Curriculum

What every parent would wish as the best for his or her children, Waldorf Education provides. The fullest development of intelligent, imaginative, self-confident and caring persons is the aim of Waldorf Education. This aim is solidly grounded in a comprehensive view of human development, in an intellectually and culturally rich curriculum, and in the presence of knowledgeable, caring human beings at every stage of the child’s education. Douglas Sloan, professor emeritus, Columbia University

The Taos Waldorf School curriculum is based on Rudolf Steiner’s research into the threefold organization of the human being — head, heart, and hand — and the developmental stages of childhood. The Waldorf curriculum is meant to unfold according to the stages of development of the growing child. Education proceeds in three major steps as the child’s consciousness develops. Up to age 12, it is largely a pictorial and imaginative consciousness; from then on it adds the element of reason. Until age 12, the Waldorf curriculum works with the child’s imagination, proceeding from fairy tales, legends, and fables through the Bible stories and ancient mythology. In the fifth and sixth grades, the transition is made to actual history and science. From then on, without losing its imaginative and artistic elements, the curriculum is presented in a more scientific manner, increasingly relying on direct observation, objective description, and reflection in all subjects. Awakening a love of learning is at the heart of the TWS program and school culture.

The Taos Waldorf School curriculum offers Preschool and Kindergarten children:

A structured home-like environment to begin their school years in the preschool and kindergarten Early Childhood Program. Language arts are brought to the children orally through stories, songs, poems, and puppet plays, counting arises naturally out of the manifold tasks and activities of the day and sensory integration takes place through joyful movement and physical activities. The Taos Waldorf School Early Childhood Program stimulates a child’s natural interest in his or her environment and fosters powers of concentration, imagination, creative problem solving, and social skills that provide a sure foundation for a lifelong love of learning.

The Taos Waldorf School curriculum offers 1st-8th grade children:

A rich, experiential, multidisciplinary, academic program, offered in three-to-four-week blocks, that provides a depth and breadth to learning. Subjects include language arts, including reading, writing, poetry, and literature; mathematics; the sciences; history; world languages; and geography. Enrichment and integration of academic learning is provided through the visual, musical, movement, and dramatic arts, including singing, drawing, painting, modeling, and orchestra. Kinetic and sensory foundations for learning are integrated through games, physical movement, gardening, handwork, and practical arts. Our main lesson teachers in grades 1-8 journey through the grades for several years or more with a class, providing guidance, insight, and continuity in the learning process.