Private School in St. Paul, MN

Minnesota Waldorf School, St. Paul:
Located in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, Minnesota Waldorf School is an independent pre-K through 8th grade school. We value the critical link between inspiration and education. Music, movement, foreign language, handwork, and art are thoughtfully integrated with a strong core of humanities and sciences. Our classrooms and teachers offer a warm, environment that allows children's capacities to unfold and grow, naturally. Our students rise to the challenges of learning with a sense of discovery and curiosity.

Waldorf Academics:
At the Minnesota Waldorf School, our curriculum is comprised of a strong core of humanities and sciences, which is carefully and creatively integrated with art, handwork, foreign language, music and movement.

Parent-Toddler Class:
Share in a cozy morning of cooking, toy making or seasonal crafts, then join in the comforting rhythm of circle time and a healthy snack. Each morning session ends with a parents-only discussion with a trained Waldorf teacher, to help you explore joyful ways to parent with warmth, rhythm and understanding.

Preschool & Kindergarten:
In our charming kindergarten, nurturing teachers gently guide children trhough creative play and imagination-- laying a firm foundation for academic work in the grades.

Teachers lead children through a day of play and work, story and song, nature and movement-- awakening and celebrating each child's innate sense of joy and wonder. Grinding wheat to make bread, washing and carding wool, collecting eggs from the coop, and watercolor painting create an awe-filled, intelligent foundation that sets the stage for academics to begin in 1st grade.

Grades 1-4:
In the early grades, the academic work is carried through the arts, a medium that comes naturally to children at this age. Writing, drawing, painting, storytelling, and drama engage them and enliven their work, enhancing their ability to absorb what they learn in a meaningful way.

Math begins through rhythmic games and the creative use of objects, allowing children to discover patterns as they progress from the four key processes-- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division-- to fractions in 4th grade.

Reading & writing are taught organically. Children first listen to stories, copy poems, and draw pictures that bring letters to life in the child's imagination. Learning to write and read arises naturally, creating confidence and eagerness that is often lost when skills are taught abstractly.

Music, including songs, wooden flutes and string instruments, offers balance and support to the daily academics.

Practical arts, including building, cooking, knitting, caring for animals, and gardening help ground the children and give them a true sense of what is required to care for themselves, other creatures and the earth.

Grades 5-8:
The Waldorf curriculum for grades 5-8 thoughtfully cultivates the skills of personal courage necessary to live in our often complicated world. A focused core of blocks in math, science, history and language are complemented and balanced with foreign language, physical education, and artistic endeavors including handwork, music, theater, painting, and woodworking.

History is approached from a global perspective and emphasis is placed on cultural understanding and biography, rather than rote memorization of dates and details which are soon forgotten.

Memory and neural capacities are strengthened through theater, poetry and music.

Mathematics is brought to life, in both historical and real-world settings, which nurtures natural curiosity and strengthens problem-solving skills.

Science is approached through observation and discovery. Students are actively involved in the process of inquiry and critical judgment, leading to a deeper understanding of scientific principles that promotes analytic thinking.