Outdoor Play Foundational for Science Education

CLWS students playing outdoors, climbing trees, splashing in the lake, and filling buckets with sand.

New research highlights the foundational role that nature-based play has in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education. “We often associate early childhood STEM education with things like magnifying glasses and tutorials in the experimental method. But the links between …

Waldorf Schools are Media Literacy Role Models

CLWS Cyber Civics teacher Soni Albright engages a group of 6th grade students in a discussion about technology

By Soni Albright, CLWS Admissions Director and Cyber Civics Teacher This article originally appeared on the Cyber Civics blog and has been re-posted here with permission. As we celebrate Media Literacy Week 2021, it’s hard to believe that Waldorf schools …

Fostering the Power of Imagination

Courage, Creativity, Imagination, Wonder in Education

To solve the environmental crisis, or any of the other ecological, economic, social and political crises we face, we need to foster the power of imagination in education. Future generations need to be able to imagine a different world. They …

Our Philosophy: More Green Time, Less Screen Time

A CLWS 5th grade student works on a Botany assignment in the school's raingarden.

A new collection of 186 studies show that high levels of time spent in nature are associated with positive mental health, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement benefits for kids, while high levels of screen time are associated with depression, anxiety, …

Fractions: Parts of a Whole

City of Lakes Waldorf School fourth grade fractions

By Jennifer Holt, Fourth Grade Teacher Fostering a sense of wholeness in our community and classroom is foundational to Waldorf Education, and this year is certainly no different. In the Fourth Grade, we are one whole class! And yet, we …

In the News: Teaching Kids to Love Science

Two 8th grade students excitedly anticipate the result of their hand-built steam engine!

At City of Lakes Waldorf School, we take an experiential and project based approach to science, which engages students and sparks their curiosity. It also gives them skills that will help them to be more successful in life and work: …

Teaching American History for Our Times

Beautiful Civil Rights lesson book page, handwritten and illustrated by an 8th grade student

By Jessica Crawford, 8th Grade Teacher The Waldorf approach to history is founded on the idea that human consciousness has evolved over time—and is still evolving. An important point to make right off the bat, and one that has dawned …

In the News: How Learning a Musical Instrument Increases Brain Power

A 4th grade student learns to play the xylophone

New studies from MIT and the University of Zürich show that when it comes to teaching kids, it’s music—not coding—that actually has long term transferable developmental, cognitive, and academic benefits. According to a summary of the January 2021 study conducted …