Waldorf Education​​

​

Waldorf education is a distinct pedagogical approach emphasizing child development as an integration of academic, artistic, and practical skills, delivered at a pace which best suits each individual child, maximizing their likelihood of a successful outcome. The approach has been extremely effective and is the foundation of many of the most successful public and private educational systems in the world.

​

Core Pillars

 

Developmental Phases: Learning is structured around distinct seven-year developmental stages (early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence), tailoring the curriculum to the child's changing emotional and intellectual needs. The curriculum is adjusted to fit each child's progress, instead of trying to force the child to conform to an indifferent schedule.

​

Head, Heart, and Hands: A hands-on education, learning through real life action as well as intellectual development. The curriculum balances intellectual thinking (head), emotional and artistic development (heart), and practical, hands-on skills (hands) like woodworking, gardening, and handwork. This integration provides important developmental advantages for motor skills and cognition. Integration of creative skills activates critical thinking and superior problem solving.

​

The Arts and Nature: Arts, music, movement and athletics, and regular contact with nature are deeply embedded into daily academic lessons. Being grounded in real life is a central aspect of Waldorf as a developmental experience. Students are strongly connected to the world and people around them, building confidence, character and engagement. Waldorf education uses natural materials for crafts and other uses, to emphasize authenticity.

​

Looping: Students often stay with the same home class teacher for multiple years, typically from first through eighth grade, to foster deep relationships and stable learning environments. Education is delivered by a faculty team who provide instruction in specific subjects.

​

Experiential Learning: Waldorf emphasizes achievement and capability, built up through actual real life experience in learning. Students create their own illustrated "main lesson books" to document their learning, developing the ability to understand, sort, and document their experiences to create their own unique reference documents.

​​

​

Accreditation

​

Waldorf schools in North America achieve accreditation through the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) and through local educational authority certification, depending on their jurisdiction.

Kindergartens are accredited by the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN), and local educational authority certification, depending on their jurisdiction.

A school or kindergarten cannot attribute the Waldorf designation without accreditation.

​

The South Shore Waldorf School is accredited by WECAN and is a developing member of AWSNA.