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Alabama Waldorf School

School Overview:

School Notes:

• The AWS Preschool is a program that emphasizes the developmentally-appropriate ideal of play as work for the child under seven years of age. The rich language of the stories told in the classroom, the seasonally-relevant poems and songs that compose the daily morning circle, and the artistic and practical activities modeled by the teachers all lay a firm foundation for the academic expectations of the Waldorf Grades program.
• In the Nursery, the child's imagination is encouraged during outdoor and indoor playtime. Using simple, unformed toys, pieces of smooth wood become fruit or cars; colored silks become capes or blankets or parachutes; chairs and baskets become houses. To become fully engaged in such play builds the child's capacities for later problem solving, critical thinking, and concentration.Child:teacher ratio is 1:8.
• Kindergartners spend progressively longer periods of time engaged in active learning through stories and songs during the morning circle time. Listening and participating in storytelling lengthens their attention spans, develops phonological awareness, and strengthens their capacity to create those inner pictures essential for successful reading comprehension in the grades. Watercolor painting, beeswax modeling, and simple sewing enhance their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. The daily schedule, or rhythm, is carefully planned to provide not only a healthy balance of concentrated and free activities, but also for a sense of security in the young child. Child:teacher ratio is 1:8 in the Kindergarten.
• In the elementary and middle school, the developmentally-appropriate, multi-sensory presentation of each subject engages the student in the learning process. During the two-and-a-half hour Main Lesson, active learning is balanced with desk work, allowing for a healthy and joyful classroom environment of lively and eager learners. Core academic subjects like Language Arts and Mathematics are enlivened with artistic activities, and presented in such a manner as to reach all types of learners. Science is emphasized throughout the grades as a subject that should be both experienced and studied through careful observation.
• In addition to the core academics, the Waldorf grades curriculum we offer includes two foreign languages, vocal and instrumental music, Movement Education, and Handwork.
• Taught by native speakers, the Russian and Spanish languages are taught immersion-style beginning in first grade. This type of experiential learning promotes a global perspective on different cultures and traditions.
• Movement Education emphasizes cooperation in games, and balance and coordination in activities like jump rope and circus skills. In grade five, to accompany the history curriculum, the students participate in a regional-wide pentathalon event.
• Handwork moves from simple finger knitting in first grade to crocheting and sewing in the middle grades, to building furniture in grade 8.
• Environmental awareness begins as early as nursery school with tasks as simple as dying fabric with flowers, and evolves in the grades with observations on local geography, and the cultivation of a sustainable school garden which yields fruits, flowers, vegetables and grains in varying seasons. Child:teacher ratio is 1:18 but hovers around an average of 1:12.
• Profile last updated: 09/26/2009

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