Preschool/Kindergarten | Grades Program | Linden Seeds Store | Staff | Parent Handbook
At Linden Corner School, we believe that the development of a child's sense of beauty, wonder and interest in the world of nature and all humanity is key to becoming a balanced and truly healthy adult. Based upon the teachings and insights of Rudolf Steiner, the curriculum nurtures the imagination, cultivates a love of learning, awakens a sense of moral responsibility and strengthens the intellect and will. Our mission is to provide an environment conducive to the development of, in Steiner's own words, "free human beings who are capable themselves of imparting purpose and direction to their lives." To this end, we strive to educate the heart and hands of the child, as well as the head, in a developmentally sensitive manner.
Programs
Linden Corner School, the only Waldorf school in Tennessee, is an educational oasis in the heart of Nashville. The school serves students Pre-K though 8th Grade.
Please be sure to join us for our Visitor Mornings and Open Houses, or contact us for more information about our programs.
Since 1993, Linden Corner School has offered a multi-age preschool kindergarten program for children 3-6 years of age. We provide a homelike setting for a mixed-age group of children to engage in creative play and guided activity. Young children learn through imitation, and much care is taken to ensure that teachers and activities surrounding the children in the school are worthy of imitation. The classroom is warm and beautiful. All play items are nonspecific in nature, simply hand-crafted of natural materials that nourish the child's developing senses and allow the imagination to flourish.
In our classrooms we emphasize the rhythms of the year, of the week and of the day. The rhythms of the day and the week allow freedom of movement within a structure that holds and supports the child and takes place within the still larger rhythms of the seasons and the year.
Weekly activities include watercolor painting, baking, seasonal crafts, beeswax modeling, gardening, housekeeping, and daily snack preparation. We celebrate the yearly seasonal cycle in circle time through song, verse and movement, and in story time through storytelling and puppet plays.
The children play outside every day, rain or shine, appropriately attired for the weather. A healthy mid-morning snack of wholegrain items, fresh fruit and spring water is served. Sack lunches are brought from home.
Linden Corner School launched its grades program in the Fall of 1999 and currently serves students 1st – 7th grade. In the Fall of 2006 we will offer 8th grade. At this point in time our Pioneer Class will have completed its journey and our Grades School will be complete.
As a developing Waldorf grade school we aim to teach the child about the world through an experience of the hands and the heart, as well as the mind, and in so doing, instill a living wisdom that enriches the intellect and deepens the natural joy and wonder of learning. The Waldorf curriculum integrates the arts into both academic and practical activities. Along with academic excellence, social responsibility and moral integrity are deeply emphasized.
In Waldorf schools, the same teacher often remains with the class from first through eighth grade, providing extraordinary continuity in curriculum and a deep understanding of each child. The class teacher is responsible for teaching the main lesson and sometimes other specialty subjects. The rest of the day is spent with other specialty teachers. The main lesson subjects, taught in blocks of 3-4 weeks, are presented during the first 2 hours of the morning. Thematic studies such as language arts, mathematics and natural sciences are explored. This block method enables the students to focus fully and deeply on one academic subject at a time, to connect the subject with their feelings as well as their minds, thus insuring more permanent retention of the course content.
Grades Curriculum
First Grade: Fairy
tales / writing / reading / spelling / pictorial introduction to the
alphabet /Spanish / speech exercises / observation of nature /
numbers and counting / Roman numerals / mental math (introduction to all
four processes) /form drawing / watercolor painting / knitting / modeling
with beeswax / singing / pentatonic flute / traditional dance / circle
games.
Second Grade: Fables / legends / folk tales / Native American stories
/ writing sentences / plays / rhyming / Spanish / choral speaking /
observation of human-made environment / cooking / basic arithmetic
operations (all four processes)/ symmetry - mirror drawing / painting animal
forms / crocheting / folk songs / pentatonic flute / modeling beeswax /
traditional dance / rhythmic games - jump rope.
Third Grade: Biblical stories / American Indian tales and legends /
grammar / punctuation / poetry / Spanish / long division /
multiplication / house-building / agriculture and gardening / crocheting of
a larger item - animal or purse / music notation / diatonic flute / recorder
playing in parts / choral singing / strings class (violin, viola or cello) /
traditional dance / circus activities - juggling, balancing, etc.
Fourth Grade: Tennessee history and geography / Norse sagas /
composition / book reports / mapmaking / averages / times tables / zoology -
human and animal / freehand geometric drawing / cross-stitch / embroidery /
modeling with clay - animals and geometric forms / woodworking / orchestra /
chorus / traditional dance.
Fifth Grade: Ancient history - India, Persia, Mesopotamia, and Greece
/ Greek Mythology / life of Buddha, Zoroaster, Alexander the Great, and
others / parts of speech, syntax, descriptive writing / decimals / fractions
/ metric system / zoology / botany / geography of the United States /
knitting with four needles / wood working/ modeling Greek vases and columns
in clay / three-part singing /
orchestra / traditional dance / tumbling and gymnastics / sports of the
pentathlon.
Sixth Grade: Ancient Rome / Life of Christ / Life of Muhammad / Islam
/ medieval Europe and the Crusades / advanced grammar / expository,
descriptive, and narrative writing / Latin sayings and proverbs /
mathematical equations / percentages / exact geometric drawing / physics /
botany / geology / geography of Canada, Central and South America / black
and white drawing / painting landscapes / sewing stuffed animals and work
aprons / woodworking with saws, rasps, and gouges / bas-relief modeling /
two-and three-part choral singing / orchestra / descant, alto, and tenor
recorder / traditional dance / Decathlon / team sports.
Seventh Grade: World and European history (1400 - 1700) / Age of
Exploration / Reformation / The Renaissance / forms of poetry / research
papers / algebra / business math / Meteorology / astronomy / chemistry /
physiology / physics / geography of Africa and Europe / perspective drawing
/ Platonic solids / sewing puppets and slippers / Woodworking with mallets,
gouges, and chisels / modeling the human hand and foot in clay / motets,
madrigals, oratorios/ orchestra / traditional dance.
Eighth Grade: World History (1700 - present) / Shakespeare /Napoleon
/ Industrial Revolution / Stories from many cultures / solid geometry /
chemistry / physics / physiology / Geography of Asia, Australia, and
Antarctica / black and white drawing with charcoal / sewing a piece of
clothing / making a stool, carved box, or moveable toy from wood / sculpting
the human head in clay / Greek wrestling / gymnastics.
Specialty subjects:
Starting in first grade each child begins the study foreign language
(Spanish), music, art, traditional dance, physical education, and
handwork (e.g. knitting, crocheting, woodworking, sewing).
Given that Linden Corner lies in the heart of Music City, the school gives
special emphasis to its Music Program. Vocal music is introduced in first
grade with the singing of simple songs, and each year thereafter, the
sophistication of the repertoire increases to meet the developing child.
Also in first grade, each child takes up the pentatonic wood flute. In
second grade the diatonic flute is added, and in third grade the soprano
recorder. By fourth grade the whole family of recorders is engaged in
ensemble. In third grade the students also enter strings class, where they
each take on the study of the violin, the viola, or the cello.
Such an integrated and extensive course of special subject study provides
the children with a comprehensive foundation for a love of learning and
creative exploration.
Linden Seeds Store is a
fundraising shop located on the Linden Corner campus. The store offers a
delightful selection of high quality, handmade toys, gifts, games, art and
craft supplies and books that reflect the Waldorf education philosophy.
We Specialize in:
• Beeswax crayons
• Modeling and decorating beeswax
• Waldorf style soft dolls
• Handmade wooden toys
• Plant-dyed wool and felt
• Toys that enhance imaginative play
• Books on parenting and Waldorf education
For store hours, please call: 354-0270