One Sentence: How Does the Waldorf Curriculum Speak to the Child in Each Grade Level?

by Sarah Barrett

How would you describe the Waldorf Curriculum? We challenged ourselves to describe how the Waldorf curriculum speaks to the child in as few words as possible for each grade level. What are your thoughts? How would you describe it? We'd love to hear!

Kindergarten

I am part of a community, and I am safe, loved, and I belong.

First Grade

I can learn new things in this beautiful and magical world.

Second Grade

There are a lot of people with Good Hearts doing good in our world (and the tricksters are funny!).

Third Grade

I can live on the earth and do things on my own. I can cook, grow food, build, make, measure, weigh, and I am safe.  The world is a good place to live.

Fourth Grade

I love the animals who live alongside me in this world; however, I am different from these creatures in that my hands are freed for good work. Human hands can cook, heal, build, create, hug, help, and so much more.  I am wrestling with the question of my own morality. Tell me about larger-than-life characters who have flaws so I can feel what it is like to help or hurt others.

Fifth Grade

“Let your belly be full,

Make merry day and night.

Of each day make a feast of rejoicing.

Day and night dance and play!”

Sixth Grade

I feel safer being one in 1,000 Roman soldiers who all look the same, but I feel supported as I “cross the Rubicon” into adolescence, and I sing as I go.

Seventh Grade

My flame of individuality begins to flicker as I explore new things outside of my comfort zone. Biographies of real people support me in my journeys of exploration.

Eighth Grade

It’s time for a revolution! I have strong opinions and feel passionate about them!

Ninth Grade

I strengthen my capacities for observation so I can learn what the world is like.

Tenth Grade

I dig deeper to strengthen my thinking capacities to find out how things work.

Eleventh Grade

I strengthen my appreciation for perspective to investigate why things are the way they are. 

Twelfth Grade

How can I make a difference in the world?

“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility – these three forces are the very nerve of education.”   ~Rudolf Steiner