For more than a century, Waldorf schools have approached rigorous academics through what children need most: warm relationships, purposeful rhythms, movement, practical arts, stories, and time in nature. Today’s research in developmental cognitive neuroscience and educational psychology increasingly confirms that these practices help children focus, remember, and thrive. Our goal as a school community is to inspire lifelong learners who will make meaningful and ethical contributions to our shared world.
Welcome to Ithaca Waldorf School
AT ITHACA WALDORF SCHOOL WE STRIVE…
…To develop free human beings by awakening in the students clarity of thought, warmth of heart and strength of purpose.
The academic, artistic and practical lessons respect childhood, encourage healthy growth and engage students in the living world.
Ithaca Waldorf School is located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Our curriculum is based on a time-tested and research-backed understanding of child development that supports a balance of intellectual, physical, and emotional growth. We nurture childhood and provide appropriate subjects and challenges for each age, from the start of the journey at age 3 and to the independent capstone project at age 14. Our teachers emphasize imaginative play and outdoor time for our youngest students, and screen-free, multidisciplinary, project-based, increasingly-rigorous academics for our grades 1-8. All our programs are infused with art, music, innovation, joy, and community-building on our 80-acre farm campus.
LEARN ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS
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Li'l Sprouts Parent Child Class
Our talented Waldorf Early Childhood Educators lead weekly classes for parents/caregivers to attend with their babies & toddlers. These gentle mornings designed for the very young include art and movement activities, indoor and outdoor playtime, puppet shows, and tea and snack time together. Adults enjoy meeting other families with similar values, and learning about Waldorf education, parenting, and creating a Waldorf home environment.
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Early Childhood (Preschool & Kindergarten)
Our Early Childhood (preschool and kindergarten) classes serve children ages 3-6 years old and nurture each child’s development through gentle and sensory-rich environments and play-based activities. Our organic and intentionally-designed indoor and outdoor spaces encourage the young child to investigate the natural world, explore social relationships and expand imaginative capacities. Open-ended playtime is balanced with teacher-led programming that is rich in pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skill building.
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Elementary Grades
Our Waldorf Elementary School curriculum for 1st-5th grades is alive with fairy and folk tales, mythological sagas and stirring biographies of historical figures from all over the world. Our elementary students learn Spanish, play a string instrument in our ensembles, take care of farm animals, and celebrate seasonal festivals. Teachers integrate storytelling, drama, rhythmic movement, visual arts, and music into every subject, weaving a tapestry of experience that brings joy, meaning and longevity to increasingly-rigorous academic learning.
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Middle School
Our Waldorf curriculum for 6th-8th grades makes students' formal academic learning meaningful and engaging for them by awakening their moral development and increasing their awareness of their place in the world. They study revolutions and explorers around the globe, prepare for math and science Regents, take on more responsibility for our school and their younger school mates, produce a full-length play, develop farm systems for our largest animals, and each complete an 8th Grade capstone project to prepare them for a self-motivated and joyful high school journey.
“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 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
Stay Connected With Us On Socials ➡️
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