awakening the joy of learning
The mission of Waldorf education is to raise conscious, creative,
innovative children who are capable of shaping the future of economics, justice and cultural freedom.
Marin Waldorf is a toddler - 8th grade non-denominational private school.
We provide an experiential, academically rigorous curriculum that also addresses the inner life of the child, their emergent sense of self and their relationship with the world around them.
The right choice
for your child.
As parents who are considering private education, we may feel unsure about which school would be the best fit for our child. Academics are important, but we want assurance that they will have a strong foundation to meet the future successfully in these times of global change.
Through a progressive developmental based approach to education, Marin Waldorf School has been helping Bay Area parents raise confident, self-reliant, resilient and morally intelligent children for the past 40 years. Waldorf education goes beyond the development of the intellect, focusing on the development of the whole human being and helping children bring goodness, beauty and truth into the world.
MARIN WALDORF PARENTS
"When you see your child developing all different aspects of themselves, that is how you know you made the right decision." - MWS Parent
"Waldorf School students are confident, they're strong, they know how to relate to people...they look you in the eye." - MWS Parent
"When all three of my children were there it was such a great feeling as a parent to know they're all safe in this school and thriving." - MWS Parent
"Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able, of themselves, to impart purpose and direction to their lives." - Rudolf Steiner
Developmental Learning
click the "Why Waldorf?" videos here to learn more
The Waldorf Curriculum is based the philosophy that education should gradually draw out all of the child's innate capacities: physical, social, emotional, artistic, and intellectual. The lessons and activities are developmentally tailored to meet the child's emergent and maturing sense of self and their relationship to the world. Our early childhood program focuses on creative play, imagination and wonder, while grades 1-8 expand into a full liberal arts curriculum.
"Pairing this curriculum with a child's developmental capacity means the child is never overwhelmed - but always stretched." - Christopher Lind - White M.D.
"In linking their curriculum and schooling toward children's developmental stages, Waldorf schools seem to have a unique sense of what children are ready for. They promote creativity and critical thinking in an interdisciplinary fashion...exactly the direction public education needs to move towards." - Jack Miller, professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Parent-child Program
NURTURING THE CHILD AND THE PARENT ON THEIR JOURNEY TOGETHER
The children play nearby as the parents join together to discuss topics like the importance of rhythm and routine, protection of the senses, sleep and healthy movement.
Register for our 2018/2019 classes
MARIN WALDORF ALUMNI
"For me, it was the most tremendous gift my parents ever gave me."
- MWS Alumni, Cheri Rivers Ndaliko Ph.D. African Studies, Harvard University
"Being personally acquainted with a number of Waldorf students, I can say that they come closer to realizing their own potential than practically anyone I know."
- Joseph Weizenbaum, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Admissions
TRANSFORMING EDUCATION
Marin Waldorf School believes in education that is based on a deep understanding of human development. Come experience the natural rhythm of our beautiful 10 acre campus and learn more about how Waldorf is transforming education.
COMMUNITY
Raising happy and healthy children together.
the HISTORY of waldorf
The Pioneer of Progressive Education
Rudolf Steiner - 20th Century European Scientist, Educator, Artist and Philosopher founded Waldorf Education 1919.
A Solution For Troubled Times
At the end of WWI in 1919, Europe was teetering on the brink of economic, social, and political chaos. Rudolf Steiner was concerned about the need for social renewal, for a new way of organizing society and a shift in political and cultural life. Waldorf education is based on a profound understanding of human development that transforms teaching into an artistic and health-giving approach to education. The curriculum was born out of the desire to help provide future generations with the tools to create a better world.
Today, with more than 1,000 Waldorf schools in 83 countries, Waldorf Education is the fastest growing independent educational movement in the world. In North America, Waldorf has been available since 1928, and there are now over 250 schools and 14 teacher training centers in some level of development. These schools exist in large cities and small towns, suburbs and rural enclaves. No two schools are identical; each is administratively independent. Nevertheless, a visitor would recognize many characteristics common to them all.