Elementary School
Classes 1 through 6
The curriculum of the elementary school is rich and diversified, offering humanities, mathematics, science, and the arts. Mastery of the traditional academic disciplines is interwoven with artistic and practical activities to provide a rich and varied educational experience for every student.
Each morning begins with the "Main Lesson," lasting for two hours and taught by the class teacher. During this uninterrupted time the class teacher leads the students in a rhythmic component of the lesson, then presents the current academic subject, which the children question and discuss. The teacher engages the students with a variety of approaches: scientific, literary, historical, and artistic. Each student creates a record of main lesson work in books that are filled with compositions, observations, maps, diagrams, and illustrations. These colorful Main Lesson books are carefully crafted with attention to detail and artistic presentation. They are a unique and vital element of Waldorf education.
A recess and shorter periods follow the Main Lesson, with subjects such as French, choral and instrumental music, handwork, woodwork, clay modeling, form-drawing, painting, movement education, eurythmy (form of movement), and gardening/farming. Thus, the rhythm of the day alternates between work that requires intellectual focus and physical activities that engage the body and hands.
The following is a brief summary of the language arts, mathematics, and science curriculum presented in Main Lesson, class by class. Find out more details by clicking on each class heading.
- Class 1: Fairy tales, folk tales and nature stories; pictorial introduction to letters; preparation for reading through writing; qualities of numbers; introduction of the four operations in arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).
- Class 2: Legends and fables; stories of saints and heroes; continued work in writing, reading, and arithmetic; introduction of cursive writing.
- Class 3: Old Testament stories; composition and grammar; study of practical life (farming, housing, and clothing); time, weights, measures, and money in arithmetic.
- Class 4: Norse mythology and sagas; local geography and map-making; local history; study of the animal kingdom; fractions and decimal fractions.
- Class 5: Ancient history and mythology from India, Persia, and Egypt; Greek mythology and history; Canadian geography related to vegetation and agriculture; botany; decimals.
- Class 6: Roman and Medieval history; astronomy; geology; physics (sound and light); beginning algebra; geometry and geometric drawing; business math (interest percentage), ratio and proportion.
Classes 7 and 8
What are the needs of today’s adolescents? How can students be better prepared for high school? How can we change the way we meet students so that they experience more of a difference in our approach and expectations between Classes 1-6 and Classes 7-8?
These are some of the questions that our faculty has been exploring
recently. While the evolution of a "middle school" concept
is not yet complete, we acknowledge that there is a need for teachers
who are specially trained to work with adolescents. As well, we
recognize that many families choose our school because we are part of
a community where public High School begins in Grade 10.
The beautiful setting of the Nelson Waldorf School leads us naturally to focus on outdoor education as a major component of the curriculum through these upper elementary grades. Find out more details by clicking on each class heading below.
- Class 7: The Age of Discovery; Renaissance history; physics (electricity and magnetism); elementary chemistry; human physiology (health and nutrition); algebra; geometry; business math (profit/loss).
- Class 8: Modern history; world geography; Industrial Revolution, French and American Revolutions, physiology (human skeleton); physics; algebra; geometry; elementary chemistry; meteorology; epic and dramatic poetry.
Physical Movement/Education
Classes 1 through 9 receive Movement Education as an essential component of their curriculum. Our goals and objectives are to develop:
- and assist the growing, developing child;
- an understanding and a healthy approach to movement and exercise;
- an increased social awareness and responsibility (the ability to work and play with a group);
- an understanding of, as well as specific skills in relationship to, sport and games;
- a sense of growing strength, flexibility, and endurance through movement activities;
- the ability to listen to and follow instructions; and
- a movement program in harmony with physical development, bringing appropriate activities for each stage of development.
Recreation activities may include pentathlon training, circuit training, running, archery, skipping, cooperative games, skiing, and swimming. Supervised activities take place outdoors and in the gym at lunch break.