A Wholistic Approach to Learning

Waldorf Education is based on three pillars: goodness, beauty, and truth. 

In Grades 1 - 4 at the Waldorf School of Tampa Bay, we help children see the beauty in the world, while developing capacities to unlock their complete potential as human beings.  By helping children connect what they are learning with experiences that use their hands and touch their hearts, we help deepen their understanding of the subject matter while planting seeds for creative and analytical thinking.

Academics

The cornerstone of the day is the Main Lesson, a two-hour period each morning during which a given academic subject is studied intensively.  This lesson “block” of language arts, math, science, or social studies will last two to four weeks, allowing for an in-depth study and integration of the material.  The concepts introduced to the students grow increasingly more sophisticated and rigorous as they mature.  The teachers integrate art with all academic work to develop new ways of thinking, as the students literally take the work into their own hands.  Our students experience a deep investment in their learning as they create their own main lesson books with compositions, observations, illustrations, and diagrams of their studies.

Subject Classes

The remainder of the student’s day consists of four periods of Subject Classes, as well as two periods of recess totaling 90 minutes outside every day.  The Waldorf School of Tampa Bay offers the following subject classes: Spanish, Music, Handwork, Games and Practical Arts classes. Gardening is added in Third Grade and a huge part of the curriculum for that entire year. Violin is added in Fourth Grade and is carried on through Eighth Grade.  These lessons support, and are integrated with the subjects and skills being taught during Main Lesson.