It is common that teachers stay with a class from first to eighth grade. This way a deep human relationship can be built, which is not possible where teachers frequently change. Reading is not taught until second grade. Waldorf educators believe that in the early years children should be read to, be told fairy tales to stimulate imagination and be allowed to play.
This encourages oral skills before reading skills commence. In the Waldorf School writing is taught before reading and the alphabet is explored as a tool to communicate with others through pictures.
In the Waldorf School, as in Montessori, testing and grading are not part of the teaching approach. The typical Lower School Curriculum would be likely to follow the following structure:. Waldorf schools do not follow a specific religion and they educate kids from all religious denominations.
The school does believe that there is a spiritual dimension to the human being and to all of life. Children who transfer from a mainstream school to a Waldorf School during the first 4 grades are usually not at a disadvantage as reading, mathematical and basic academic skills should correspond. Children might find that they lack coordination skills, posture, artistic and social activities, cursive handwriting and listening skills.
Listening skills are important in Waldorf Schools as information is conveyed orally. Students who obtained most of their information from computers in the mainstream environment might struggle to adjust in a Waldorf environment.
Children who transfer from a Waldorf school to a public school during the earlier grades probably have to up skill their reading ability and adjust their approach to science differently. Science in a Waldorf school emphasises the observation of natural phenomena rather than the formulation of abstract concepts and laws. On the other hand, the Waldorf transferees are usually well prepared for social studies, practical and artistic activities, as well as maths.
Children moving during the middle grades should experience no problems at all. In fact, in most cases, transferring students of this age group find themselves ahead of their classmates. The departing Waldorf student is likely to take along into the new school a distinguishing individual strength, personal confidence, and love of learning. As with Part 1 of this article, we hope this has armed you with relevant and helpful information about the differences between mainstream schooling, Montessori as well as Waldorf Steiner.
If you want to check out Part 1 again, click here and see the differences between mainstream schools, Froebel Emilio Reggio schools. What are your thoughts on the different types of schooling approaches, we would love to hear them. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. No menu assigned! No Comments. Mainstream Schools vs. What is the Difference between Mainstream and Montessori Schooling?
Waldorf Steiner Schools Waldorf education is named after an Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy, which is in a nutshell the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development. The typical Lower School Curriculum would be likely to follow the following structure: Primary Grades 1 — 3 Pictorial introduction to the alphabet, writing, reading, spelling, poetry and drama.
Folk and fairy tales, fables, legends, Old Testament stories. Numbers, basic mathematical processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Nature stories, house building and gardening. Middle Grades 4 — 6 Writing, reading, spelling, grammar, poetry and drama. Norse myths, history and stories of ancient civilisations.
I am also attracted by the beauty of Waldorf toys and celebrations as I was attracted by the Montessori materials to start with. The Montessori movement is still very similar to its original ideas as Maria Montessori supervised and developed the schools and trainings to a set of standards for nearly 50 years.
Her family is still the garant of her work and that makes it a strong, scientific and evidence based method. Angeline Stoll Lillard,a Professor of psychology, wrote the book "Montessori: the science behind the genius". She shows that science has finally caught up with Maria Montessori. Choosing a Waldorf or Montessori approach for your child is an individual choice and both have many benefits.
You might decide that one fits your child best and place them in a preschool or school that follows that methodology. Due to the fantasy-based aspect, the lack of scientific evidence and the connection with racist ideas, I chose not to send my children to a Waldorf school.
When it comes to choosing an alternative method of education, it's not simply about choosing something that it's not mainstream. I invite you to visit schools, Montessori or Waldorf schools, and to question them about their principles, their curriculum, the way they make their school inclusive.
Otherwise, when it comes to learning at home, parents can choose elements from both that they think their child will benefit from. Many families like the beautiful wooden toys inspired by the Waldorf philosophy and others appreciate the Art activities suggested such as painting wet on wet, watercolour and modelling with wax etc.
And establishing a rhythm is a positive aspect of the Steiner education but not exclusive to that philosophy. Actually, in my opinion, these 3 positive aspects are already embedded in the Montessori philosophy. When it comes to choosing one or the other, I don't believe you have to be exclusive. It's all about respecting the individuality of the child and there is no rule saying you have to strictly follow or abstain from principles of both.
What about you? Are you considering a Waldorf school? Do you integrate some elements in your family life? Download our free 3 part cards about Garden birds. I have noticed a recurrent topic in the Montessori Facebook group. Many of you shared about….
She worked for various social services in her home country of Belgium, before moving to Ireland in It was there that she started working in a nursery and discovered Montessori education. After having her first child, her passion for the philosophy grew and she qualified as a Montessori teacher and managed a preschool. Carine has been running a Montessori based parents and toddler group and coaching families for 9 years.
She now also runs an online group for over parents, sharing her knowledge and passion with people from around the world. In , Carine realised families needed more support and launched her popular online parenting courses and monthly subscription boxes, full of personally designed Montessori materials.
You are so very off on so many points pf Waldorf education. Even trying to paint us as racist! They evolve in mixed classes by age group. In Waldorf-Steiner schools, creative activities such as drawing, music, gardening prevail. They also keep a school journal and do theater or dance.
First of all, the three educations respect the child as an individual. They ensure a holistic education of the child at all levels: spiritual, mental, physical and psychological. They also emphasize a natural environment and staying connected with natural or raw materials. In addition, they believe in protecting children from overuse or misuse of technology like television and computers.
Likewise, creative and artistic activities are highlighted, so to enable children to maximize their creative potential. They all offer a rich palette of art, music, dance and theater for all ages. As a reminder, these three educations have many years of experience worldwide. Montessori schools provide children with suitable material, allowing him to experiment, compare, combine and construct in order to understand. They thus easily pass from the concrete world to the abstract world.
A Steiner classroom may include weaving materials, crayons, puppets, natural fibres and natural timber. Parents enrolling their child in a Steiner-inspired service can expect the centre to aim for the same teacher to educate and care for their child throughout their time there.
Genuine Steiner schools are certified and use a specific Steiner curriculum. They attract families who would like their child to develop their creativity in a predictable, routine environment with little to no technology. Limited research has been conducted into Steiner education. What research exist mainly relates to schools rather than childcare. Some studies show students at Steiner-inspired schools get better academic scores when using the same test methods and social outcomes than students at public schools.
Dr Maria Montessori was a medical doctor and psychiatrist. She opened a school for disadvantaged children in early 20th century Rome, to test her education theories. There are now Montessori schools in more than countries.
The focus is on play and work, as children like to model adults and be involved in real-world tasks. The philosophy sees children as capable of self-directed learning, who can independently choose resources to use in their learning.
The first learning materials a child is likely to encounter in the Montessori environment will be used for practical life activities. These include pouring different materials, using utensils such as scissors and tongs, cleaning, preparing snacks, laying the table and washing dishes, arranging flowers and gardening.
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