École Rudolf Steiner de Montréal

Small and Medium Classes - From the 1st to the 6th grade

Small and medium sized classes ranging from Grade 1 to 6. The main lessons are given by the primary, teacher and covers basic subjects such as: math, writing, reading, study of the maternal language, natural sciences, history, geography, physics, chemistry, etc.

The complementary lessons are taught by different teachers and include foreign languages, manual labour, painting, music, eurhythmy, physical education and gardening.

The primordial role of the main teacher

The main lessons are given by the main teacher that stays with the same class of children from 1st to 8th grade to ensure the continuity of each child’s individual development. The teaching of additional subjects (foreign languages, handwork, music, eurhythmy, gardening and physical education) is generally provided by specialized teachers.

At the Waldorf School, the main teacher ideally follows his group of students during the first eight years of his school life, leading his/her class every day in the main lessons. This continuity allows a deep understanding of the strengths and challenges of each student and nurtures the development of a rich social dynamics in the classroom. The teacher can thus bring cohesion in the curriculum, integrate the different learning opportunities over the years and constantly renew the child’s interest.

From image to concepts

1st, 2nd and 3rd grades

In the early years, education is essentially oral and movement - imagery and artistic expression are primordial. It's the most life enhancing way to reach the child in the entirety of its being (mind, heart and limbs).

The introduction to writing, reading and arithmetic is brought to life through objects and images from fairy tales, legends, fables and animal stories. The child first brings form to concepts before approaching them through abstraction. He experiences deeply through gesture and feeling.

4th grade

In Grade 4, the child experiences inwardly his separation from the outside world. Northern mythology, with its magnificent and grandiose imagery, gives him at this time a fair reflection of his inner experience. He is ready to study the fractions in arithmetic, to observe the living world around him, man and animals. The curriculum cultivates the child's imagination and, through art, different subjects are presented: watercolour, drawing, sculpting, singing, music, crafts, physical education, movement and eurhythmy.

5th & 6th grades

Then, in 5th grade, the history of great civilizations will be deployed in the course of the year - Ancient India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece. In the latter, the child will meet the aesthetic balance that he is himself reaching in his physical development. The child also starts the observation of plants and their geographical context. By studying grammar, we gradually awaken the awareness of his relationship with the world.

In the transition to 6th grade he comes across the history of Roman civilization with its laws and its art of debate. Throughout the year, history will progress from the big invasions to the great reality of the middle ages. This will also be the year to introduce science. Physics is addressed by observing the phenomenon: acoustic, optical, heat, electricity ... The encounter with nature continues with the mineralogy in relation to geography. In this way, the various subject matters of the curriculum evolve in relation to the child’s development and the life that surrounds him.