The Bay School’s Waldorf program features a developmental curriculum rich in humanities, sciences, and arts. Our program corresponds both in content and method to the stages of child development described by Rudolf Steiner. We integrate handworks, visual and performing arts, and physical and practical activity into the presentation of academic subjects. The children speak so fondly of their teachers and experience their school days as both exciting and deeply engaging.
The heart of this academic curriculum is enacted during Main Lesson, the two hours which begin each school day. During this time, the students engage in three to six week subject blocks which include math, science, language arts, geography, and history. Lessons are brought orally to the students by the class teachers, and they engage the children in a variety of immersive ways. From this work, the children create their own Main Lesson books. Each book will be carefully bound at year’s end, and is the artistic collection of their written compositions and drawings spanning the subjects covered during the year. The children take tremendous joy and pride in these books, which are a beautiful testament to both their individual learning and to the scope and depth of the curriculum.
