Learning for Ages 7 - 12
SOLA learning is inspired by the developmental indications of Rudolf Steiner, the unique innate gifts of each child and their relationships with self, others, and the wider world. At SOLA learning is living participation in Earth's diverse community of life; enriched through our sacred partnerships with parents; and inspired by an understanding of human, earth and cosmic co-evolutionary processes and their role in each child’s development.
Children transition from early childhood into the next phase of learning at SOLA by entering into an enduring relationship with a class teacher who will remain with a cohort of students through a 3 - 6 year learning cycle. In this way, each child, their family and the class teacher develop a deep understanding of one another through durational experience - an unfolding, rhythmic learning journey through the seasons of life in the SOLA learning community.
Through thematic blocks in liberal arts, living arts, festivals, games, free play & nature immersion, SOLA draws forth the unique, innate wisdom, curiosity, and vibrancy of each child. Liberal Arts includes academic subjects such as mythology, fables, phenomenological science, mathematics, geometry, astronomy, history, literature, languages and more. Living Arts includes hands-on, experiential learning, movement, theater, music, farm, food & folkways, fine arts, free play, festival life & daily immersion in the natural world.
Our campus is a Sanctuary for diverse plant and animal life, and thus, SOLA students learn to honor the natural world through a collective agreement to care for and nourish life in our Sanctuary. Nature and animals are part of each day's rhythm, through nature walks, eco-contemplative practices, animal care and feeding, gardening and biodynamic agriculture, and much more.
ALL is all integral to SOLA learning.
Liberal Arts & Academics
Through the 1.5 hour Thematic Lesson period, SOLA students are invited into a deep exploration of a thematic topic, which is carefully selected based on age and developmental gesture of the children in the class Thematic Lessons are designed & presented using primary sources, mythologies, stories, poetry, songs, & experiential or rhythmic activities, which are conveyed through the teacher’s unique, authentic voice, and ensouled understanding of the subject matter. These extended morning sessions offer an opportunity for truly holistic, hands-heart-head integration. Each student records their learning journey in a Thematic Lesson book where they create artwork, compositions, illustrations, diagrams, timelines and maps that uniquely reflect their comprehension & academic growth. These beautiful, archival hand-made 'textbooks' are unique to Steiner-inspired education.
Living Arts
SOLA’s Living Arts are integral to each day’s learning- whether students are feeding the animals on our biodynamic farm, singing during morning circle, practicing a class pay, crafting a handmade basket, planting seeds, harvesting & cooking a healthy snack from the season’s harvest, or simply sitting quietly by the creek observing salamanders. Learners at SOLA experience the richness, rhythm & vitality of learning through the unfolding seasons, which, over time, evolves into a sacredly vibrant relationship with the place of their learning.
Living Arts topics are presented through active, experiential, immersive modalities, and include: music, theater, fine art, fiber arts, woodworking, ceramics, and farm, food & folkways. The Living Arts curricula are derived from the living art of reverent, ecological, and ensouled participation in the sacred nature & ecologies of a particular place. Experiences of this nature create an embodied reverence & refined sense of aesthetics, which through slow, seasonal refinement encourages life-long curiosity, reverence and longing for ever-deeper encounters with the beauty, truth and goodness of our Earth and Cosmos.
Imaginative Play & Games
Unstructured, free play is so often undervalued in our current educational culture, even when multiple studies and direct experience tell us that childrens' imaginative capacities, empathic intelligence and development of self-regularity skills depend on it. Our daily rhythm includes ample, unstructured time for free play, and our environment provides a pristine natural landscape within which imagination can inspire and guide free play. SOLA learners are also engaged physically through weekly games classes, which provide a more strucured framework of play, physical activity, development of gross motor skills, and teamwork. Traditional team sports, historical & world games, nature games, circus arts, and more are part of the games curriculum.
