There are many exciting and amazing learning opportunities ahead for your child. While we can not address everything they will learn during their years here at CWS we can give you some highlights of what they might experience in the grades & middle school. If you would like to get a curriculum overview for each class please go to our contact page and ask us, we will be happy to email or mail you an overview.

Waldorf Grades Education provides a rich and diverse academic curriculum. With our small class sizes we are able spend more quality time on subjects and the business of learning. Learning in a "block" style allows the student to delve deeply into the subject matter and develop a deeper understanding of topics at hand. Indepth studies of different cultures, both current and historical, allow the student to better understand, and have compassion for, human nature, cultural differences, and diversities. Make no mistake that although subject matter is often taught in an art infused manor, the curriculum itself is both rigorous and challenging. Artful teaching modalities allow a child to live with beauty, profound understanding of, and connections to various topics, as well as providing an avenue for expression that is not through written or spoken words. Such expression allows a person to think about the topic in a different way rather than simply writing down facts and dates.

In grades 1-5, students will be laying the foundations for middle and high school studies. They will be learning world cultural geography as well as local and state geography, math from the four processes to pythagorean theorem,  language arts from reading to descriptive writing and poetry, the sciences including Botany, Ecology and Kingdoms in nature as well as fine art, reading music, playing instruments, recitation, woodworking and handwork. Subject matter is taught using many modalities and allows for collaborative work. Your child will learn about the world in such a way that the subject matter will become alive and dynamic. Whether it be a complex bean bag toss to illustrate math equations, or competing in a real pentathlon to illustrate Greek studies, your children will learn in way that will far outweigh simply listening to a lecture or looking on the internet.

Corvallis Waldorf Middle School Highlights

Below is a brief outline of highlights for the middle school grades. Some things are new, and others you will recognize as traditional components of life as a Waldorf Middle School Student. The faculty has been working hard to create a program that not only addresses the developmental stages of the students but is also dynamic and interactive. Through a series of partnerships within the Corvallis community, and beyond, students will get out of the classroom and develop a greater understanding of the world around them. We have the goal of helping them to become the people they wish to be, and find success in their future endeavours.

"Waldorf education addresses the child as no other education does. Learning, whether in chemistry, mathematics, history or geography, is imbued with life and so with joy, which is the only true basis for later study. The textures and colors of nature, the accomplishments and struggles of humankind fill the Waldorf students' imaginations and the pages of their beautiful books. Education grows into a union with life that serves them for decades.

By the time they reach us at the college and university level, these students are grounded broadly and deeply and have a remarkable enthusiasm for learning. Such students possess the eye of the discoverer, and the compassionate heart of the reformer which, when joined to a task, can change the planet."
Arthur Zajonc, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physics, Amherst College

SIXTH GRADE

General Curriculum: Roman and Medieval History; World Geography, Mineralogy, Astronomy, Physics (acoustics, optics, electricity, magnetism, heat), Geometric Drawing with Instruments, Business Math, Biographies, Composition, Spelling, Grammar, Arithmetic (percentage), Literature. Curriculum Enrichment: To further enrich the science curriculum, the sixth grade embarks on an expedition to a geologically rich area, as well as partner with local astronomers for a star party. Sixth grade is a time of time of great change within the student. A theme that weaves the sixth grade together is the middle ages.  In the spring the sixth graders from Waldorf schools all over Oregon gather to complete their study of the Middle Ages with a Medieval tournament, offering challenges in archery, javelin, tug-o-war, and team building activities. With the theme of knighthood and service to the community, the sixth grade partners with Corvallis Parks & Recreation for a series of community service projects.  Sixth graders often experience social upheaval during this year of tremendous change.  This year is often marked by feeling united as a class, with friends, and simultaneously alone in the world; as a result, struggles can arise between the students.  To help students work together as a team, CWS partners with OSU for Challenge Course activities. The primary purpose of these programs is to challenge members of a group to overcome a series of obstacles by working together. As the group overcomes each obstacle in their course, teamwork will increase dramatically. All programs conducted on our challenge course are physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging.

SEVENTH GRADE

General Curriculum: The Age of Discovery; Reformation; the Renaissance; Cultural Geography; Physics (Mechanics); Inorganic Chemistry; Anatomy; Health and Nutrition; Creative Writing; Pre-Algebra; Composition, Grammar, Spelling, Arithmetic, Literature. Curriculum Enrichment: To further enrich the curriculum, some seventh grades bring the Renaissance alive by having an Ashland Shakespeare Trip, seeing a play, participating in a theater workshop and back stage tour.  In the spring, 7th graders from Waldorf schools all over Oregon gather to compete in the 7^th & 8^th Grade Track Meet, running events, shot put, high jump, javelin and discus.

7TH AND 8TH GRADE ELECTIVES

As seventh and eighth graders come more into their individuality, individual challenges and experiences become important as they seek to find their place in their community.  For this reason, CWS is beginning a partnership with the OSU Dixon Center. Students participate in an exciting, diverse and athletic elective program which will take place during the winter and spring.

EIGHTH GRADE

General Curriculum: Revolutions; American History; Modern History; World Geography to Current Events; Organic Chemistry; Physics (hydraulics); Physiology; Meteorology; American Literature (short story); Geometry (Platonic Solids); Algebra.

The eighth grade curriculum is designed to help the students know the modern world: from history to science to literature; the aim is to help the 13- and 14-year-olds feel at home in the present world with their emerging individualities. They become familiar with the world through history, literature, geography, and science, and have achieved a level of expertise in various skills that allows them to walk through the world with confidence. They will usually have regained the emotional balance they had lost in the sixth or seventh grade, and will end the eighth grade year filled with gratitude for the past eight years and enthusiasm for the coming challenges of high school. Curriculum Enrichment: Eighth grade projects are often incorporated into the curriculum. This is a year-long project that usually consists of three parts: a written research paper, an oral presentation in front of a community, and the creation of a physical "product." In preparation for the eighth grade class trip, students are often involved in fund-raising activities.  As part of these efforts, the students cook together weekly.  Eighth Grade Class Trip: At the end of their eight years together, classes embark upon a journey together.  The eighth grade trip is intended to be an experience that challenges the students as individuals, as well as calls upon them to work together in a team. Service is often a trip component, as well as cultural diversity. 

SPECIALTY CLASSES & ACTIVITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS
RITES OF PASSAGE

In honor and acknowledgement of children as they enter into adolescence, CWS has begun a partnership with Four Winds Foundation to create a special rite of passage ceremony for children.  There are two  ceremonies, one for boys and their fathers, and one girls and their mothers.  Generally the ceremony for the girls happens in the sixth grade, and for the boys in the seventh grade.

CURRICULUM SUPPORT:

The curriculum at each grade is enhanced by a range of specialty subjects including Spanish, Handwork, Woodwork, Physical Education, Music,Orchestra, Drama and Fine Arts.