Explore Grades 1–8

During the elementary years, a student’s imagination and feelings serve as the gateway to deep, sustained learning and intellectual growth. Waldorf teachers present academic material artistically through drama, story, art, music, and movement. This interdisciplinary approach engenders a deep love of learning and challenges students on multiple levels.

Expectations and student accountability increase in the middle school years. Teachers strive to ensure students are well-prepared for the rigors of high school. Middle school students receive additional classes in mathematics and English skills; they are challenged to manage long-term and independent projects; and they deepen their understanding of important concepts.

Teacher Looping

At the Waldorf School of Lexington, teacher looping is a long-standing aspect of our program. Our teachers spend multiple years with students—an important factor in student progress over time, building trusting relationships that nurture academic success. Every morning for Main Lesson, students are welcomed by their Class Teacher with a handshake. This individual leads the students through their first through fifth grade journey. As the class embarks on their middle school years, they transition to a specialized middle school class teacher, a teacher who will teach the class from sixth through eighth grade. This transition distinguishes the middle school years as a coherent, distinct program—one that is designed intentionally for both the pedagogical and social needs of students in adolescence—a unique and potent developmental stage.

Waldorf Class Teachers are generalists—they are academics, storytellers, musicians, artists and actors. They teach the first two-hour lesson block of the day, Main Lesson, covering reading, English, the humanities, geography, math, and science. The Class Teacher, in collaboration with the Student Services Department (SSD) and Subject Specialist Teachers, is responsible for students’ overall academic and social development. The work of Class Teachers is parallel to the work of Subject Specialist Teachers who teach Spanish, Mandarin, math, music, movement, Eurythmy, handwork, woodwork, and athletics. The Student Support Department works closely with the team of teachers to serve each student’s learning needs.

Our teachers hold a variety of degrees and licensure. WSL works closely to ensure our faculty receive both professional development and Waldorf teacher training to meet the students’ needs and their professional goals and aspirations.

Main Lesson

At the heart of the Waldorf curriculum is the “Main Lesson”, a two-hour period of concentrated inquiry that begins each school day, when students are freshest and ready for sustained effort. In Main Lesson, we study one of four central subjects for a “block” of three to four weeks, inviting in-depth exploration and learning. Our four central subjects are:

• Language arts

• History & World Cultures

• Mathematics

• Science

Curriculum Grade By Grade

Grade 1 

Our first grade program offers a gradual transition into elementary school. With all academic learning taking place in the morning, first graders have the opportunity in the afternoon to fully engage in play and digest the rich experiences and content from their morning classes. The school offers a transitional schedule that allows first graders to have an early dismissal option at 1:35 p.m. if needed or desired. Families may begin the year with their child only staying one or two afternoons a week, and then progressing to four afternoons over the course of the year, as their child’s stamina for school and their social connections expand. To be eligible for first grade, children must turn six on or before August 30 before the September in which they begin school.

Central theme: Fairy tales, fables and myths from around the world
Math: Number patterns, manipulate numbers up to 24 with the four processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
Language Arts: Letters of the alphabet; word families; exercises in reading, writing, and speech; story properties; drama
Science: Nature studies and nature walks
World Languages: Spanish and Mandarin songs and poems
Art: Form drawing, watercolor painting, crayon illustration
Music: Pentatonic flute, singing in unison
Handwork: Knitting
Eurythmy and movement

Grade 2 

Central Theme: Legends, saints, fables
Math: Place value (1–1,000), addition and subtraction of large numbers by carrying and borrowing, regrouping, number patterns, all four arithmetical operations, multiplication tables
Language Arts: Phonetics; reading and writing letters; words and sentences; drama; reading in groups; library time
Science: Animal behavior, gardening, nature studies and nature walks
World Languages: Spanish and Mandarin songs and poems
Art: Form drawing, watercolor painting
Music: Recorder, singing in unison and in rounds
Handwork: Crocheting
Eurythmy, movement and games

Grade 3 

Central Theme: Creation stories
Math: Calculate with time, money, measurement; continued practice with the four arithmetical processes and the multiplication tables.
Language Arts: Reading, composition and grammar, cursive writing, spelling, drama, library time
Science: Farming and gardening (first week-long farm trip)
World Languages: Spanish and Mandarin beginning vocabulary
Art: Watercolor technique, drawing
Music: Recorder, choral singing, string instruments
Handwork: Knitting and crocheting
Eurythmy, movement and games

Grade 4 

Central Theme: Norse mythology, Native American stories, the animal kingdom
Math: Fractions, long division, averages, factoring, simple geometric forms
Language Arts: Grammar, composition, research project, drama
Science: Animal physiology, environmental science
History & World Cultures: Massachusetts history and geography, map making
World Languages: Spanish and Mandarin vocabulary development
Art: Watercolor, form drawing, clay modeling
Music: Recorder, choral singing, string ensemble, scales, notation
Handwork: Embroidery
Eurythmy, movement and games

Grade 5 

Central Theme: Ancient cultures of India, Persia, Egypt and Greece
Math: Fractions, mixed numbers, decimals, beginning geometry
Language Arts: Composition, grammar and syntax, research, drama
Science: Botany
History & World Cultures: U.S. geography; history and geography of ancient cultures
World Languages: Spanish and Mandarin beginning grammar
Art: Colored pencil, drawing and shading
Music: String ensemble with an option to begin a wind instrument, choral singing
Handwork: Circular knitting
Woodwork: Carving
Eurythmy, games, training for the 5th grade Olympics

Grade 6 

Central Theme: Early Europe
Math: Percentages, business math (interest and discounts), statistics, geometry, Math Skills class twice per week
Language Arts: Grammar and composition, letter writing (business and personal), drama, English Skills class twice per week
Science: Geology and physics, with lessons in acoustics, optics, heat, and magnetism
History & World Cultures: History geography of Rome; Europe in the Middle Ages; North and South American geography
World Languages: Spanish reading and letter writing
Art: Color wheel, three dimensionality in drawing, painting
Music: String or wind ensembles, choral singing
Handwork: Sewing
Woodwork: Carving
Eurythmy, 6th grade Medieval Games

Grade 7

Central Theme: The Age of Explorers
Math: Beginning algebra, geometry, Math Skills class three times per week
Language Arts: Creative and expository writing, research, drama, poetry and prose, English Skills class three times per week
Science: Physics, inorganic chemistry, mechanics, astronomy, physiology, anatomy
History & World Cultures: Renaissance history, the Reformation, the Age of Discovery, European and Latin American geography
World Languages: Spanish verb tenses, reading, and writing
Art: Perspective drawing, veil painting, portraiture, sculpture
Music: Orchestra or recorder ensemble, choral singing
Handwork: Quilting
Woodwork: Ship building
Eurythmy, physical education
Social inclusion/community service

Grade 8 

Central Theme: The Age of Revolutions
Math: Algebra I, geometry, Math Skills class three times per week
Language Arts: Poetry, essays, compositions, research papers, drama, English Skills class three times per week
Science: Physics, organic chemistry, physiology, computer science
History & World Cultures: American, French, and Industrial Revolutions; geography of Africa and Asia
World Languages: Students specialize in Spanish, with the study of grammar, composition, and culture four times per week
Art: Composition and proportion, pastels, clay modeling
Music: Orchestra or recorder ensemble, choral singing
Handwork: Machine sewing
Woodwork: Furniture making
Eurythmy, physical education
Social inclusion/community service