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Curriculum

Parent Toddler Curriculum
Pre-School and Kindergarten Curriculum
Grades Curriculum

Parent-Toddler Curriculum

The Parent/Toddler Class runs one day per week for two hours. The focus for this class is to give children the opportunity to play and explore in a loving environment.  

Typically children get the most out of this class from starting at  1 1/2 years of age.  However, we do allow them to begin the class as early as age 1.

At this age children are mainly playing on their own.  Their play consists of exploring - finding out all they can about their world. This class is valuable for parents because it gives them the opportunity to meet other parents with similar interests and allows them to learn about Waldorf Education by participating in it.

Parents also spend time during each class learning how to make beautiful and simple toys and decorations for their children. Crafts include sewing small animals, making lanterns, origami and knitting.

Activities for the children include:

circle time (songs with corresponding motions)

puppet show or story

snack time (with more songs at the table)

free play

outdoor time

closing circle

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Pre-School   and Kindergarten Curriculum

In our preschool and kindergarten you will find children joyfully engaged in creative play. Children are playing circle games and playing outdoors increasing their physical strength. Language skills are developing through stories, fingerplays, poetry and singing. Children's feelings and emotions are nourished through nature activities, festivals and puppet shows. Watercolor painting, drawing and handcrafts nourish a child's sense of beauty and wonder.

Early childhood education emphasizes three basic concepts: imitation, creativity and rhythm.  Art and music are an integral part of the classroom.   These come together to create an atmosphere where creative play is fully developed.

Imitation
Young children are completely absorbed by their physical surroundings. They understand the world around them through imitation. Everything children experience is absorbed into their being and affects them deeply. It is the job of parents and teachers to create a physically and emotionally positive environment for children to reflect.

The teacher creates opportunities for children to develop their interests. One way she or he does this is to model activities for the children.   When playing outside, for example, the teacher may garden and invite the children to join in. Other times, they will engage in their own creative play, often imitating other things they have observed. The activities of daily life, such as cooking, crafts and other functional skills are woven into the daily rhythm, engaging children in real activities as they master fine and gross motor skills at their own pace.

Rhythms
Daily and seasonal rhythms are extremely important for a child. Daily rhythms give a child security and a sense of place. This trust and comfort allows them to more fully develop and put their energies into creative play. Seasonal rhythms allow children to be a part of the natural world and its seasons. In a world that takes us far from nature, it is important for children to connect to the earth. Natural rhythms are emphasized through stories, poetry, music, puppetry, and activities. The children also help create a Nature Table which shares the beauty of the seasons with the children.

Art and Beauty
Everything is made to be natural and beautiful. Artwork is aesthetically pleasing and emphasizes color and light. Toys and other items are intended to be beautiful as well as functional. Art is created by children using natural materials such as beeswax crayons, beeswax modeling material, and watercolors made with plant-based pigments. Color and free expression are emphasized.

Music
Music is a strong component of the classroom. Children respond well to singing, so the teacher sings to help the children during activities and to transition between activities. The children learn these songs and take them for their own.   The teacher also uses a kinderharp which is a seven stringed harp that plays a pentatonic scale.   This simple instrument creates beautiful, simple tones that the children enjoy.

Natural Materials
Toys for children are carefully crafted out of natural materials such as wood, silk, cotton and wool. They are open-ended toys, meaning they do not have a specific purpose. Instead, the child uses his or her own creativity and can use the toys in many different ways. A silk cloth might be used as a cape, a blanket, or a hammock for a doll.   Playstands can be made into any type of house, cave or castle. These types of toys allow the imagination to develop fully.

Creative Play
Our school seeks to educate the head, hands and heart of children.   All of the pieces of Waldorf education come together to allow children the time and space to BE children.   The job of children is to absorb their environment and to understand it by recreating it through play.   Waldorf education facilitates this creativity to form adults who can be creative and can fully develop their intellectual capabilities.

Activities for the children include:

circle time (songs and verses with corresponding motions)

free play indoors

snack time (with more verses at the table)

outdoor time

activity - painting, drawing, clay sculpture, baking, gardening, etc.

story telling, puppet show, or play

closing circle

 

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Grades Curriculum

In the grades, children learn lessons in blocks – they work on a topic for several hours in the morning and continue on that lesson for a several weeks.  Academics are supplemented with music, foreign languages, art and handwork, and physical education.  Children are taught by the same primary teacher, who moves with them each year through eighth grade.  This develops a very strong bond between the children and the teacher.

Children at this age learn best by engaging their feelings and emotions.  Learning takes place by relating it to fairy tales, fables and legends.  Lessons are learned, but more than that, children are beginning to love learning itself.

Lessons in first grade include form drawing (to develop spatial awareness and hand/eye coordination in preparation for writing letters), math (numerals and four basic mathematical functions), and a pictorial introduction to letters.  Children begin the transition from moving and speaking to writing and reading.  Science is learned through gardening and cooking.  Arts and handwork include drawing, knitting, clay and beeswax modeling and watercolor painting.  Movement activities include games, bean bags, string games and obstacle courses.  Music is learned on the pentatonic flute.  Fairy tales, nature stories, poetry, and music are used to help with lessons and awaken a reverence for life in the children.

Second grade continues and deepens the lessons learned in first grade.  Language Arts includes fables and legends from many cultures, reading, cursive writing and elements of grammar.  Math includes work on the four processes as well as place value.  Arts, handwork, movement and music are continued.

“When the intellect travels on the wings of goodness, beauty and truth it can reach new heights.”

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Seven Canyons School

PO Box 520175

2150 S. Foothill Dr.

Salt Lake City, UT 84152

801-463-1360