1. WHIDBEY ISLAND WALDORF SCHOOL
EARLYCHILDHOOD
EARLYGRADES
MIDDLESCHOOL
6335 Old Pietila Rd.
P.O. Box 469, Clinton, WA 98236
phone 360-341-5686 fax 360-341-5689 www.wiws.org
When you walk through the hand-carved doors of Whidbey Island Waldorf School,
you enter into an exciting world of possibility. A home-like atmosphere of serenity and
industriousness pervades, you can smell bread baking and see people participating in
practical activities such as sewing, sweeping and knitting. Color catches your eye, and
you glance over to see vibrant scenery being painted for a production. You hear
snatches of song and notes of music coming from one room and look into another to
see a biology lesson being artistically rendered by each student in their own lesson
book and you realize,“This is where I want my child to be.”
Whidbey Island Waldorf School is nestled in the 100-acre Chinook Forest preserve within the pristine
natural beauty of Puget Sound’s Whidbey Island. For over 25 years, we have been providing an
arts-integrated, academically expanded education based in the time-tested Waldorf philosophy. A Waldorf
education embraces the whole child, schooling the head, hands, and heart. Subjects are integrated with
one another, making learning concrete and relevant to the child’s life experience: engaging their head,
heart and hands. Ideally, a Waldorf teacher guides one class through eight years of schooling, fostering the
development of cognitive, social, physical and linguistic capacities through our arts-integrated academic
curriculum. In this family-like intimacy, each child is nurtured, body, soul and spirit, developing unique gifts
and inspiring a life long love of learning.
The goal of Waldorf schooling is to graduate
balanced individuals, who have the head to
think for themselves, the heart to serve others,
and the courage to take action for the
common good.
I
n
spired Learning Since 198
5
WHID
BEY ISLAND WALDORF SC
H
OOL

2. EARLYCHILDHOOD
EARLYGRADES
MIDDLESCHOOL
EARLY CHILDHOOD
The Early Childhood years are an essential part
of the foundation for healthy adult creativity and
intelligence. At Whidbey Island Waldorf School,
we allow for a natural unfolding of your child’s
abilities by engaging the head, hands and heart
at every level of his or her development.
Every day in our Early Childhood program begins outdoors in our 100-acre
forest. The children experience each type of weather as it changes throughout
the seasons and establish an intimacy with the natural world. Music and
language skills are introduced as teachers and children
sing throughout the day. This allows for a natural explo-
ration of sound, rhythm and cadence, builds memory and
language skills, and provides a basis for directed move-
ment and whole body integration. Artistic activities such
as knitting, drawing and woodworking are combined
with practical arts such as sweeping, washing and folding
to develop a sense of aesthetics. Indoor creative play time
provides children with a long period of time in which
they are encouraged to imagine and play, following their own initiative. During
this time, the teacher is involved in various practical activities such as preparing
food, sewing, cleaning or making toys. The children are welcome to participate,
creating a fluid atmosphere of work and play.
Early Childhood program activities use the simple yet profound concepts of
imitation, repetition and creative play as intentional building blocks that set the
stage for more advanced skill development in the future.
Childhood is nurtured as a worthy
part of the human experience,
not a time to be rushed through
on the way to adulthood.
•Outdoor exploration
•Social skills
•Motor skills
•Music
•Language
•Art and handcrafts
•Creative play

3. EARLYGRADES
MIDDLESCHOOL
As children move from the Early Childhood program into the
Elementary program, they enter a new stage of development.
Ideally, a Waldorf class will be accompanied by the same teacher
from grade one through grade eight. Between the ages of
seven and fourteen, the child is primarily a being of feeling,
imagination and aesthetic sensitivity. For this reason, in the
Early Grades, Waldorf teachers facilitate the children’s explora-
tion of academics in sensory and experiential ways.
In first through fifth grades handwork, art, music and movement are incorporated into
all areas of study; engaging the whole child and creating a meaningful context for what
would otherwise be abstract theories. Children are introduced to mathematics
through rhythmic exercises, to reading and writing through stories and art, and form
their own lesson books in all core subjects. The study of the human experience –
culture and civilization – is closely linked with the child’s own increased awareness and
social development. The study of Ancient History begins with fairy tales and fables,
they move on to Bible stories and stories of the Saints; Greek, Roman and Norse
mythology; and expand globally to encompass ancient
Persia, India, China, Japan and Africa, in addition to
American history. Learning is brought to life through
drama, musical instruments are introduced and practi-
cal arts such as sewing and knitting complement
painting, drawing and
sculpting.
EARLY GRADES
•Literacy
•Mathematics
•Arts and handcrafts
•Music and drama
•History
•Natural sciences
Capturing the child’s imagination,
a Waldorf education fosters curiosity
and confidence, a reverence for the
surrounding world and the capacity
for creative, free thought.

4. MIDDLESCHOOL
For grades 6 - 8, the curriculum is designed to honor
the child’s growing awareness of the world around
them, and of their own participation and contribution
to this world. All subjects are interwoven with one
another, making a continuous connection with the
child’s inward experience and outward expression.
Earth studies, anatomy, geography, astronomy and physics dovetail with explorations of
music and sound while scientific experiments turn the world into a lab, providing a founda-
tion of concrete experiences upon which to develop academic theory. Study of modern
history (the Renaissance, Industrial Revolution, etc.) provides a fascinating framework of
stories that lend human interest to the scientific curriculum. Mathematics becomes both
more complex and more practical and each child’s personal creativity is exhibited in presen-
tations, reports and projects.
This unique approach helps children to discover and develop a
strong center as they move from childhood to adolescence.
Having been nourished and embraced as a whole person, and
having been given a lifelong love of learning, the Waldorf
educated child is well-prepared to share their unique gifts and
talents with the rest of the world.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Accept the children with reverence,
educate them with love, send them
forth in freedom.
•Mathematics
•Language Arts
•Earth studies
•Anatomy
•Geography
•Astronomy
•History
•Music