On Wednesday, May 7, from 8:45 to 10:30, families of students entering Nursery and Kindergarten are invited to Cape Ann Waldorf School to learn more about Waldorf education. Parents and children can speak with teachers, parents and students, and experience for themselves some of the activities that enliven a Waldorf classroom.
Kelly Hiselman, the school’s admissions director, is organizing the open house.
“At Cape Ann Waldorf School, and Waldorf schools all around the world, our goal is to ignite each child’s passion for learning,” Hiselman explained. “We do this by focusing on how and when children develop, and tailoring the curriculum to the needs of the children in each grade level. We also make sure the lessons are multi-sensory, and filled with opportunities for students to experience the material first hand. In other schools children may read a story and write about it, and that’s it. Our students may read and write about the same story, but they may also turn it into a play. At many schools, music class is focused on listening to and appreciating music. At our school, every student plays an instrument, so each of them can create their own music. Through drama, movement, handwork and storytelling, we give our students continuous opportunities to directly experience what they are learning about. This approach makes learning more fun, and more effective. When you talk with our eighth graders, the results are impossible to miss—they love learning, they are self-aware and self-confident, they are creative, and they are completely engaged with the world around them.”
Cape Ann Waldorf School has been serving children on the North Shore for 27 years and is part of an organization of Waldorf schools throughout the country. The school draws its students from more than twenty communities north of Boston.
The school’s 10-acre campus is located on Moraine Farm in Beverly—170 acres of protected forest, meadows and farmland. The school’s non-profit neighbors at Moraine Farm include The Trustees of Reservations, who operate a community supported agriculture program, and Project Adventure, a leader in experiential adventure-based educational programs.
Visit CapeAnnWaldorf.org to learn more about the school, its curriculum, community, and partners.