MOVEMENT (Offered twice a week to Grades 1- 8)
The Movement curriculum focuses on developmentally appropriate games, coordination skills, and
physical activity in each grade. An emphasis on singing and circle games as well as rhythmic movements
in the lower grades provides a foundation for coordination and form exercises in the middle grades, with
the fifth grade participating in Greek-style Pentathlon games including running, long-jumping, javelin and
discus throwing, and Greek wrestling. Students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade refine these skills through games,
organized sports, and strength, agility, and stamina exercises to prepare them to participate in high school
athletics.
MUSIC (Offered two to three times a week to Grades 1- 8)
Music is a part of every class, every day. Rhythmic mathematics, sung transitional activities, and unitspecific arts integration are the norm in a Waldorf school.
The study of music for its own sake starts in grade one. The youngest students sing, dance, use
improvisational dramatics and allow the music to fill their lives. They learn the proper terms for high and
low, fast and slow, and learn the difference between healthy singing and speaking voices. They enjoy
clapping games and classroom percussion. They sing and sign solfegge syllables Do, Mi, So and La, sing
these syllables in tune, and play them on a pentatonic flute.
The second grade continues with pentatonic flute and learns to sing and play the syllables Re and high Do,
to complete the pentatonic scale. Most of their music is in the pentatonic mode, so they are able to play
nearly every song they sing. The second grade enjoys folk songs and dances from the U.S. and around the
world. They learn to apply their solfegge singing skills to playing Orff-style xylophones, so they may
create beautiful music vocally and on two different instruments.
The third grade graduates to soprano recorder and the diatonic scale. They begin to read music in both
instrumental and vocal classes, using both syllables and alphabet names. They are enthusiastic singers of
partner songs, rounds, and simple countermelodies. They are proud to be included as the youngest members
of the all-school recorder ensemble and to participate in school concerts.
The fourth grade continues work with note reading, recorder playing, and choral skills. This is also the
year they begin to play a string instrument. Most begin on violin, but those who have previous instrumental
experience may elect to play a cello or string bass.
The fifth grade class continues with violin, or may change to cello or bass if they desire. The continuing
players join one of the upper school ensemble classes, and the new students prepare themselves for the next
year’s orchestra membership. Vocal music moves to a more traditional choral format, beginning with two
treble parts and adding a cambiata part if the boys’ voices are beginning to change. Students continue work
with recorder to accompany vocal parts or present recorder ensemble music in concert settings.
The middle school years develop skills for bigger and better choral/orchestral experiences, and make time
for a more formal study of music history and theory. Music history coordinates with the classroom history
studies. Students study the music from the Middle Ages to the Revolutionary Era. A healthy representation
of world cultures is included in their artistic and historic explorations.
The goal of this music sequence it to know music, not only as an art form, but as a vital expression of world
cultures and daily lives.
SPANISH (Offered two to three times a week to Grades 1-8)
Our mission in the teaching of Spanish at Waldorf is to focus on three main axes: cultural understanding,
linguistic mastery, and a social comprehension of other students and other backgrounds. From the first year
of school to fourth grade, learning is achieved through analysis of poems, songs, and stories. Writing begins
in fourth grade when students start to learn vocabulary and its association with their native tongue. From
fourth grade to sixth grade, the lessons diversify. Students analyze different parts of culturally divergent
societies. They focus on more complex aspects of language such as "parts of speech" and contracting full
phrases. Verbs are also an important aspect during this stage. An understanding of history is emphasized,
and students begin to see history as different based on country and region, but simultaneously
interconnected. They come to view their citizenship as tied to global citizenship more broadly. From sixth
to eighth grade, the students begin to learn fully the "parts of speech" from a grammatical perspective. They
can differentiate all parts of speech in the new language and fully understand the language when reading.
Conjugation is also heavily emphasized. Each class, students engage in conversation, recite verses, and
participate in interactive activities that enhance their abilities as emerging Spanish speakers.