Private School in Tucson, AZ

Tucson Waldorf School:
Tucson Waldorf School, located in Tucson, Arizona is a private school for kids offering programs from Pre-K through to Grade 8. Our Waldorf school will cultivate clarity of thought, sensitivity of feeling, and strength of will, enabling its students to become balanced, creative human beings capable of independent human judgment. Graduates will meet the challenges of the future with compassion, courage, confidence, and innovation. Tucson Waldorf School is a developing member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA).

The Waldorf curriculum is broad and comprehensive. Structured to respond to the three developmental phases of childhood - birth to 6 or 7 years, 7 to 14 years and 14 to 21 years - Rudolf Steiner stressed to teachers that the best way to provide meaningful support for the child is to comprehend these phases fully and to bring "age appropriate" content that nourishes healthy growth for the Waldorf student. Music, dance and theater, writing, literature, legends and myths are not simply subjects to be read about and tested. They are experienced. Through these experiences, Waldorf students cultivate their intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual capacities to be individuals certain of their paths and to be of service to the world.

Nursery Program at the Presidio Campus:
Our Nursery Program is designed as an environment where the young child is surrounded by warmth, tenderness and love. The rhythmical order of daily, weekly and seasonal activities gives children a sense of security. The children's need for both movement and rest determines the arrangement of daily events and activities. Our nursery class size has a maximum of twelve children and a is led by a full-time experienced and dedicated Waldorf-trained teacher and full-time assistant. We offer two, three and five-day nursery programs.

Parent-Child Classes at the Presidio Campus:
Parent/Child classes are offered at the Tucson Waldorf School to serve families with infants and toddlers. Playgroup classes are a fun way to connect with other parents and to share the joys (and challenges) of parenting our very young children. Classes are taught once a week in eight-week sessions. The parent/infant classes are ninety minutes long and the parent/child classes are two hours long.

Mixed-Age Kindergartens at the Presidio Campus:
In Waldorf schools, the mixed age nursery and kindergarten allow children in contemporary smaller families to experience the social learning opportunity of helping younger children or being helped by older children. This sets a tone and establishes the example of cooperation that is evident on the play yard.


Grades Program:

Grades One and Two attend the Presidio Campus, Grades Three through Eight attend the River Bend Campus.

The following lessons and activities begin in First Grade, continue through Eighth Grade and are taught throughout the grades program:
-  Spanish, German, Form Drawing, Recorder, Singing, Music Theory, Recitation and Drama,Watercolor Painting, Handwork, Modeling, Eurythmy, Games Class, Movement Education

Grade One:
- Fairy tales and folk tales; Introduction to the alphabet and writing; Introduction to reading; Qualitative aspects of numbers; Arithmetic: the four processes (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), mental math; Nature studies based on stories; Knitting

Grade Two:
- Fables and legends of Saints, local folklore; Reading, writing, spelling; Introduction to elements of grammar; Arithmetic: the four processes, whole numbers, times tables, column adding, working with money; Nature stories; Crocheting

Grade Three:
- Old Testament stories, Creation Stories; Cursive writing; Reading, spelling, grammar; Arithmetic: the four processes; linear, liquid and dry measurement, weight and time, carrying and borrowing, prime numbers; Practical studies: house building, farming, clothing, gardening and crafts

Grade Four:
- Norse mythology, Kalevala; Reading, spelling, grammar; Language arts; Arithmetic: the four processes, long division, fractions, factoring, word problems; Local history and geography; Zoology, comparative study of humans and animals; Cross-stitch, crafts; Part Singing

Grade Five:
- Greek mythology; Biographies of great historical figures; Language arts; Arithmetic: fractions, decimals; Ancient history: India, Persia, Babylonia, Chaldea, Egypt, Greece; North American geography; Botany; Zoology

Grade Six:
- Roman History, medieval history; Language arts; Arithmetic: percentage, geometrical drawing, ratio, proportion, introduction to equations, business math; South American or African geography; Physics; Geology; Botany; Sewing

Grade Seven:
- Renaissance and Reformation; Age of Exploration and discovery, 1400-1700; Creative Writing, poetry, research paper; Human Physiology, "Coming of Age", Chemistry: combustion, acid/base; Physics: mechanics and electricity; Astronomy; Algebra, formulae; European geography; Perspective drawing

Grade Eight:
- The Age of Revolution, Industrial Revolution, World History to Modern Time; Shakespeare; Signed numbers, equations, set concepts, practical mathematics, algebra, geometry, Platonic solids; World Geography; Human Anatomy; Chemistry; Physics; Meteorology; Original writing is done in all Grade Eight blocks; Grade Eight project, Research paper, oral presentation to community, hands-on model; Class trip