Throughout their educational journey at Cedarwood Waldorf school, students engage with a dynamic spectrum of subject classes.

Our subjects program is taught by a team of experienced teachers who know the children well and work with them year after year.

Often, the curriculum brought in a subject class aligns with and enhances the daily lesson work currently being engaged with at a particular grade level. Each subject program at Cedarwood is thoughtfully designed to support the healthy development of the child as they grow into their curiosity and capability.

Curious to learn more?

Over the course of 8 years, the students have Spanish class 2-3 times each week. As they become increasingly able to communicate, they begin to have an insider’s view of a language and culture that fosters their growth towards empathy and flexibility of thinking.

Spanish is taught using a proficiency based method that includes lots of comprehensible input and interactions, songs, dances, games, and movement within a context of themes that are part of everyday life for students.

Proficiency is defined by the ACTFL Guidelines as what individuals can do with language in terms of speaking, writing, listening, and reading in real-world situations in a spontaneous and non-rehearsed context over a variety of topics.

What this means for students is that they interact almost entirely in Spanish in class, and they infer meaning from the context, visual cues, and body language — not translation. This is very similar to how they learned their first language as toddlers!

Their second language learning progression is also similar to the first:

• Comprehension of simple messages

• Physical responses

• One word

• Memorized phrases

• Chunks of language

• Sentences

• Linked sentences and paragraphs

Maestra Michelle has been sharing her love of the Spanish language with Cedarwood since 1998, and has been an integral part of the development of the language program.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to her at mjarvis@cedarwoodschool.org with any questions!

The Japanese language is quite different from the English language, and Cedarwood students benefit greatly from this inclusion.

Through the study of Japanese, students learn to understand the contrast between European and Asian languages, creating diversity and flexibility in their world view, language learning, and cognitive visual acquisition. Origami, Kanji, and the Japanese writing system also offer unique opportunities to combine their skills from other classes.

In grades 1-3, the children learn primarily through imitation and immersion in the oral aspects of the language. In grades 4 & 5, grammar, writing, and reading are introduced as the children gain the ability to organize the subconscious learning experienced in the lower grades. The approach to language learning becomes more intellectual in the middle school.

Japanese lessons include:

• Singing

• Storytelling

• Games

• Partner work

• Group activities

This varied approach utilizes multiple teaching strategies to support different types of learners.

Kumiko Sensei taught in the Tokyo area for 18 years. She has been the Japanese language teacher at Cedarwood since 2019.

You can reach her for questions at ksammler@cedarwoodschool.org.

One of the more distinctive aspects of the Waldorf curriculum is the inclusion of handwork in grades 1-8. Students receive 2 45-minute handwork or woodwork classes each week.

Waldorf students everywhere create exquisite and useful things each year. Doing so provides them with solid life skills and satisfying inner support.

Handwork, like woodworking, is a practical art that supports the Waldorf curriculum by helping to unite the thinking, feeling, and will forces of children in a positive and useful way.

Hands are busy learning new and complicated actions. The intellect is engaged as these new skills are learned, stitches are counted, mistakes are noted and corrected, and colors are chosen for the most beautiful effect. Students become absorbed in their tasks, and love seeing their new creations evolve!

Each project is dear to its creator, and a great sense of accomplishment is felt by the children as they finish their projects and admire their work.

Projects for each grade are carefully selected to meet students where they are in their own development, and in this way, handwork is perfectly aligned to the Waldorf approach to learning.

Skills engaged include:

• Finger knitting

• Knitting

• Crochet

• Embroidery

• Sewing

• Pattern drafting

• Woodworking

Gia Davis has been teaching practical arts since 2008.

If you have any questions about Cedarwood’s practical arts program, you can contact her at gdavis@cedarwoodschool.org.

A wonderful surprise in the Waldorf curriculum is the subject of eurythmy. Eurythmy is a form of movement that brings form and expression to music and language — something that is especially supportive of students’ development in grades 1-8.

In eurythmy, the human body becomes an instrument of speech and music. Intentional movement of the body and awareness of the body in space quietly supports the development of the body. Eurythmy also supports the strong development of speech, and brings beauty, balance, and creativity into the children’s life in a way that is not material but spiritual.

Repeatedly, the children are encouraged to speak with their arms (yes, our arms speak! And also our elbows, and even our pinkies), and to “trust into the space behind you — it will hold you” while the group enfolds in a flower-like movement facing towards the center of the circle, and expanding outwards and gaining a sense experience of life behind us. The group practice of eurythmy is deeply supportive of classroom social dynamics.

The eurythmy program supports all aspects of the Cedarwood experience by aligning with the classroom curriculum and imbuing the education with creativity, love, and beauty.

Through eurythmy, students develop skills in:

• 360 degree awareness of space

• Movement & expression of geometric forms

• Moving & dancing to live piano music

• Expression of beauty through formed gestures (much like a new body language)

• Expression of poetry, storytelling, and music through body gestures

• Building capacities for better communication and social interaction

• Living and moving from the heart space

• Quiet & stillness in the body

Melissa Scheel has been teaching eurythmy in Italy and Germany for the past 10 years and has been at Cedarwood since 2023. Please reach her at mscheel@cedarwoodschool.org with any questions!

All students in grades 2-8 participate in the movement program. The principles of Spatial Dynamics are used at all age levels and make up the core of the work.

Movement education strives to bring games and activities from numerous cultures in the US, as well as from countries around the world, connecting the children to play in various ways and expanding their experience of their own and others identities.

Cedarwood is fortunate to have a gym and multi-purpose room available for indoor movement classes. Fall and spring classes are generally held outside (even on wet and cold days) in the courtyard, closed parking area, and Lair Hill Park — which contains an open field, paved surface, treed area, and play structures. The upper grades often use a public track and field within walking distance from the school. All of these spaces provide students the opportunity to enjoy and be challenged by nature in the parks of our urban environment!

The movement education program builds on the rhythm, movement, social dynamics, and group work present in most classes at Cedarwood through:

• Games

• Fitness

• Posture

• Gymnastics

• Sports

• Circus arts

• Training for the Olympiad, World Games, and Track & Field Meet

Heather Pearl started the movement education program at Cedarwood in 2005.

Please reach her at hpearl@cedarwoodschool.org with any questions!