in order to begin Class 6 in the fall, the student must have turned 11 by May 1st of that year.

Our Class 6 class size is 12 students, allowing the teacher to get to know each student and to foster a school-family environment for the class.

Students in Class 6 begin to show signs of cognitive growth, moving from thinking in the picture building way of the early classes to the logical thinking of the adult.

To learn more about the Sixth Grader and the Twelve-Year Change, please read our blog post on this topic.

History & Geography

In history, Class 6 students start with the founding of Rome through the legends, the monarchy, republic, and empire. History studies continue with the life of Christ, the Crusades, the life of Muhammed and the contributions of the Islamic people, and finally, medieval society is studied through historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Saladin.

Geography for Class 6 covers Central and South America, the cultures, geographical terminology, and major landmarks.

Science

Formal science lessons continue in Class 6 with Astronomy I, Geology & Mineralogy, and Physics I. Science lessons are based in the Waldorf method of phenomenological science where students experience the phenomenon before explanations are given. This method develops critical thinking and allows meaningful questions to form inside the student before answers are given. Hands-on components and experiments are key to our science curriculum. In Astronomy I, we begin to find our bearings in the night sky by learning the constellations and the stories behind their names, terminology, and history, laying the foundations for Astronomy II in Class 7. In Geology & Mineralogy, we study the rock cycle, types of rocks and minerals, Moh’s Hardness Scale, volcanoes, glaciers, and more. In Physics I, students study acoustics, optics, light & color, and the basics of thermodynamics.

Math

The Class 6 Math Main Lessons are Geometry II and Business Math. In Geometry II, we progress from Class 5’s Geometry I with more advanced constructions and geometric drawings. Geometric progressions and The Spiral of Archimedes are wonderful hands-on lessons for the students. Angle measures, circle terminology and study, and polygon terminology are all studied with artistic components.

In Business Math, students continue to build on decimals from Class 5, while applying them to practical life through business math. Percentages, interest, taxes, discount price, rate of pay, and unit cost are all introduced as students learn to apply the basic processes to practical situations. Business Math is both challenging and exciting for the students as they work on project work and create ideas for their own business.

For a complete math curriculum, Lotus & Ivy recommends students register for Class 6 Complete Year Math Class, which meets twice a week, in addition to the Main Lesson Classes, and provides a complete year math curriculum covering topics including exponents and roots, divisibility, prime factorization, temperature conversion formulas, business formulas, line graphs and pie charts, statistics, introduction to ratios, currency exchange rates, and much more.

Language Arts

Literature in Class 6 is centered on stories from history, Arthurian legends, and poetry. Grammar and spelling practice are incorporated into every Main Lesson as part of the morning warm-up, and composition is part of every Main Lesson block whether it be through essay-writing, paragraph writing, creative writing, journaling, or lab reports.

EXPECTATIONS

Our teachers send home assignments for the week for students to work on outside of class time. Class 6 students can expect to spend 2-4 hours outside of class time on assignments each week.

Our classes are recorded and can be watched later for students who miss a class. The recordings are not sold or shared with anyone outside of the class.

Complete Curriculum

Lotus & Ivy’s Waldorf main lessons and homework, if completed, fulfill a complete year homeschool requirement for language arts, science, and social studies. For a complete math curriculum, we recommend that families supplement with additional math practice at least three times a week. Lotus & Ivy offers additional math classes to meet this requirement. For more information about our Class 6 math class, click here.

If you are looking for a comprehensive wholistic Waldorf program, Lotus & Ivy offers Complement Classes in addition to our Main Lesson and Complete Year Math Classes. Our Complements are four rotations of Spanish, German, flute & recorder, and handwork. Students meet twice a week with their teacher for these classes in addition to Main Lesson and Complete Year Math.

Students may enroll in Lotus & Ivy Main Lesson Classes, Complete Year Math Classes, or Complement Classes or any combination of the 3. Lotus & Ivy recommends that students take all 3 offerings for the most comprehensive Online Waldorf-inspired experience, providing hands-on and experiential learning at it’s best.

SCreen Time: Harmful or healthy?

We have carefully considered screen time for all of our classes to ensure the screen time is interactive, not passive or one-sided. Waldorf education, along with health & education experts outside of Waldorf education, have for many years taught to avoid screens because when the screen time is one-sided, like with television, it is harmful to the child’s brain. Lotus & Ivy’s live and interactive virtual classes make excellent use of today’s technology and allow us to bring Waldorf education to a much larger audience by ensuring the screen time is hands-on and experiential.

Cognitive Foundation

As true with any Waldorf curriculum, our classes provide plenty of opportunities for artistic and creative work.

According to an article published by the Waldorf Research Institute entitled Waldorf Education is Developmentally Appropriate – What Exactly Does this Mean?, “recent MRI equipment has illuminated the fact that in young children, artistic work, full body playing, and sensory stimulation all light up the whole brain. Focused academic work, on the other hand, only lights up small parts of the brain. That ‘lighting’ up points to the development of neurons, making the child’s brain replete with neurons which end up looking, at their best, like a gorgeous, mature tree crown. Once myelinated, these neurons communicate for clear thinking, flexible problem solving, executive function, and creativity.” (https://www.waldorflibrary.org/articles/1249-waldorf-education-is-developmentally-appropriate-what-exactly-does-this-mean)