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“Joy and happiness in living, love for all existence,
a power and energy for work, such are among the life-long results
of a right cultivation of the feeling for beauty and for art”. Rudolf
Steiner
Why writing precedes reading in a Steiner school
Many aspects of the schooling - form drawing, handwork, French,
eurythmy, etc. - help to foster the children’s development for reading.
The children learn the letter forms through stories and pictures
given by their teacher. Writing precedes reading. The children write
words and read their own writing before working with printed literature.
We aim to share the finest literature with the students, appropriate
to their age. Stories are told to each class and books are also
read to the children. A rich experience of language from early childhood
leads to the development of creative and articulate writers and
readers. Parents and grandparents unaware of this difference in
approach may become concerned about this delay in reading fluency.
The delay is a conscious one. The difference in approach is worthwhile.
For the 7 year olds the teacher may draw mainly on the fairy
tales, moving on at 8 years old to fables and legends, to Old Testament
stories at 9 years old, Norse stories and sagas at 10, Greek myths
and legends at 11. The teacher leads children gradually “down to
earth” through different qualities of imaginative experience and
so preparing the way for history proper. From 12-14 years historical
stories taking the children from the Romans to the Middle Ages,
the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution and into the 20th century.
Each succeeding layer provides a satisfaction for the children and
a rich context in which to work on practical and academic skills.
The life of feeling is not divorced from practical learning.
Mathematics is experiential and creative
An understanding of numbers is built at first on the basis of
concrete, real-life tasks - learning the concept of fractions through
dividing a cake or pizza, estimating, measuring - and through counting
aloud, the chanting of tables, musical rhythms, skipping games.
The four processes are introduced through stories and explored through
art in such a way as to stimulate imagination and creativity as
well as understanding. In the high school the practical application
of mathematics is still a focus - probability in games of chance;
percentages and lift co-efficients learnt by designing and constructing
gliders; parabolas and conic sections understood by working with
clay; Cartesian equations are studied using computer software. Technology
is used as a tool to aid thinking, not as an end in itself.
Science
Science exercises the powers of observation and thinking. Biology,
Geology, Climatology, Chemistry and Physics all proceed on the basis
of considered study of observed phenomena - free of prejudice, opinion
and emotion. The focus for the students is on observation. So through
wonder and experiment we proceed to the huge abstract ideas of science.
Research based on sound methodical foundations.
Art & Craft
Art and craft in a Steiner school is outstanding. These lessons
develop the will in the students. What they make is to be beautiful,
but through their perseverance - also completed. An integrated curriculum
of soft craft activities moves from sewing and knitting to the creation
of hats, vests, slippers, dyeing, weaving and felting in upper primary.
Natural materials of wool and silk are used. Children make costumes
for the plays in which they enact stories from the epochs studied.
Class 8 use sewing machines to make simple garments. Woodwork develops
from whittling and carving bows, arrows, boats and toys to carpentry
in the high school. Basketry is also introduced in class 8. Clay
modelling develops into pottery. Painting and drawing begin to be
taught as separate disciplines from class 7 onwards, eg. perspective
drawing, black and white drawing as are print-making, photography
and sculpture.
Music
Students in the Primary School sing and play recorder in class
every day. From class 3 all students learn a stringed instrument
(violin, viola or cello) and from class 4 participate in one of
the various orchestras and ensembles. Choir is offered from class
4. From class 6, students may choose to take up another instrument
including woodwind, percussion, voice, or guitar.
Drama
Even in the youngest classes, plays are an important activity.
In the upper school drama is developed more formally, with students
creating productions around the theme of their year.
Eurythmy
Eurythmy works with language and music to give expression to
the invisible aspects of these art forms. Eurythmy fosters the development
of body and spatial awareness through individual and group experiences.
French
French is introduced with an emphasis on conversation - learning
through doing: singing, reciting and games. Reading, writing and
grammar are progressively introduced. We attempt to foster in the
students a feeling for the special character of a language and of
the people who speak it.
Games such as skipping, rope games and ball games are built in
to the day with the class teacher. The nearby parklands allow for
activities requiring more space. From Class 4 onwards children have
lessons with a specialist teacher. The emphasis is on developing
all-round skills, coordination and fitness through a program of
swimming, athletics, dancing, gymnastics and team games. When ancient
Greece is being studied in class 6, students are involved in Greek
athletics medieval. In class 7, the students experience archery.
Secondary students have a broad after school sports program.
Children from Class 3 participate in at least one camp each year.
At first camps are short and simple. By upper primary more extensive
and varied camps enrich the curriculum - opportunities for “breathing
in” the beauty of the natural world, observing and experiencing
its many rhythms. Camps are initially fairly local, then widen to
include landform and vegetation types such as coastal and mountain
settings. The gold fields and mines of central Victoria and the
limestone caves near Buchan are settings for camps studying Australian
history and geology. In the high school, surveying and botany field
trips use the outdoors as the classroom. In Class 9 the quest for
truth and freedom is aptly met via the challenge and responsibility
of age appropriate outdoor experiences. The contrasts of city and
bush life are deeply experienced as the students spend up to seven
camps away in environments such as coastal, forest, mountain, desert,
lake, alpine and a biodynamic farming experience. These trips involve
much physical activity and personal challenges that strengthen the
young person’s inner processes and social awareness.
For a more detailed description of classes download
Classes at SophiaMundi.pdf
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