All Grades
History, language arts, science, and math are taught in lesson blocks of three to five weeks during the morning hours in all grades; the children, throughout the curriculum, create original lesson books.
First Grade
Introduction to numbers and the four mathematical processes; nature stories; beeswax modeling; painting; handwork- knitting; movement; fairy tales; language arts - pictorial introduction to the alphabet, writing and rudiments of reading; German; Spanish; recorder playing; form drawing; music.
Second Grade
Legends and fables; introduction to place value in arithmetic; cursive writing; language arts - sentence
formation and reading; painting; handwork - knitting and crocheting; German; Spanish; recorder playing; form drawing; music; beeswax modeling.
Third Grade
Farming and gardening; shelter and house-building; practical life skills - textiles, cooking; painting; Old Testament stories; long division and measuring; language arts - composition writing, introduction to grammar and punctuation; handwork - crocheting and hand sewing; beeswax modeling; physical education; music lessons; German; Spanish; recorder playing; form drawing.
Fourth Grade
Norse mythology; North Carolina geography and Native American culture; study of human and animal; fractions; painting; language arts - further study of parts of speech; violin and cello instruction; handwork - embroidery and cross stitch; beeswax modeling; physical education; music lessons; German; Spanish; recorder playing; form drawing.
Fifth Grade
Ancient cultures - India, Persia, Egypt; Greek mythology and history; decimal fractions and calculation of areas; United States geography; botany; painting; clay modeling; language arts - types of sentences, report writing, introduction to business letters; handwork - four needle knitting; physical education - Olympic Pentathlon with mid-Atlantic Waldorf schools; music lessons and choral singing; German; Spanish; recorder playing; form drawing. See pictures of the 2010 Pentathalon here.
Sixth Grade
Roman culture; the Middle Ages; physics; geometric figures; practical business math - discounts, and percentages; geography of North, South and Central America; language arts - grammar, composition; astronomy; geology and mineralogy; painting; calligraphy; music theory; handwork - doll making and practical hand sewing; physical education; juggling; German; Spanish; recorder playing; form drawing - introducing geometry; choral singing; practical arts - clay modeling and woodworking- hand carving.
Seventh Grade
Physics - simple machine; history of the Renaissance; human physiology; inorganic chemistry; geography of Africa or Europe; pre-algebra; solid geometry; language arts - creative writing; Age of Exploration; painting; astronomy; choral singing; advanced handwork - doll/animal making, felting, puppet making; physical education; music lessons; German; Spanish; recorder playing; handwork; practical arts - clay modeling and woodworking.
Eighth Grade
Organic chemistry; physics - hydraulics and electricity; French and American Revolution; world geography; art history; American history; modern political science; anatomy; elements of algebra; geometry - advanced constructions and platonic solids; language arts - grammar, composition, word study; machine sewing and advanced handwork; portrait drawing; physical education; music lessons; choral singing; German; Spanish; recorder playing; form drawing; practical arts - wood sculpting; graduation trip and class play.
“In this world of ‘hurry up and grow up,’ I love it that Waldorf lets kids be kids. They learn so much everyday in class, but they are also given the time to just be kids, without hours of homework or the stress of tests, until they are older and ready for those challenges.” - EWS Parent