Bothin Waldorf Program

Waldorf offers “a developmentally appropriate, experiential, and academically rigorous approach to education. It integrates the arts in all academic disciplines for children from preschool through [the grades] to enhance and enrich learning. Waldorf education aims to inspire life-long learning in all students and to enable them to fully develop their unique capacities.”

  • Association of Waldorf Schools of North America

DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH

Our academic programs begin by inspiring early childhood with 

  • Play
  • Social interaction
  • Imagination
  • Work
  • Connection to nature

 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WHOLE CHILD

The curriculum is designed to increase critical thought and capacities each year, along with:

  • Arts: integrating different subjects, i.e., drawing a picture of a flower during Botany or illustrating math problems with drawings)
  • Storytelling 
  • Performance
  • World language (Mandarin)
  • Movement: engaging in physical activities while performing math problems, song, or other work (this supports brain development). 
  • Social-emotional reasoning (via story, writing, performance)

When academics have been brought to life, the work of reading, writing and math becomes the inspiration for the students to create their own textbooks with original writing and illustrations.

 

RHYTHM

The consistent rhythmical arrangement of the lessons has a sense of ‘breathing in’ and ‘breathing out’. This sense of rhythm enhances memory, builds security, and instills a sense of active participation as students know what to expect. 

The rhythm is further supported by:

  • Festivals (Festival of Courage and Hope, Lantern Walk, Spiral Walk, Maypole Gathering, …)
  • Experiences and imaginative play in nature
  • The Main Lesson Period: Rather than having several short periods on different subjects, main lesson combines multiple subjects while focused on a topic. It is typically two hours and provides the time to explore concepts in-depth through movement, artistic rendering, and work in the main lesson book. Each topic is in a block format lasting two to five weeks.

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL

The Fairfax Campus offers a Middle School option that maintains a connection with the school culture while presenting new topics, challenges, and friendships appropriate to the middle school years. Students engage in:

  • Human Service: helping out in younger grades
  • Environmental Service: projects on campus (working to eradicate invasive species in the forest)
  • Extending themselves academically with physics, poetry, higher-level math, creative writing, Mandarin, and Cyber Civics 

 

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Classes and all-grade festivals are supported by parent involvement, which builds a great community and village for children and parents. We bring parents together with parent education, teas, hikes, and crafting, fundraising events and fun. 

 

SCHEDULE

Instruction at the Bothin resource center in Fairfax occurs  from: 

Monday and Friday
TK/K 8:45 am- 12:00 pm
Grades 1 and 2 8:45 am – 12:30 pm
Grades 3 and 4 8:30 am- 12:30 pm
Grades 5, 6, and 7 8:15 am- 12:30 pm
Tuesday- Thursday
TK/K 8:45 am- 1:00 pm
* Grade 1 8:45 am – 3:00 pm (end time effect January 3, 2022)
Grades 2-4  8:30 am- 3:00 pm
Grades 5, 6, and 7 8:15 am- 3:00 pm

Aftercare is available 

 

“Preparing for Life” The New York Times sparked national media coverage with its front page story on why Silicon Valley parents are turning to Waldorf education. This film picks up where that story left off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ZSeepDmPE