Hours: 8:15am - 3:15pm

2008-2009 Annual Tuition: $15,965

The task of elementary education is to give children an understanding of humanity and the world they live in, to offer them knowledge so rich and warm as to engage their hearts and wills as well as their minds. Such an understanding is the basis of all real learning in later years. With the completion of the eighth grade, the children should have a well-rounded general picture of human life and the universe. This last year of elementary school should not only bring all previous experiences to a new peak, but also enable the children to enter fully and potentially into the life of their own time.

History is an intensive study of the Industrial Revolution to the modern day, focusing as well on outstanding individuals such as Lincoln, Jefferson, and Edison in American history, and great figures such as Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Rudolf Steiner and others from the 20th Century.

Geography takes up the same themes, showing the role played by every part of the earth in modern industrial civilization. A comprehensive picture is given of the relation of mineral resources and plant and animal life to the life of human beings in various regions of the world (world economic geography).

Physics lessons complement these historical and geographical surveys. The practical uses made of man's new knowledge of all the physical sciences are thoroughly explored. In addition to further studies in acoustics, thermodynamics, mechanics, climate, electricity and magnetism, the children are now introduced to hydraulics, aerodynamics, meteorology and ecology.

Chemistry is also considered in relation to industry. Organic chemistry is studied for the role it plays in the building of organic substance. Fats, sugars, proteins and starches are identified.

Mathematics also emphasizes the practical applications of arithmetic, algebra and geometry. Demonstrations in plane and solid geometry lead to problems in the measurement of surfaces and volume. The study of graphs is introduced.

Man is again the subject of nature study through the study of physiology of the human organism, observed from the standpoint of form and movement: skeleton, muscular systems, and the senses.

Literature focuses on the theme of human freedom in the short story, letters and Shakespearean drama. In their foreign language, the children begin a study of poetry and metric forms. Music takes up Elizabethan music, American music, symphonic form; eurythmy complements other studies with exploration of poems with tension and relief and contrasting moods.

Painting concerns itself for the first time with highly conscious studies of highlights and shadows in portraits and landscapes. Machine sewing, darning, artistic hand sewing projects, soapstone carving, and carpentry devoted to big projects requiring real skill and imagination culminate eight years of handwork.

Curriculum: Literature (short story, letters, dramatic contrast in Shakespearean drama), composition, grammar, spelling; arithmetic (review of solids and measurement); algebra, geometry; world economic geography, American history; physics (hydraulics), organic chemistry, physiology.