The Art of Storytelling We are so pleased to share that Seattle Waldorf School was featured in the most recent edition of Seattle’s Child Magazine in their article focused on the art of storytelling. Our very own, Grade 2 Class Teacher Laura Cox and Grade School Director, Dru Smith-Crain were interviewed and shared the importance […] The post SWS Featured in Seattle’s Child Magazine! first appeared on Seattle Waldorf School ..read more

As we approach the Winter Spiral and the darkest days of the year, I find myself reflecting on my own journey with the cycles of light and darkness. Moving from the Desert Southwest, where sunlight reigns supreme, to the Pacific Northwest, where early darkness embraces us each day, has been a profound adjustment. Here, the […] The post What does a Winter Spiral offer our Community? first appeared on Seattle Waldorf School ..read more

In a recent article in The Atlantic, the author writes that college students, even at elite colleges, may arrive on campus never having read a book cover to cover. They have read excerpts and short articles, but have trouble keeping up with the course load requirement to read a book or more in a week […] The post Want Your Child to Love Reading? Try Waldorf. first appeared on Seattle Waldorf School ..read more

As we transition from the warmth of summer to the crisp days of autumn, we are invited to pause and reflect on the changes around us and within us. This season brings misty mornings, vibrant leaves, and a sense of preparation as we move toward the quieter, colder months of winter. In the Waldorf tradition, […] The post Michaelmas Fall Festival first appeared on Seattle Waldorf School ..read more

  It was a joy to greet new and returning families (and a flock of ducks) at school last week. The ducks only stayed briefly, but the rest of us enjoyed the beautiful weather and warmth of our community. The Flower Ceremony was sweet and touching as our Grade School welcomed our new First Grade […] The post Welcome to the 2024-25 School Year! first appeared on Seattle Waldorf School ..read more

As someone who left the Waldorf community at the end of elementary school as a student and then re-entered it towards the beginning of adulthood as an administrator, I have a very clear feeling of what this means to me. It is a place where you can talk to someone and not necessarily agree with their point of view but believe that their intentions are good and true. It feels like a place where you can show up as yourself, and it feels like a place where you can learn about yourself. You feel a sense of belonging with others through the shared experience of working on honest personal growth. In ..read more

Grade 6 had a wonderful, adventurous trip to Loowit (Mt. St. Helens) in mid-October. The trip was tied into their Geology block, in which students studied the science of the forces of the earth and how they affect the landscape around us, as well as minerals, rocks and the ways humans use them. Volcanology was a part of our block, and students learned about the eruption of Loowit in 1980, then visited the mountain, viewing the devastation and regrowth. We journeyed through Ape Caves (a 1.5 mile underground lava tube) with headlamps and lots of bravery! We also camped beside the Toutle Riv ..read more

In the World Cooking Elective, middle school students embark on a culinary and cultural adventure that involves all of their senses as they learn to create delicious food from around the world. Focused on the humble pancake, students develop their knife and cooking skills while making and eating pancakes from different cultures. An open mindset is encouraged as we use different ingredients and cooking techniques to prepare sweet and savory pancakes that includes French crepes, Japanese okonomiyaki and takoyaki, German dutch babies, Indonesian serabi, Danish aebleskiver, and Korean pajeon. Stud ..read more

How does scientific progress occur? What is scientific truth? How does scientific knowledge shape the way we see the world around us? These are some of the meaty questions that the Grade 12 Honors Humanities group has been wrestling with this semester. I was excited (and a bit nervous!) to launch this new class: Topics in the History of Science. While the overall focus of the class is researching and writing a 15-page historical research paper, we began our studies by diving headfirst into a very difficult text, the seminal Structure of Scientific Revolution by Thomas Kuhn. Kuhn’s bo ..read more

In the spring of 2021, when we were just able to come back from online COVID education to in-person school (but only outside!) our 12th grade engaged in field chemistry. As the ultimate project in that class, the seniors created a curriculum and field guide for our 9th grade chemistry morning lesson blocks: to measure the water quality in Thornton Creek. The field manual includes an essay about why water quality matters, art related to healthy aquatic ecosystems, step-by-step procedures for measuring eight water quality parameters, and instructions on how to analyze the data. The legacy of our ..read more