# Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs > Private PreK-8 school in Saratoga Springs, NY offering Waldorf education. Founded 1981. Phone-free, arts-integrated, nature-based learning with flat $10,500 tuition for grades 1-8 (capped at a $25,000 annual family maximum) and income-based sliding-scale tuition for 5-day Kindergarten. Two campuses serving ages 9 months through 8th grade. Contact: admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org | (518) 587-0549 Address: 62 York Ave, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Website: https://www.waldorfsaratoga.org ## Building Unshakeable Foundations Now enrolling PreK through 8th grade for Fall 2026 with a new tuition model! [Explore Grades 1-8](/lower-school-enrollment) ![Student creating a wet-on-wet watercolor painting](/images/hero/hero-painting.webp) ![Teacher leading a lesson with wooden figures in the forest](/images/hero/hero-forest-classroom.webp) ![Families gathered at an outdoor community event on campus](/images/hero/hero-community-event.webp) ![Students gathered by the river for an outdoor class lesson](/images/hero/hero-riverside.webp) ![Recorder ensemble practicing with music stands](/images/hero/hero-music.webp) # Building Unshakeable Foundations Book a Tour [Contact Admissions](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is an independent PreK-8 school in Saratoga Springs, NY where experiential learning, integrated arts, and strong academics develop children ready to meet the world with confidence and curiosity. ## The Waldorf Difference An education designed to nurture the whole child - head, heart, and hands. ### A Screen-Free Environment In our classrooms, children build focus, creativity, and genuine connection without digital distraction. They learn to concentrate deeply - a skill that's becoming increasingly rare and valuable. ### Every Child Truly Known With class sizes of 11-15 students and teachers who stay with their class for multiple years, your child won't be just a face in the crowd. Teachers know each student's strengths, challenges, and what makes them light up. ### Learning by Doing Fractions learned through baking. Geometry explored through woodworking. History brought alive through storytelling and drama. When children engage their whole selves in learning, knowledge becomes lasting understanding. ## Real Questions, Honest Answers Every family arrives with questions. These stories answer the ones we hear most. [How does Waldorf prepare children for the future? I Work in AI. My Son Goes to Waldorf. Abigail S., Parent and Board Member An information scientist who builds AI capability for a living explains why she chose a screen-free Waldorf education for her son. Read the story](/stories/i-work-in-ai-my-son-goes-to-waldorf) [What's the Deal with Learning to Read at Waldorf? Amy Reinink A journalist mom investigates the question every prospective Waldorf parent asks — are kids really not taught to read until third grade? — and discovers a beautifully measured approach where no child feels left behind. Read the story](/stories/learning-to-read-at-waldorf) [What Does a Screen-Free Day Actually Look Like? Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs A look at what children do at our screen-free campuses, and what parents notice when they get home. Read the story ](/stories/what-a-screen-free-day-looks-like) [Browse all stories](/stories) ## Our Programs Each stage of childhood is honored with developmentally appropriate learning. ![Early childhood students engaged in nature-based sensory activities](/images/early-childhood.jpg) ### Early Childhood Toddler - Age 6 [Learn More about Early Childhood program](/early-childhood) ![Lower school students in hands-on creative learning activities](/images/lower-school.jpg) ### Lower School Grades 1-5 [Learn More about Lower School program](/lower-school) ![Middle school students exploring light refraction with prisms on the classroom floor](/images/middle-school.jpg) ### Middle School Grades 6-8 [Learn More about Middle School program](/middle-school) ## Frequently Asked Questions Here are some of the most common questions about our school. Our [detailed FAQs page](/faq) goes into greater detail on these topics. What is Waldorf education all about? Waldorf education is a century-old approach used in more than 1,200 schools worldwide. It is academically robust and deliberately unhurried. We do not race children from one milestone to the next. We build capacities as they emerge, so confidence and a love of learning grow together, without the performance anxiety and teaching to the test that many families are trying to leave behind. How much does tuition cost? For the 2026-27 school year, tuition for grades 1 through 8 is $10,500 per student, with a $25,000 annual maximum per family. Early Childhood tuition varies by program and schedule, and our 5-day Kindergarten offers sliding-scale tuition. Get a confidential estimate in about a minute with our [tuition calculator](/affordability). What programs do you offer? We serve children from 18 months through 8th grade across three programs: **Early Childhood** (play-based learning and nature immersion), **Lower School** (grades 1-5, with arts-integrated academics), and **Middle School** (grades 6-8, with rigorous academics and independence-building). [Explore our programs below](#programs) to learn more. Where are you located? We have three beautiful campuses in Saratoga Springs, NY. Our main campus is at 62 York Avenue, with additional early childhood and program spaces nearby. We serve families throughout Saratoga County, Warren County, and the surrounding Capital Region communities. How can I learn more? Additional questions are answered on our [detailed FAQ page](/faq). If you are ready to discuss your child's future at our school or see a morning in the classroom, schedule a conversation with our [Admissions team](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) or [send us an inquiry](/connect) and we'll get in touch. ## What Parents Say > The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs has become more than just a school for our family. It is a community we are grateful and proud to be part of. The teachers are thoughtful and attentive to each of our daughters and truly support their individual growth. We also value being surrounded by families who share our commitment to raising children with strong values and a love of learning. > > Beth H., Waldorf parent ## Come See a Morning The best way to understand Waldorf education is to watch it happen. Sit in on a Main Lesson, the two-hour morning block where academics unfold through story, movement, and hands-on work. Watch the children at play. Then decide for yourself. Book a Tour [Ask a Question](/connect) Book a Tour [Tuition](/affordability) ## Early Childhood # Early Childhood A play-based program protecting the magic of childhood. You want more than a place for your child to spend their days. You want a school where your child is truly known, where they build confidence and real friendships, and where emotional health and attention matter. At Waldorf Early Childhood, that's exactly what we offer: a warm, intentional environment where young children thrive. They develop focus, resilience, and the social-emotional foundation that prepares them for everything that comes next. Here, childhood is protected while building future readiness. ## At a Glance - **8:1** student-to-teacher ratio - **Play-based** learning - **Two campuses** to choose from - **Outdoors daily**, year round - **Mixed-age** classrooms [View Program Options](#programs) ## Two Campuses, One Philosophy Both locations offer the same nurturing Waldorf approach. Choose the environment that feels right for your family. 212 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs ### Early Childhood Center A home-like setting in the heart of Saratoga Springs. Children explore our gardens, walk to local parks, and experience the seasons. Inside: cooking together, watercolor painting, seasonal crafts, songs and puppet shows. Calm, beautiful, nurturing. 45 Kaydeross Avenue West ### Forest School Nestled on Spa State Park land with forested trails, open spaces for climbing and building, and a restored farmhouse for indoor activities. Deep immersion in nature for families seeking something different from the typical preschool experience. ![Early childhood students engaged in a classroom activity](/images/programs/early-childhood/DSC_0189.jpg) ### Arts & Music Storytelling, songs, rhymes and movement are a part of every morning circle. Rich language and imagery lead children from hearty play to a quiet place in their own imaginations. Music connects the flow of the morning—from play to clean-up, circle time to rest time, snack to play once more. The circling year and change of seasons are noticed and celebrated for the wonder they bring to the young child—both outdoors and in classroom crafts. Honey-scented beeswax to model, warm wool to felt and stitch, wood to sand and polish, brilliant water-colors to paint with—all provide a young child with nurturing sensory experiences and growing dexterity. ## What Makes Our Program Different 1 ### Learning Through Play Play is essential. Young children play to learn about the world, about themselves, and about each other. - Our programs devote time and space for child-centered play that supports cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. Movement, discovery, imagination, and creativity thrive in every season and all kinds of weather. _Your child builds self-confidence and a love of learning through joyful, unhurried play._ 2 ### Predictable Rhythms The days and weeks follow a gentle, predictable rhythm. Tuesday might be painting day. Thursday is rainbow soup for lunch! Friday is cooking day. - Children always know what to expect, which creates emotional security. _Your child is seen, supported, and guided as an individual._ 3 ### Learning Is Lived Young children learn by doing - through movement, exploration, and hands-on experience. - Children use real tools to chop vegetables, stir soups, and tend gardens, work with natural materials like beeswax and wool, and experience puppet shows, seasonal songs, and nature-based festivals. _Learning feels meaningful and alive, helping children connect knowledge to the world around them._ ![Children gathered closely around a picture book, pointing at the illustrations together](/images/programs/early-childhood/storytime-circle.webp) ### Relationships Built on Trust For a young child, school should be like home. Safety, emotional warmth, encouragement and a sense of belonging are the hallmarks of an Early Childhood program that cares for your child the way that you would. The Waldorf Early Childhood programs offer a sensory-rich, home-like setting with an 8:1 student to teacher ratio. Teachers cultivate a nurturing environment that fosters play, exploration, social harmony and self-care skills. A strong partnership between teachers and parents eases the transition from home to school, allowing each child to flourish. ![Two children sharing snacks on a tree stump surrounded by autumn leaves](/images/programs/early-childhood/outdoor-snack.webp) ### Learning Through Purposeful Work Your child isn't sitting at a desk with a worksheet. Instead, they're chopping vegetables, raking leaves, and churning butter - doing real tasks that build real confidence and coordination. Through play and purposeful activities, children discover they can do meaningful things. Your child develops the confidence that comes from genuine contribution and real engagement. ## Program Options Ages 2-3 ### Preschool **Schedule:** 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM **Options:** 2, 3, or 5 days per week A gentle introduction to group learning. Ages 3 - 6 years ### Kindergarten **Half Day:** 8:15 AM - 12:15 PM **Full Day:** 8:15 AM - 2:15 PM **Options:** 3 or 5 days per week Mixed-age classrooms where younger children learn from older peers. **5-day Kindergarten offers sliding-scale tuition.** For enrolled families ### Extended Care **Morning:** 7:15 - 8:15 AM **Afternoon:** 2:15 - 5:00 PM Ages 18 months - 3 years ### Playgroups Caregivers attend with children. A wonderful way to experience Waldorf. 5-day Kindergarten offers sliding scale tuition based on family income. [Calculate your tuition](/affordability) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the daily schedule like? Each day follows a gentle, predictable rhythm that gives children emotional security. A typical morning includes free play, circle time with songs and movement, a focused activity (painting, cooking, handwork), outdoor exploration, storytime, and snack. The rhythm repeats weekly - Tuesday might be painting day, Friday is cooking day - so children always know what to expect. Gentle transitions and a calm pace create space for deep engagement rather than rushed activity. ### How do you handle discipline? We practice "connection before correction" - building warm relationships that become the foundation for guidance. With our 8:1 ratio, we can address challenges individually. More questions? See our [full FAQ](/faq). ## See Our Program in Action > In today's world children and young adults are faced with so many outlining stressors. I did not want school to be one of those for my children. I wanted them to enjoy going to school. I wanted it to be a safe place for them to learn, and grow— where music, movement, and the arts were integral, and smiles, laughter, and happiness succeeded standards and testing. Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs does this and more. > > Parent ## Ready to Visit? The best way to understand what makes Waldorf Early Childhood special is to experience it yourself. Schedule a tour to see our classrooms, meet our teachers, and feel the warmth of our community. **Contact Admissions** Email: [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) Phone: [(518) 587-0549](tel:+15185870549) [Connect With Us](/connect) [Tuition & Financial Aid](/affordability) ## Lower School # Lower School Where children discover the joy of learning through story, art, movement, and hands-on experience. You want your child to love learning, to wake up excited about school and come home bursting with stories. You want your child to be seen, with teachers who know their strengths and understand their struggles. And in an era of constant screens and mounting academic pressure, you want a school that protects your child's focus, creativity, and emotional wellbeing. A place where childhood is honored as the foundation for everything that comes next. At the Lower School, that's exactly what we offer: a sanctuary where children in grades one through five discover the joy of deep learning. Here, math comes alive through cooking and woodworking. History unfolds through storytelling and signature trips. And your child develops the curiosity, critical thinking, and love of learning that will serve them for life. ## At a Glance - **Screen-free** sanctuary - **Arts-integrated** curriculum - [**Now more affordable!**](/affordability) ![Students creating detailed illustrations in their Main Lesson books](/images/programs/lower-school-01.webp) ### Learning Comes Alive Students create their own beautifully illustrated Main Lesson books. Each page reflects what they've learned - combining writing, drawing, and personal understanding into something they're proud to keep. ## What Makes Our Program Different 1 ### The Class Teacher A single teacher guides your child from first through fifth grade. This continuity transforms the relationship from transactional to transformational. - Your child's teacher knows their learning style, their social dynamics, and what makes them light up. _Your child is seen, supported, and guided as an individual._ 2 ### Learning Through Doing Fractions through baking bread. Geometry through woodworking. History through epic storytelling and class plays. - Academic subjects come alive when children experience them rather than just observe them. _Your child develops curiosity, critical thinking, and a genuine love of learning._ 3 ### Time to Be a Child Phone-free classrooms. Minimal homework in early grades. Rich outdoor play. - In an age of mounting pressure and fractured attention, we protect what childhood needs most: time to focus, create, and connect. _We're building something important: the capacity to focus, create, and connect._ ![Teacher and students gathered outdoors for a storytelling lesson](/images/community-02.webp) ### A Teacher Who Truly Knows Your Child Waldorf students develop personal relationships with their teachers, creating a relaxed environment and love of learning. In grades one through five, the same main teacher provides continuity and a consistent point of contact for parents while at the same time specialty teachers provide exposure to different teachers and teaching styles. Going back to school is more of a highly anticipated reunion with a teacher and class familiar to your child than a stressful unknown. Waldorf teachers actively spend time contemplating what your child needs to grow. ## How We Teach ### The Main Lesson Block Each day begins with two focused hours on a single subject, studied intensively for 3-4 weeks. This creates depth rather than surface skimming. In lieu of standardized text books, students create personal main lesson books, bringing their own writing and artistic expression to their learning. Meaningful tests and assessments are designed and used by teachers for gauging learning and increasing motivation. Younger grades include no standardized tests. ### Reading A strong foundation for literacy is provided through language-rich stories, songs and circle times, as well as through active physical play and movement. Reading instruction begins in first grade through learning to write first. By second grade, most children are reading fluently - and because they learned with joy, they become lifelong readers. ### Math All four operations are introduced in first grade through story characters. Students work with patterns and relationships, understanding the _why_ behind the symbols. In this way, a strong quality of number sense is developed in our youngest students and continued up through the grades with fractions, decimals and percentages following in grades three through five. ![Two students working with saws and measuring tape in the woodworking workshop](/images/programs/lower-school-03.webp) ### Hands and Mind Together Woodworking, handwork, painting, and music aren't extras - they're central to how children learn. Working with their hands develops focus, patience, and the kind of deep thinking that transfers to every subject. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Are academics prioritized? Academic excellence is central to what we do - we simply approach it differently. Our students master reading, writing, mathematics, and the sciences through a curriculum that engages the whole child. When children learn through multiple modalities, combining intellectual work with artistic expression, movement, and hands-on practice, they develop stronger critical thinking, better retention, and more creative problem-solving skills. Research consistently shows that this approach produces students with deeper understanding and stronger academic outcomes. Our students develop not just knowledge, but the curiosity, creativity, and confidence to apply what they've learned in new situations. ### How are children prepared for middle school? By fifth grade, children have strong foundations in reading, writing, mathematics, and the arts. They've developed study skills through Main Lesson work, collaboration skills through group projects and plays, and self-discipline through handwork and practice. They transition to middle school (whether at Waldorf or elsewhere) well-prepared for increased academic demands. ### What about children with learning differences? Our relational approach and small class sizes allow teachers to know each child's learning style and adapt accordingly. The multi-sensory curriculum - engaging visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners - supports diverse needs. Many children who struggle in traditional settings thrive in Waldorf's hands-on, arts-integrated environment. We work closely with families to ensure each child receives appropriate support. ### Are Waldorf Schools Art Schools? Waldorf schools are not art schools. The curriculum offers a classical education in all academic disciplines that fully integrates the arts into its teaching methodology. Why? Because research continues to show that the inclusion of the arts in academia increases aptitude and creative thinking in areas such as math and science, and has a positive effect on emotional development as well. More questions? See our [full FAQ](/faq). ## Ready to Visit? The best way to understand what makes Waldorf Lower School special is to experience it yourself. Schedule a tour to see our classrooms, meet our teachers, and feel the warmth of our community. **Contact Admissions** Email: [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) Phone: [(518) 587-0549](tel:+15185870549) [Connect With Us](/connect) [Tuition & Financial Aid](/affordability) ## Continue the Journey Waldorf Lower School builds on the foundation established in Early Childhood and prepares children for Middle School, where deeper academic work, increased independence, and adolescent development are met with the same care and intentionality. Ages 18 months - 6 years ### Early Childhood Where the foundation begins. Play-based learning, nature immersion, and the warmth of consistent caregivers prepare children for the journey ahead. [Learn More](/early-childhood) Grades 6-8 ### Middle School Where thinkers, makers, and leaders emerge. Rigorous academics, signature trips, and a phone-free sanctuary that builds focus and resilience. [Learn More](/middle-school) ## Middle School # Middle School A rigorous, arts-rich education that meets adolescents where they are: intellectually curious, socially developing, and ready for real challenge. You want more for your middle schooler than test prep. You want a school where they're challenged intellectually while being known as individuals. You want teachers who understand early adolescence and help your child develop critical thinking, discover their capabilities, and emerge with the confidence and character to navigate whatever comes next. At Waldorf Middle School, that's exactly what we offer: an education that develops the whole adolescent - intellectually, artistically, socially, and emotionally. On our screen-free campus, students learn to think deeply, work with their hands, and engage with ideas that matter. They build the focus, resilience, and self-knowledge that prepare them to thrive in high school and in life. ## At a Glance - **Grades 6-8** - **Screen-free** sanctuary - **Signature trips** each year - **Now more affordable!** [Learn About Admissions](/admissions) ## A Curriculum That Meets the Adolescent Mind In the middle grades, Waldorf students truly become people of initiative who are competent communicators and have empathy for others. Through ambitious hands-on projects and experiential learning of physics, chemistry and physiology, students hone their ability to observe carefully, to ask questions and to think critically. This careful study lays the foundation for advanced academic work in high school and college. **Highlights of our middle-grades curriculum include:** **Sixth graders create and run their own business.** From vision to processes to outcomes, the class works together to actualize their business plan, often donating profits to a community organization. Around the same time, students create a home budget with an imaginary job and salary, and learn about paying bills and saving or investing money. **Seventh graders study chemistry,** with a primary focus on understanding combustion and the effects of heat. In one beloved experiment, students use Bunsen burners to heat a wood chip in a test tube, watching the wood smoke but never ignite. As the heat continues, a clear liquid begins to collect towards the top of the test tube, a thicker brown and black liquid collects near the wood chip, and the wood begins to blacken. The question arises: Where is the flame? Before any lecturing or memorization, students simply observe the phenomena, and experience awe when they hold a match up to the vent with smoke coming out and find that it quickly ignites. In the end, students examine the charcoal left from the experiment. They also draw the experiment, strengthening their understanding of the scientific method by encouraging careful observation and recording. This all occurs before a discussion in which they learn about the chemical byproducts. **Eighth graders complete intensive Individual Research Projects.** Students spend months researching and developing these ambitious, self-directed projects, after which they present their projects to the student body. They devote sustained effort and discipline toward this “passion project,” developing skills in research, organization, problem-solving and public presentation. In recent years, students have used their projects to study the practice and history of comedy; to repurpose materials, using the leg of a table to make a lamp or an old piano top to make an elegant table; and to learn to weld, using that skill to make thoughtful and whimsical sculptures. **Students in all middle grades learn history by reading and discussing biographies** rather than simply memorizing facts and dates, creating a larger context for their understanding of the world and the past. While studying botany in fifth grade, students read about George Washington Carver, who fought for his own education, and went on to teach a nation to heal the land using crop rotation, especially the peanut plant, after years of depletion by the cotton plant. When learning about the rise and fall of Roman civilization, sixth-graders read about Zhang Qian, who mapped out the nomadic pathways through the mountains that led to great markets, especially the well-traveled Silk Road. ![Middle school students in the woodshop hand-carving and finishing wooden stools with decorative floral and geometric details at traditional workbenches](/images/arts-remain-central.webp) ### The Arts Remain Central Students discover history through class plays. Illustrated Main Lesson books allow them to artistically express and digest what is learned in class. Woodworking builds deep focus, geometry skills, and complex problem-solving skills. These are just a few examples of how arts remain central and complement deep learning. ## What Makes Our Middle School Different 1 ### The Arts Remain Central Students create illustrated Main Lesson books, perform annual plays including Shakespeare, and participate in both chorus and instrumental ensemble. - Art isn't an extra - it's how learning comes alive for adolescents. _Learning feels meaningful and connected to the world around them._ 2 ### Small Classes, Deep Relationships With 11-15 students per class and teachers who know them over multiple years, every middle schooler is seen as an individual. - When something's off, we notice. _Your child is seen, supported, and guided - not managed or standardized._ 3 ### A Phone-Free Environment No smartphones during school. Students learn focus, have real conversations, and navigate social dynamics face-to-face. - Skills that will serve them throughout life. _Your child develops focus, resilience, and confidence._ 4 ### Meaningful Experiences Our signature trips bring curriculum alive: Medieval Games in 6th grade, a Quebec City French scavenger hunt in 7th grade, and a student-planned culminating trip in 8th grade. - Learning is experienced, not just observed. _Students carry these experiences with them for life._ ![Six middle school students in matching light blue shirts sitting together on a rock outcrop in Central Park with the New York City skyline visible through the trees behind them](/images/signature-trips-fieldtrip.webp) ### Signature Trips A highlight of our lower and middle school language program is an immersive cultural trip to Montreal and Quebec City for a week, including an extensive scavenger hunt -- exclusively in French -- in small self-led groups among landmarks and experiences in Old Quebec. Each eighth grade class marks their eight years together with a class trip. Past trips have ranged from paddling the Battenkill to touring Boston. ![Students working together in small groups on a collaborative project](/images/community-02.webp) ### A Phone-Free Sanctuary No smartphones during school. Students learn to focus deeply, have real conversations, and navigate social dynamics face-to-face. In an era of digital distraction, we protect genuine connection. > The middle school years can be challenging, but Waldorf gave our son exactly what he needed - intellectual challenge, creative outlet, and teachers who really knew him. He graduated confident and genuinely excited about learning. > > Karen R., parent of 2024 graduate ## Ready to Learn More? The best way to understand what makes Waldorf Middle School distinctive is to visit our campus, observe a classroom, and talk with teachers and current families. **Contact Admissions** Email: [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) Phone: [(518) 587-0549](tel:+15185870549) [Connect With Us](/connect) [Tuition & Financial Aid](/affordability) ## Explore Our Programs Waldorf Middle School is located at our Lower School campus. Students in grades 6-8 learn alongside Early Grades students, maintaining connections with younger children while preparing for high school transition. Ages 18 months - 6 years ### Early Childhood Where the foundation begins. Play-based learning, nature immersion, and the warmth of consistent caregivers prepare children for the journey ahead. [Learn More](/early-childhood) Grades 1-5 ### Early Grades Where learning comes alive. Teacher looping, arts-integrated curriculum, and hands-on experiences build deep understanding and love of learning. [Learn More](/lower-school) ## Joining Our Community # Joining Our Community Our admissions process is designed to help both you and us determine whether Waldorf is the right fit for your child and family. Through a straightforward and thorough process, we aim to ensure the best fit for children, the family, and the class community. [NOW ENROLLING · PreK–8 for 2026–27](/lower-school-enrollment) ### Considering Grades 1-8? Looking specifically at Grades 1-8? We've created a quick overview of Lower School enrollment, tuition, and tour options for families considering a fall start. [View Grades 1-8 Enrollment](/lower-school-enrollment) FREE LIVE VIRTUAL SESSIONS ### Windows into Waldorf 6 sessions · October 2026 – April 2027 Get a glimpse into our classroom experience, meet teachers, and get answers to your questions. [See the 2026-27 Schedule](/windows) ## How to Apply 1 ### Start a Conversation [Submit an inquiry](/connect) with basic information about your family and your program interests. We will arrange time for a conversation or a tour. 2 ### Tour Our School Get a feel for daily life at Waldorf. Tours are generally less than 1 hour. Most families know right away whether it feels like a good fit. Book a Tour 3 ### Submit an Application [Email Admissions](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=APPLICATION%20REQUEST) when you are ready to apply and we will provide an application. 4 ### Attend a Meet and Greet Meet with a teacher to discuss readiness for joining their classroom. 5 ### Enrollment Decision We'll notify you of our decision and, if accepted, guide you through the enrollment process. ### Quick Links Book a Tour [Tuition Calculator](/affordability) [Windows into Waldorf](/windows) ## Additional Information ### Open Enrollment We accept applications throughout the year based on availability. ### Wait Pool For classes that are full, we maintain a wait pool. This allows us to consider fit rather than simply first-come-first-served. ### IEP Students Students with an IEP should enroll by June 1 to ensure services are in place for fall. ### Trial Period New enrollments include an 8-week adjustment period for everyone to ensure the right fit. ### Before & Aftercare Available for working families, maintaining the same warmth and approach as our regular program. Contact [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) for details. ### Bussing Available Students are eligible to receive bus transportation through their school districts by filling out a non-public school transportation form. [View Our Anti-Discrimination Policy (PDF)](/documents/Policy_of_Anti-Discrimination.pdf) **School District Registration:** All students of kindergarten age or older must be registered with their local school district, even if enrolled in a private school. This ensures proper allocation of funds for textbooks, nursing services, and transportation. **Health Requirements:** In accordance with NYS law, all visiting and accepted students must provide up-to-date vaccination records and a physical examination summary. ### Quick Links Book a Tour [Tuition Calculator](/affordability) [Windows into Waldorf](/windows) ### Questions? Our Admissions Director is here to help. Marthe Matthews [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) [(518) 587-2224](tel:+15185872224) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## Calculate Your Family's Tuition # Calculate Your Family's Tuition New for 2026–2027 $10,500 Per student, Grades 1–8 $25,000 Annual Family Maximum\* ## A simpler, more affordable tuition. We made this change with the conviction that more families would choose a Waldorf education if the path were clearly within reach. Our Early Childhood program remains program-specific, with Kindergarten offering sliding-scale tuition determined by your family's income. [See your estimate](#tuitionCalculator) \*$25,000 individual family maximum applies to families with at least 1 child enrolled in the Lower School or Middle School. ## Tuition Calculator 2026–2027 School Year Household income is only necessary if you are interested in sliding scale tuition for Kindergarten. Admissions will never see household income. Children's Information Date of birth for each enrolling child. Child 1 is required. Child 1 Date of Birth \* Child 2 Date of Birth Child 3 Date of Birth Child 4 Date of Birth Select Your Programs How many children in each program? Preschool (ages 24 months - 3 years) 2-day 0 1 2 3-day 0 1 2 5-day 0 1 2 Mixed-Age Kindergarten (ages 3-6) 3-day Half 0 1 2 3-day Full 0 1 2 5-day Half Sliding Scale 0 1 2 5-day Full Sliding Scale 0 1 2 Lower & Middle School Grades 1-5 0 1 2 3 Grades 6-8 0 1 2 3 Please select at least one program. Your Household Income Annual Household Income Only required if you are interested in sliding scale tuition for Kindergarten programs Calculate My Tuition ### Your Estimated Annual Costs ### What's next? Schedule a Tour Request conversation with Admissions Send this estimate via email Name (First and Last) \* Email Address \* Phone \* Send my estimate × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## Accessibility # Accessibility We want everyone who visits our website to feel welcome and find the experience rewarding. ## What are we doing? We use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), as our standard for making web content accessible to people with disabilities. Our goal is to meet Level AA of these guidelines across our site, in keeping with our obligations under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We review our site regularly and work to address accessibility issues on an ongoing basis — especially on pages most important to families, such as admissions, events, and tuition information. Some documents on our site are provided in PDF format. If you need a document in an alternate format, please contact us and we will do our best to help. Some pages also link to third-party tools and platforms (such as external payment or enrollment systems) that are outside our direct control; we encourage our vendors to meet the same accessibility standards we hold ourselves to. ## How are we doing? We monitor our website regularly, but if you find any problems or have trouble accessing any content, please contact us: - **Email:** [administration@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:administration@waldorfsaratoga.org) - **Phone:** [(518) 587-0549](tel:+15185870549), Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Please include the page address, a description of the issue, and your contact information. We will respond within 3 business days. _Last reviewed: May 2026_ ## Where a Waldorf Education Leads # Where a Waldorf Education Leads See where our graduates have gone and what they carry with them from Waldorf. ## Meet Our Alumni A few of our graduates, and where their Waldorf education has taken them. ![Katie Lewis (née Freihofer), Class of 2003](/images/alumni/katie-lewis.webp) ### Katie Lewis (née Freihofer) Class of 2003 After thirteen years at Waldorf (K–12), Katie Lewis earned a BA from The New School and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from LIU–Brooklyn. She is now Director of Research at the Austen Riggs Center, where she studies suicide risk and interpersonal relationships, publishes widely, and holds funding from the NIMH and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She credits Waldorf's integrative, primary-source teaching — and the respect its teachers showed students — with the critical thinking and lifelong love of learning behind her career. ![Grace Amodeo, Class of 2007](/images/alumni/grace-amodeo.webp) ### Grace Amodeo Class of 2007 After Waldorf, Grace Amodeo studied at Emerson College. She now works in AV marketing at Searchlight Pictures in Los Angeles, creating trailers, TV advertisements, and digital marketing for the studio's films — including recent award-winners Poor Things, A Complete Unknown, and A Real Pain. She credits Waldorf with teaching her to think creatively, bring a holistic perspective to any problem, and above all to see the humanity in every person rather than a number or a grade. ![Wyatt Erchak, Class of 2008](/images/alumni/wyatt.webp) ### Wyatt Erchak Class of 2008 Wyatt Erchak attended Waldorf from ninth through twelfth grade, then earned a BA in History and Government from Skidmore College and a master's in History from SUNY Albany. After several years as a museum and public history educator, he completed a PhD at Carnegie Mellon University in 2025 with a dissertation on the Civil War's first Black regiment, and now teaches history part-time at CMU while writing a book drawn from that research. He credits Waldorf with a lasting sense of self-belief and worldly curiosity, and still draws on the inner balance that eurythmy gave him. ### Ethan Sabatella Class of 2016 Ethan Sabatella attended Waldorf from fourth through twelfth grade, then earned a master's in Celtic Studies from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. He has since published ten short stories and two poems, and teaches composition to first-year students at Franklin Pierce University. He credits Waldorf directly for his writing style and the subject matter of his fiction. ### Declan Conway Class of 2016 Declan Conway attended Waldorf from third through twelfth grade, then earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation and a 3rd Mate's license. He now serves as an officer with Military Sealift Command, work that has already taken him to ten countries. He credits Waldorf with encouraging him to explore the world and pursue his interests through wide-ranging experience. ### Morgan Zimmerglass Morgan Zimmerglass attended Waldorf through sixth grade before later earning his degree at Cornell University. He is currently a project coordinator at Skadden Arps in New York City, one of the largest law firms in the world. He credits Waldorf with the gift of an open mind — an early appreciation for music, cultures, and beliefs beyond the American mainstream. ### Emily Ajax Phillips Emily Ajax Phillips attended Waldorf through tenth grade before going on to Skidmore College. Today she is a sculptor and the founder of Kairos Futura, a social enterprise, splitting her life between Aspen, Colorado and Kenya. What she credits most is the community — she remains close with many of the people she met at Waldorf decades later. ## Are You an Alum? We'd love to hear where life has taken you. Share your story and help prospective families see the long arc of a Waldorf education. [Share Your Story](https://tally.so/r/rjJqJl) ## A Culture of Kindness # A Culture of Kindness How our school structure naturally prevents the social cruelty many families fear. ## More Than Just "Bullying" You've heard the stories and maybe you've lived them: social pressure, exclusion, and unkindness that happens in hallways, cafeterias, and group chats hidden from adults. This turns school into an anxiety-filled nightmare for many - the exact opposite of an environment built for learning and growth. And as a parent, this can feel overwhelming and completely out of your control. ### What Parents Tell Us They Fear - "Kids are so nasty to each other these days." - "Social media and Snapchat have made everything so much worse." - "I don't want my kid to have a phone, but they'll be left out if they don't." ## How Our Culture Prevents Unkindness 1 ### Students Stay Together When children are in the same class for years, conflicts can't just be avoided. They learn to work through disagreements with guidance from teachers who know them. _Children develop real communication skills and genuine relationships._ 2 ### Teachers See Everything With small classes and multi-year relationships, very little escapes notice. We know when something's off and can address it early. _Hard conversations happen. Children learn to navigate social challenges with adult support._ 3 ### No Hidden Digital Cruelty No phones means no group chats, no cyberbullying during school, no social media comparisons. Social dynamics remain visible to adults who can help. _What happens at school stays visible to the adults who can help._ ### What We Actually See - Older students genuinely including younger children - Kids holding doors and offering help unprompted - A culture where "too cool" doesn't exist - Children who feel good about themselves - and extend that to others ## Children Who Feel Good Treat Others Well Here's what we understand about children: a child who doesn't feel good inside cannot bring their best to the world. Unkindness almost always flows from dysregulation, insecurity, or unmet needs. Our approach focuses on filling children up from the inside out. When children feel seen, acknowledged, and emotionally secure, they naturally extend that same care to others. ### Helping Children Regulate Throughout each day, we build in practices that help children stay regulated: mindfulness moments, time outdoors, physical movement, quiet transitions, even small rituals like lighting a candle before meals. These aren't extras - they're essential to helping children function as their best selves. _A regulated child is a kind child. When we remove overstimulation, constant comparison, and pressure-cooker intensity, children can simply be good to one another._ ### Connection Over Competition We don't pit children against each other with rewards charts and competitive rankings. We don't create winners and losers in the classroom. Instead, children collaborate, support one another, and celebrate each other's growth. _Remove the competition, and you'll see something beautiful: children who are genuinely friendly, naturally inclusive, and secure enough to lift others up._ ### Daily Practices That Build Kindness - Mindfulness moments throughout the day - Extended outdoor time in nature - Physical movement and hands-on work - Quiet transitions between activities - Rituals that create calm and connection - Collaborative rather than competitive learning ## Experience Our Community The best way to understand our culture is to witness it. Visit during a school day. Watch how children interact with each other and with adults. Notice the warmth, the respect, the genuine connection. [Contact Admissions](/admissions) [Explore Our Programs](/#programs) ## We look forward to speaking with you. # We look forward to speaking with you. Please complete this short form so that we can direct your interests to the right members of our school. Your information Name (First and Last) \* Email Address \* Phone \* Preferred contact method \* Email Phone Either Children's information Date of birth for each enrolling child. Child 1 is required. Child 1 Date of Birth \* Child 2 Date of Birth Child 3 Date of Birth Child 4 Date of Birth Programs of interest How many children in each program? Preschool 0 1 2 3 Mixed-age Kindergarten 0 1 2 3 Lower & Middle School 0 1 2 3 Next → ## You're almost there — tell us a little about what brought you here. Where are you in your discovery process? \* Just starting to explore Comparing a few schools Strongly considering Waldorf Ready to apply / enroll When are you looking to enroll? \* Fall 2026 Fall 2027 or later I am looking for summer camp, playgroups, or something else. What are you seeking most for your child? Select all that feel right – there's no wrong answer. Strong academics Deep learning without the pressure. Childhood preserved Screen-free education and a foundation for lifelong learning. Arts-rich education More doing, less viewing. Community Like-minded families who value this educational approach. Students truly known Teachers who stay with children for years and truly understand their needs. Something else Tell us what matters most to you. Do you have any other comments you wish to share with us? 0 / 500 ← Back Submit ## Current Families # Current Families Calendars, committees, and school resources ## School Calendars [ ### Academic Calendar 2025-2026 Download the full academic year calendar with holidays, breaks, and important school dates. View Calendar (PDF) ](/documents/Academic_Calendar_2025_2026.pdf)[ ### Academic Calendar 2026-2027 Download the full academic year calendar with holidays, breaks, and important school dates. View Calendar (PDF) ](/documents/Academic_Calendar_2026_2027.pdf) ## Committees Parents are encouraged to participate and offer their expertise, contributing to various aspects of school operations. ### Communications Committee Manages information flow within and beyond the school community. Oversees website, social media, newsletter, and other communication channels. [Contact Communications Director](mailto:communications@waldorfsaratoga.org) ### Development Committee Focuses on financial sustainability through fundraising initiatives, donor relationships, and identifying funding opportunities. [Contact Administrator](mailto:administration@waldorfsaratoga.org) ### Enrollment Committee Handles admissions outreach and student recruitment while working to maintain optimal enrollment levels. [Contact Admissions Director](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) ### Steering Committee Investigate, identify, and implement practical solutions that contribute directly to the long-term sustainability of the school. [Contact Sophie Ward](mailto:sward@waldorfsaratoga.org) ### Finance Committee Manages budgeting, financial planning, expenditure monitoring, and provides guidance on fiscal decisions. [Contact Treasurer](mailto:treasurer@waldorfsaratoga.org) [ ### Get In Touch Please get in touch if you have other ways you wish to support our school. Contact Secretary](mailto:secretary@waldorfsaratoga.org) ## Public Event Calendar Couldn’t load events. Please try again later. × ## Quick Links [ ### BigSIS Portal Access your family account, student records, forms, and enrollment information. Login to BigSIS ](https://waldorfsaratoga.bigsis.com)[ ### School Store Purchase Waldorf School apparel, spirit wear, and branded merchandise. Shop Now ](https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/#/lockers/waldorf-school-of-saratoga-springs) **Coming Soon:** Events Gallery and Waldorf in the News ## Work at Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs # Work at Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs Join our community of educators and staff. ## Current Openings: Administrator #### Job description The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is hiring a lead Administrator for the 2026-2027 school year. This individual is responsible for the operations of the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs, overseeing the finances, enrollment, philanthropy, marketing, facilities, and community-building activities that make our nonprofit school a success. As the figurehead of the school, maintaining access and visibility to parents, teachers, and the administrative team are essential. This position reports to the board of directors and the college of teachers. #### Qualifications The ideal candidate has a proven track record of leadership capacities, can manage a team of administrative staff and provide oversight of the school's programs, and can work effectively with the board of directors to design and carry out the strategic plan for the school. Familiarity with, and experience in, Waldorf Education is ideal, but not required. - Masters Level Degree in Education or Leadership - Experience managing the daily operations of a small business - Excellent written and verbal communication skills - Organized, dependable, punctual - Ability to work collaboratively and delegate effectively - Open to continuing education and a collaborative leadership model #### Skills - Excellent communication skills - Project management skills - Organization skills - Listening skills - Word Processing, writing, editing skills - Foundational tech skills and ability to learn additional skills/programs - Ability to handle confidential and sensitive situations with professionalism and warmth #### Responsibilities - Oversee the work of and supervise the administrative staff - Development and implementation of marketing plan with Enrollment Director and Development Director - Administer all school policies with Governance Council - Remain visible and accessible to parents, administrative staff, and faculty - Support parent/teacher communication, Parent Group work and parent education work - Act as liaison between Board of Directors and faculty groups - Oversee that all handbooks, directories, policies and procedures are updated and communicated regularly - Track and manage administrative projects - Interface with governmental agencies, legal counsel, and community - Communicate with the school community on a regular basis - Oversee bulletin and journal publications, website, social media - Manage grievance reports, investigations, and follow-through - Work with and support teachers through student-related issues that may arise - Work with new initiatives - Report to Collegium pertinent personnel issues - Follow up on phone calls and emails written to the school - Attend and support community festivals, events, and Fundraisers - Support envisioning and beginning new programs #### How to apply Please send the following application materials to [HR@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:HR@waldorfsaratoga.org): resume or CV, 3 references, and a letter of interest. We look forward to hearing from you! [Apply Now](mailto:HR@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=Application%3A%20Administrator) **Benefits:** - Health benefits - Generous tuition remission - Simple IRA with match - Generous vacation benefits **Work Location:** In person **Pay:** $48,500.00 - $55,000.00 per year Practical Arts Teacher #### Job description The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is seeking a part-time Practical Arts Teacher beginning September 2026. The Practical Arts teacher conducts classes for students in Grades 3-7 working with wood, metal and other materials. This position guides students in the process of transforming these raw materials into beautiful, functional objects while developing patience and perseverance in a hands-on environment. The teaching schedule includes up to seven classes per week, depending on your availability. #### Responsibilities and Tasks - **Classroom:** Maintain the workshop/classroom to a high standard of cleanliness and aesthetics, suitable to the tasks to be undertaken, modeling care for one's environment and involving the students appropriately. Organize and purchase materials for class use, filling out appropriate paperwork for reimbursement. - **Communication:** Clear communication with students, colleagues, and parents. - **Meetings/Trainings:** Familiarize yourself with and adhere to the School's policies and procedures, and support their implementation. Complete all mandated training (CPR, Mandated Reporting, etc.) as per the Employee Manual. - **Colleagues:** Meet and communicate with class teachers and the branch chair to facilitate support when needed. Receive assistance, when appropriate, from a more experienced colleague or a specialist teacher in those areas in which you are less qualified/experienced. Monitor and keep within agreed spending lines and work with the Business Office or other spending line owners. #### Experience Must have classroom or instructional experience working with children and advanced woodworking experience. A knowledge of Waldorf teaching principles is not required but is a plus. #### Skills A deep knowledge of specific craft skills; the ability to bring artistic, practical tasks to life in a way that engages children's imagination; strong interpersonal skills for collaborating with colleagues; and the ability to mentor and guide children through the artistic process, encouraging individual expression. #### How to apply Please send the following application materials to [administration@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:administration@waldorfsaratoga.org): resume, 3 references, and a letter of interest. [Apply Now](mailto:administration@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=Application%3A%20Practical%20Arts%20Teacher) **Job Type:** Part-time **Benefits:** - 401(k) matching **Work Location:** In person Spanish Language Teacher The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is hiring a part-time Spanish Language teacher for Grades 1 through 7 to begin in September 2026. #### About the Position The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is now accepting applications for an enthusiastic and experienced World Language teacher for approximately 10 classes per week in Grades 1 through 7. Classes are scheduled Wednesday through Friday. #### Qualifications The ideal candidate has experience teaching World Languages to students in Grades 1-7 and training in, or a familiarity with, Waldorf Education. We are looking for a creative, enthusiastic, caring individual with a strong work ethic and an ability to work collaboratively with others. - Graduate degree preferred - Background or familiarity with Waldorf education preferred - Experience in teaching beginner to advanced level Spanish language classes - Organized, dependable and punctual - Able to work collaboratively #### About WSSS The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs was founded in 1981 and currently serves approximately 110 children from preschool through grade 8. WSSS has an Absolute Charter from the New York State Education Department, is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), and is a full member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). Our eclectic downtown campus is spread over three historic buildings, two of which are within walking distance of each other in the small city of Saratoga Springs, NY, while our Early Childhood Forest campus is located on over 300 forested state park acres, 2 miles outside of town. For more information, please visit our website: www.waldorfsaratoga.org. #### How to apply Please send a letter of interest and resume to [administration@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:administration@waldorfsaratoga.org). We look forward to hearing from you! [Apply Now](mailto:administration@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=Application%3A%20Spanish%20Language%20Teacher) **Job Type:** Part-time **Benefits:** - 401(k) matching **Work Location:** In person Kindergarten Assistant Teacher **Date posted:** May 26, 2026 **Pay:** From $18.00 per hour #### Job description Take joy in supporting the magic of childhood! The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is seeking assistant Kindergarten teachers for our mixed-age Kindergarten classes (ages 3-6) for the 2026-2027 school year. Successful applicants will be creative, nurturing individuals who have experience working with children. A love of the outdoors is essential, as a significant portion of each day is spent outside. Ideal candidates will demonstrate an interest in Waldorf Education and the ability to work closely under the guidance of the Lead Teacher. Our Forest Kindergarten campus offers classrooms located in a farmhouse and trails for play and exploration on 30 acres of state park land and forest. Our in-town Early Childhood Center is located close to downtown Saratoga Springs next to a large recreation park and offers cozy classrooms and a magical play yard. **Hours:** This position is M-F from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. We also have similar positions open with flexible hours. #### Responsibilities and Tasks Responsibilities include supporting the lead teacher and children throughout the day as well as room setup and cleanup. #### How to apply To apply please submit a letter of interest, resume and references to [HR@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:HR@waldorfsaratoga.org). We look forward to meeting you! [Apply Now](mailto:HR@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=Application%3A%20Kindergarten%20Assistant%20Teacher) **Job Type:** Part-time **Benefits:** - 401(k) matching - Professional development assistance **Work Location:** In person ## About Our School The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs was founded in 1981. Our classes are presented imaginatively and experientially, based on established and evolving Waldorf principles—to inspire creative thought and discourse and nurture human connections. We have three campuses located in beautiful Saratoga Springs, New York, a walkable and bike-friendly Victorian resort town nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks with a population of approximately 30,000. We are three hours from Boston, New York City, and Montreal. Our location offers four delightful seasons and proximity to both wilderness and major cities while providing a comfortable small-town feel. Saratoga Springs offers many world class cultural events, and is host to the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra during the summer. We have a thriving music and theater scene, with a plethora of restaurants, shops, outdoor activities and community events. ## Wondering About Waldorf? # Wondering About Waldorf? Waldorf education is based on a rich educational philosophy that prioritizes the well-being of the whole student: mind, body and soul. Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about Waldorf. If you have a question that is not covered here, please connect with us [here](/connect). ## Frequently Asked Questions What is Waldorf education all about? Waldorf education is a rich, time-tested approach to education whose popularity continues to grow, with more than 1,200 Waldorf schools worldwide. Waldorf offers a balanced, academically robust education that inspires true intellectual curiosity and wonder in children. We do not race from one milestone to the next. Rather, we cultivate children’s capacities as they emerge, building confidence and a love of learning naturally along the way—without the performance anxiety and “teaching to the test” that today’s parents are trying to avoid. What is Waldorf’s policy on technology use in the classroom? Waldorf schools prioritize hands-on, experiential learning, fostering adaptability, critical thinking and creativity. Our campus is intentionally screen-free. Instead of relying on screens to teach core academic concepts, our teachers engage students in all their senses, leading to increased focus and well-being. We find that hands-on, experiential learning helps young children focus and engage, and that reading and writing on paper supports their comprehension. Our teachers are able to work closely with students to help them understand concepts without relying on screens as “busy work.” Will Waldorf be too unstructured for my child? While Waldorf students’ days are not rushed, they do follow a steady and predictable rhythm. Teachers view this rhythm as breath, with “in breaths” of steady, focused work followed by “exhales” of movement and time spent outdoors. This predictable flow of the day is deeply nourishing for the developing child. Students can also rely on a predictable rhythm of the school year; cherished seasonal festivals ground them in the present and connect them to the natural world. What is Waldorf’s approach to teaching children to read? Waldorf students learn to write in first grade, studying each letter in depth—gaining a deep understanding of phonics—and using their senses to learn those letter shapes, tracing the letter “B” with their toes in the sand or forming the letter “S” out of the cushions they sit on. All the while, they build their literacy through story, song, movement and art, gaining vocabulary and narrative comprehension. Waldorf introduces literacy through a combination of oral language, stories, movement, writing, phonics and artistic work. Our teachers observe each child’s development closely and provide additional practice and support as needed, so children build a genuine love of reading alongside their skills. Waldorf teachers tailor their teaching to the skills of each class, creating dynamic and developmentally appropriate lesson plans, so children are often joyfully reading by age 7 or 8. Teachers have been known to light a candle to celebrate a class’ first reading of a simple reader, symbolizing that the light of knowledge is now theirs. What is Waldorf’s approach to STEM learning? Waldorf teaches science and math with the goal of teaching students to think like scientists, making observations and discoveries for themselves, asking questions and collaboratively solving problems. In first grade, students are introduced to all four mathematical processes through story, and use manipulatives to make concepts like division (dividing gems among classmates) and fractions (slicing pizza for all) concrete realities. Middle school physics and chemistry use experiments to make sense of everyday experiences like the appearance of colors or the natural and industrial processes that lead to concrete. By eighth grade, students take these same processes into different number systems, like binary and octal, and sharpen the algebra skills they began the previous year. Waldorf teachers understand that children learn not through lectures or memorization, but through action, art and nature. Our students employ engineering concepts through intricate woodworking projects, some of which take months to complete. Even our youngest children sew and knit, which require many engineering and geometrical concepts used in coding. What does rigor look like at a Waldorf school if there are no grades? Instead of traditional letter grades to assess performance, teachers provide guidance and encouragement in the classroom that fosters a sense of inner satisfaction for work completed and well done. For math, this involves correcting mistakes rather than marking them wrong and not returning to them. Though Waldorf students do take quizzes in middle school, teachers in elementary school and beyond use a holistic approach to assess how well students are grasping the subject matter they’re taught. Rather than judging their comprehension based on one moment in time, our teachers have the bandwidth to use a variety of metrics to assess a student’s learning, and have the freedom and flexibility to adjust the curriculum accordingly. Because the class teacher travels with the students through the curriculum for more than one year, the teachers have the time to learn who each student is and what will help each one learn best. In lieu of report cards, children receive comprehensive year-end reports from their classroom teacher and each teacher of special subjects. True to the Waldorf approach, these narrative reports describe in detail how the child has progressed through the year, both where their strengths have emerged and areas of potential growth. Parents also learn about their children's academic progress, social development and emotional growth during two annual in-depth conferences, and through regular communication with teachers. We define rigor not by how much information is presented, but by how deeply students are grasping each subject. Our teachers are attuned to not just how well students remember what was taught yesterday, but to how well they integrate their education across disciplines. How much homework do students typically get? Homework is assigned at a teacher’s discretion, typically not until third or fourth grade. At that time, a teacher may start by giving students one assignment per week, with the goal of giving students the opportunity to practice personal responsibility. Emphasis is placed not on rote repetition of skills used in school, but on taking pride in one’s homework book, from their handwriting to the care they take in writing or solving problems. Students may also do work on class projects at home, using materials they already have at home to illustrate concepts they are learning in class, such as building a small model home from clay, sticks or other simple materials during the house-building block in third grade. What is anthroposophy, and will I be signing up for a worldview I didn't ask for? Though anthroposophy itself is never introduced as a subject to students, Waldorf education encompasses the anthroposophical understanding of the human being as body, soul and spirit. Our students and families experience their teachers' application of anthroposophy as a loving desire to nurture children as whole beings, taking care to support their social and emotional life and not just pushing for academic progress. Are Waldorf schools aligned with the anti-vaccine movement? No, Waldorf schools are not aligned with the anti-vaccine movement. Per New York State regulations, the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs requires that all students be fully vaccinated or submit a medical exemption. How well do your students make the transition to high school? Our students thrive at numerous private and public high schools, and they go on to attend a wide variety of excellent colleges and universities. Professors who teach them often say that Waldorf graduates are adept at assimilating information and approaching their work with curiosity and creativity, and are leaders driven by a deep desire to make the world a better place. Is Waldorf religious? Waldorf schools are not affiliated with any religion, and our student body comprises a wide variety of religions and world views. Students do study various mythologies and religions as they become developmentally ready to analyze and discuss them. How does Waldorf compare to Montessori? Waldorf and Montessori both aim to create a curriculum that is developmentally appropriate and focused on the well-being of the whole child. While Montessori prides itself on being “child-directed” to foster independence, Waldorf instead aims to be child-centered, giving students ample time for imaginative play outdoors in early childhood while also providing a predictable rhythm and teacher-led activities. My child receives bus transportation and has an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) through the public school system. Will that go away? Waldorf students are eligible to receive bus transportation through their school districts by filling out a non-public school transportation form. Several of our students have IEPs through their school districts, and our administrators and teachers are adept at working with special education administrators in the public school system. Service providers such as social workers and Speech-Language Pathologists visit these students right at Waldorf, either in their classrooms or in the school’s resource room. Is there any independent evaluation of Waldorf outcomes not published by a Waldorf school? Yes! A [2024 study in Frontiers in Education](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1323535/full) found that there are significantly higher percentages of eighth-grade students in Waldorf-inspired charter schools in California meeting or exceeding state standards in English and math as compared to their non-Waldorf charter school comparison groups, even when controlling for the size of the school and socioeconomic status. The study concluded that "Waldorf's developmental approach to education can result in strong academic outcomes despite a slower, low-stakes approach to teaching." How much does tuition cost? We believe Waldorf education should be accessible. We are excited to announce our new tuition policy for grades 1 - 8. You can learn more about our tuition policy and get a confidential estimate using our [tuition calculator](/affordability). ## 2025-26 Annual Fund # 2025-26 Annual Fund Nurturing the capacities children need to thrive in today's world Your support keeps our school growing and strengthens our community! [Donate Today](https://waldorfsaratoga.bigsis.com/forms/donation/Annual%20Fund%20Appeal) ## Invest in the Capacities Kids Need to Thrive In a world full of distractions, rapid information, and performance-driven testing, children need more than facts—they need curiosity, resilience, critical thinking, and a grounded sense of self. Waldorf education cultivates these human capacities through hands-on learning, rich storytelling, movement, and meaningful challenges. Your support fuels the resources, programs, and skilled educators that make this possible. Every gift helps ensure that students leave our school ready to meet the world with confidence, creativity, and care. The generous financial support we receive from our current families, alumni, alumni parents, and friends goes directly toward expenses not fully covered by tuition alone. Through coordinated fundraising efforts and special events, we provide a variety of meaningful ways to contribute to the health and sustainability of our school. Please consider contributing to our Annual Fund at a level that is right for you. Thank you for doing your part in making this distinctive education available to children in Upstate New York! ## Make Your Gift Today Join the families, alumni, and friends who make Waldorf education possible in Saratoga Springs. [Donate Today](https://waldorfsaratoga.bigsis.com/forms/donation/Annual%20Fund%20Appeal) ## Homeschool Blending # Homeschool Blending Join our middle school Main Lesson blocks while continuing to homeschool. The best of both worlds for grades 6-8. Since 2013, homeschooling families have been joining our middle school classrooms for Main Lesson blocks and the experience has been rewarding for everyone involved. Full-time students, blending students, parents, and teachers all look forward to continuing this partnership each year. ## Program Details - **Grades:** 6, 7, and 8 - **Schedule:** Monday - Friday, 8:00 - 10:00 AM - **Format:** Main Lesson blocks, three to four weeks each - **Availability:** Contact admissions to confirm openings ## What Is a Main Lesson Block? Every morning at Waldorf, middle school students spend two focused hours immersed in a single subject - whether that's physics, medieval history, algebra, or American poetry. This block format allows for deep engagement, artistic work, discussion, and hands-on learning that simply isn't possible in shorter class periods. Blending students participate fully in these blocks alongside their classmates, building genuine connections while experiencing Waldorf's distinctive academic approach. ### Interested? Contact our Admissions Director to learn about current availability and next steps. [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) [(518) 587-0549](tel:+15185870549) [Visit Admissions](/admissions) ## A thoughtful, hands-on education for children in Grades 1–8. Now enrolling Grades 1–8 for Fall 2026. New tuition: $10,500 per student, with a $25,000 family maximum. Schedule a Tour Grades 1–8 Enrollment # A thoughtful, hands-on education for children in Grades 1–8. Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is now enrolling for Fall 2026. Our students learn in small, screen-free classrooms through strong academics, the arts, movement, practical work, and close relationships with their teachers. Schedule a Visit [Ask Admissions a Question](/connect) ![A Waldorf lower school classroom moment: children working with natural materials and main lesson books alongside their teacher.](/images/programs/lower-school-01.webp) - Now enrolling Grades 1–8 - New tuition: $10,500 - Family maximum: $25,000 - Screen-free classrooms - Hands-on academics ## Families look for different things in a school. For more than 40 years, Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs has offered children a school day grounded in strong relationships, purposeful work, creativity, movement, and direct experience. Some families are looking for smaller classes. Some are looking for a calmer, more human pace. Some want their child to spend less of the school day on screens and more of it building, reading, moving, drawing, listening, writing, calculating, singing, gardening, and solving real problems with real materials. Others are simply wondering whether school could feel more joyful, more focused, and more connected. At Waldorf, these priorities shape the rhythm of the school day. - My child needs to be known. - We want less screen time. - We want strong academics with more depth. - My child needs more movement. ## New tuition makes Waldorf possible for more families. Tuition is an important part of the school decision for many families. Beginning in 2026–2027, tuition for Grades 1–8 is $10,500 per student, with a $25,000 annual family maximum. [Calculate Your Tuition](/affordability) [Ask Admissions About Tuition](/connect) ### 2026–2027 Tuition **Grades 1–8:** $10,500 per student **Annual family maximum:** $25,000 Use the tuition calculator to estimate your family’s tuition. ## Learning through depth, imagination, and meaningful work. In Grades 1–8, children need more than information. They need rhythm, relationship, challenge, imagination, practice, movement, and meaningful work. Waldorf education brings academics, the arts, practical skills, and social development together in a developmentally aligned school day. ### Hands-On Academics Students learn through stories, numbers, movement, drawing, writing, experiments, discussion, and real work with real materials. ### Screen-Free Classrooms Core concepts are taught through human connection, active attention, and direct experience rather than classroom screens. ### Small Classes Lower school students are known by their teachers and classmates, creating a strong foundation for learning and belonging. ### Arts-Integrated Learning Music, drawing, painting, handwork, movement, and storytelling are woven into academic learning. ### Teacher Continuity Children benefit from consistent relationships and a classroom rhythm that supports trust, focus, and growth. ### Outdoor and Practical Work Students spend meaningful time moving, making, building, exploring, and participating in the practical life of the school. [See the Lower School Program](/lower-school) ## What does a Waldorf school day actually feel like? 1. 1 ### Morning Arrival Children enter a classroom shaped by rhythm, warmth, and purpose. 2. 2 ### Main Lesson The day begins with a deep academic block, often combining story, discussion, writing, drawing, movement, and practice. 3. 3 ### Practice and Skill Building Students work with reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, and geography through active, developmentally appropriate lessons. 4. 4 ### Arts and Handwork Music, handwork, painting, drawing, and movement strengthen attention, coordination, creativity, and perseverance. 5. 5 ### Outdoor Time Children have time to move, play, observe, and reset outdoors. 6. 6 ### Meaningful Work Students learn by doing: making, building, baking, gardening, measuring, recording, repairing, and reflecting. [Read: What Does a Screen-Free Day Actually Look Like?](/stories/what-a-screen-free-day-looks-like) ## What parents notice > After visiting, we understood what we couldn’t quite see online: the children were focused, joyful, and deeply engaged. It felt like a place where our child could be known. > > — Lower School Parent Come see it for yourself. Schedule a Tour ## Strong academics, taught with depth and attention. Waldorf education does not separate academic growth from the development of the whole child. Students build skills through repeated practice, careful observation, written and artistic work, oral presentation, movement, music, and hands-on investigation. The result is not less academic seriousness. It is a different path into academic confidence: one that asks children to listen, remember, create, calculate, write, discuss, revise, and apply what they learn. - Reading and writing fluency - Mathematical thinking - Scientific observation - Historical and cultural understanding - Artistic skill - Practical problem-solving - Oral expression - Focus and perseverance - Social responsibility [Ask Admissions About Academics](/connect) ![A lower school student's main lesson book page showing handwritten work and a detailed colored-pencil illustration.](/images/programs/lower-school-03.webp) ## Why our classrooms are screen-free. In the lower school years, children are developing attention, memory, coordination, imagination, emotional regulation, social awareness, and the capacity to work deeply. A screen-free classroom gives those capacities room to grow. Instead of outsourcing attention to devices, teachers guide students through story, speech, music, movement, drawing, writing, experiments, practical work, and conversation. This is not a retreat from the future. It is preparation for children to meet the future with focus, creativity, judgment, and a strong sense of self. - [Read: I Work in AI. My Son Goes to Waldorf.](/stories/i-work-in-ai-my-son-goes-to-waldorf) - [Read: What Does a Screen-Free Day Actually Look Like?](/stories/what-a-screen-free-day-looks-like) ## Frequently asked questions What is Waldorf education all about? Waldorf education is a rich, time-tested approach to education whose popularity continues to grow, with more than 1,200 Waldorf schools worldwide. Waldorf offers a balanced, academically robust education that inspires true intellectual curiosity and wonder in children. We do not race from one milestone to the next. Rather, we cultivate children’s capacities as they emerge, building confidence and a love of learning naturally along the way—without the performance anxiety and “teaching to the test” that today’s parents are trying to avoid. What is Waldorf’s policy on technology use in the classroom? Waldorf schools prioritize hands-on, experiential learning, fostering adaptability, critical thinking and creativity. Our campus is intentionally screen-free. Instead of relying on screens to teach core academic concepts, our teachers engage students in all their senses, leading to increased focus and well-being. We find that hands-on, experiential learning helps young children focus and engage, and that reading and writing on paper supports their comprehension. Our teachers are able to work closely with students to help them understand concepts without relying on screens as “busy work.” What is Waldorf’s approach to teaching children to read? Waldorf students learn to write in first grade, studying each letter in depth—gaining a deep understanding of phonics—and using their senses to learn those letter shapes, tracing the letter “B” with their toes in the sand or forming the letter “S” out of the cushions they sit on. All the while, they build their literacy through story, song, movement and art, gaining vocabulary and narrative comprehension. Waldorf introduces literacy through a combination of oral language, stories, movement, writing, phonics and artistic work. Our teachers observe each child’s development closely and provide additional practice and support as needed, so children build a genuine love of reading alongside their skills. Waldorf teachers tailor their teaching to the skills of each class, creating dynamic and developmentally appropriate lesson plans, so children are often joyfully reading by age 7 or 8. Teachers have been known to light a candle to celebrate a class’ first reading of a simple reader, symbolizing that the light of knowledge is now theirs. What does rigor look like at a Waldorf school if there are no grades? Instead of traditional letter grades to assess performance, teachers provide guidance and encouragement in the classroom that fosters a sense of inner satisfaction for work completed and well done. For math, this involves correcting mistakes rather than marking them wrong and not returning to them. Though Waldorf students do take quizzes in middle school, teachers in elementary school and beyond use a holistic approach to assess how well students are grasping the subject matter they’re taught. Rather than judging their comprehension based on one moment in time, our teachers have the bandwidth to use a variety of metrics to assess a student’s learning, and have the freedom and flexibility to adjust the curriculum accordingly. Because the class teacher travels with the students through the curriculum for more than one year, the teachers have the time to learn who each student is and what will help each one learn best. In lieu of report cards, children receive comprehensive year-end reports from their classroom teacher and each teacher of special subjects. True to the Waldorf approach, these narrative reports describe in detail how the child has progressed through the year, both where their strengths have emerged and areas of potential growth. Parents also learn about their children's academic progress, social development and emotional growth during two annual in-depth conferences, and through regular communication with teachers. We define rigor not by how much information is presented, but by how deeply students are grasping each subject. Our teachers are attuned to not just how well students remember what was taught yesterday, but to how well they integrate their education across disciplines. What is Waldorf’s approach to STEM learning? Waldorf teaches science and math with the goal of teaching students to think like scientists, making observations and discoveries for themselves, asking questions and collaboratively solving problems. In first grade, students are introduced to all four mathematical processes through story, and use manipulatives to make concepts like division (dividing gems among classmates) and fractions (slicing pizza for all) concrete realities. Middle school physics and chemistry use experiments to make sense of everyday experiences like the appearance of colors or the natural and industrial processes that lead to concrete. By eighth grade, students take these same processes into different number systems, like binary and octal, and sharpen the algebra skills they began the previous year. Waldorf teachers understand that children learn not through lectures or memorization, but through action, art and nature. Our students employ engineering concepts through intricate woodworking projects, some of which take months to complete. Even our youngest children sew and knit, which require many engineering and geometrical concepts used in coding. How much homework do students typically get? Homework is assigned at a teacher’s discretion, typically not until third or fourth grade. At that time, a teacher may start by giving students one assignment per week, with the goal of giving students the opportunity to practice personal responsibility. Emphasis is placed not on rote repetition of skills used in school, but on taking pride in one’s homework book, from their handwriting to the care they take in writing or solving problems. Students may also do work on class projects at home, using materials they already have at home to illustrate concepts they are learning in class, such as building a small model home from clay, sticks or other simple materials during the house-building block in third grade. How well do your students make the transition to high school? Our students thrive at numerous private and public high schools, and they go on to attend a wide variety of excellent colleges and universities. Professors who teach them often say that Waldorf graduates are adept at assimilating information and approaching their work with curiosity and creativity, and are leaders driven by a deep desire to make the world a better place. ## Considering a school change for fall? We would be glad to meet your family, hear what you are looking for, and show you what lower school looks like at Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs. - See lower school classrooms - Learn about the daily rhythm - Ask about academics and transitions - Discuss tuition and financial questions - Understand the admissions process - Talk about your child's needs - Learn what next steps would look like Not sure if you are ready for a tour? Send us a question and we'll help you think it through. Schedule a Lower School Tour [Ask Admissions a Question](/connect) [Calculate Tuition](/affordability) Tour [Ask](/connect) [Tuition](/affordability) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## Meet Our Team # Meet Our Team The dedicated educators and staff who bring Waldorf education to life. Loading directory... Unable to load directory. Please try refreshing the page. ## Our Faculty ## Our Administration ## Join Our Community Interested in learning more about Waldorf education? We'd love to hear from you. [Contact Admissions](/admissions) ## An Alternative Approach # An Alternative Approach In an era of rising childhood anxiety and depression, our century-old approach offers something increasingly rare: an unhurried, connected, screen-free childhood. ## The Great Rewiring of Childhood Jonathan Haidt, author of _The Anxious Generation_, documents a troubling trend: since 2010, childhood anxiety and depression have increased dramatically while face-to-face time with friends has been cut nearly in half. **The statistics are staggering:** - **134%** increase in anxiety among adolescents (2010-2018) - **106%** increase in depression during the same period - **40%** of high schoolers report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness - **50%** reduction in face-to-face time with friends (from 122 to 67 minutes daily) This isn't about screen time debates or parenting guilt. This is about a fundamental transformation in how children experience childhood itself. ## Waldorf: The Structural Antidote Waldorf education isn't reacting to the crisis. We've been preventing it since 1919. Our Response ### Deep Relationships Teachers stay with students for years. No phones means 100% face-to-face interaction. Community events build real social bonds. Our Response ### Sustainable Rhythms Our schedules honor children's biological needs. Strong home-school partnerships value rest and play, not just achievement. Our Response ### Focused Learning Two-hour Main Lesson blocks allow deep engagement rather than constant switching. Children develop the capacity for sustained attention. Our Response ### Creating Over Consuming Handwork, woodworking, painting, music - our curriculum focuses on making things, which provides lasting satisfaction rather than quick dopamine hits. ## Haidt's Four Recommendations - We've Been Doing Them for Decades 1 ### No Smartphones Before High School **Haidt's View:** Delay smartphones until brains are more mature. **Our Reality:** Waldorf communities form the "collective action" pact Haidt desires. Your child won't be the "only one" without a smartphone. 2 ### No Social Media Before 16 **Haidt's View:** Protect early puberty from algorithmic comparison. **Our Reality:** Strong cultural norms help children develop a strong internal identity before exposing it to external validation. 3 ### Phone-Free Schools **Haidt's View:** Bell-to-bell bans restore focus and socialization. **Our Reality:** Schools are not just phone-free - they are low-tech by design. The environment is sensory-rich with wood, wool, and natural light. 4 ### More Independence, Free Play, and Responsibility **Haidt's View:** Restore play-based childhood to build resilience. **Our Reality:** Early childhood is entirely play-based. Recess happens 2-3 times daily. Tree climbing, real tools, and outdoor time in all weather are standard. > Neuroscience finally caught up to 1919. For a century, Waldorf looked 'old fashioned.' Now, leading psychologists rely on data to prove what we've known all along: Children thrive when they play more and scroll less. ## Protecting What Matters Most ### Developmental Respect vs. "Great Rewiring" Haidt argues we "rewired" childhood by forcing adult tech on immature brains. Waldorf is built on developmental appropriateness - the idea that you never rush a developmental stage. "In a world that rushes children to grow up, we help them stay young. We honor the slow, 7-year cycles of biology, not the rapid upgrade cycles of technology." ### Protection of Imagination Haidt worries about algorithms serving content to passive minds. Waldorf worries about atrophy of the imagination. If a child watches a video of a dragon, their mind is passive. If they hear a story of a dragon, their mind must work to create the image. "Algorithms predict what your child likes. Imagination empowers your child to create what they love." ### Embodied Intelligence Waldorf is embodied by design, through movement, handwork, arts, woodworking and a connection to the outdoors. "Real intelligence is built by real hands touching real materials. We wire brains through movement, texture, and complexity - not through screens." ## Come See It for Yourself Words about childhood don't replace experiencing one. Visit a classroom where kids are building, creating, and genuinely playing. [Contact Admissions](/admissions) [Explore Our Programs](/#programs) ## Playgroups # Playgroups Caregiver-child sessions for ages 9 months to 3½. A warm introduction to Waldorf education for your family. Our playgroups are designed for children 9 months to 3½ years old and their caregivers. Grounded in the philosophies of early childhood pioneers Emmi Pickler and Magda Gerber, each session emphasizes respectful caregiving in a nurturing environment. ## What to Expect Each 90-minute session includes: - **Free play** indoors and outdoors - **Snack time** with a nutritious, provided snack - **Circle time** with songs and lap games - **Caregiver participation** in observation and discussions about child development, parenting, and Waldorf education - **Developmental focus** on rhythm, routine, sleep, self-initiated play, and social development ### Upcoming Sessions The next playgroup sessions will be held in the fall, with exact dates and times TBA. In the meantime, please contact [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) for inquiries about the playgroups. Thank you. ## Registration Registration may be completed online. To be notified when registration for the next playgroup opens, or to inquire about our waitlist, please email [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org). ### Get in Touch Reach out to learn about upcoming sessions and registration. [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) [(518) 587-0549](tel:+15185870549) [Visit Admissions](/admissions) ## Privacy Policy # Privacy Policy How we handle information on this website, and the choices you have. Last updated: July 18, 2026 ## Who we are This website is operated by the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs, 62 York Ave, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Questions about this policy can be sent to [secretary@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:secretary@waldorfsaratoga.org). ## Information you give us When you use our tuition calculator, admissions inquiry form, or transcript request form, we collect the information you choose to enter - such as your name, email, phone, the programs you're interested in, and (on the calculator) details used to estimate tuition. We use this only to respond to your inquiry and support the admissions process. The tuition calculator performs its math in your browser; income figures are not stored on this site. ## Cookies and analytics To understand how families find and use our site, we use two third-party tools. They may set cookies and receive information such as the pages you view, your approximate location, and device and browser type: - **Google Analytics 4** (Google LLC) - first-party website analytics to measure traffic and which pages are useful. We do not use it for advertising. - **Meta Pixel** (Meta Platforms, Inc.) - used only to measure our enrollment advertising. It records when you view a page and when you complete a conversion such as requesting information or booking a tour. It is configured conservatively: we send Meta **no** email address, phone number, or other personal identifier, and we have turned off Meta's automatic data collection. To measure the same conversions more reliably, our server also sends a copy of these conversion events to Meta directly through its Conversions API. This server-side copy carries **no** name, email, or phone number and nothing you type into a form - only technical data such as your IP address, browser type, and Meta's own cookie identifiers. Turning off analytics and advertising cookies (below) disables **both** the pixel and these server-side events. We do not use session-recording tools on this site, and we do not sell or share your name, email, or the details you submit through our forms; those go only to our admissions and finance teams. ## Your privacy choices You can turn off analytics and advertising cookies for this browser at any time - this single choice suppresses both Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel. We also honor the **Global Privacy Control** signal automatically - if your browser sends it, both are off without any action from you. Loading your current setting... Opt out of analytics and advertising cookies This setting is stored only in your browser. Clearing your browser data, or using a different browser or device, will reset it. ## Children's privacy This site is intended for parents and prospective families, not for children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through this website. ## Changes We may update this policy as our tools or practices change. The "last updated" date above reflects the most recent revision. ## Your Guide to Waldorf Education # Your Guide to Waldorf Education To nurture the whole child — head, heart, and hands — through an education that honors childhood, ignites a love of learning, and prepares students to contribute meaningfully to the world. ## Find Your Path Every family comes to Waldorf with different questions. Where does yours begin? [Worried about children's mental health? Learn how we build resilience](/mental-health) [Want a nature-immersed, sensory-rich childhood? Explore early childhood](/early-childhood) [Concerned about bullying? See our approach](/bullying-prevention) [Looking for something different from public school? See the Waldorf difference](/public-school-alternative) ## Our Programs Each stage of childhood is honored with developmentally appropriate learning. ![Early childhood students engaged in nature-based sensory activities](/images/early-childhood.jpg) ### Early Childhood Toddler - Age 6 [Learn More about Early Childhood program](/early-childhood) ![Lower school students in hands-on creative learning activities](/images/lower-school.jpg) ### Lower School Grades 1-5 [Learn More about Lower School program](/lower-school) ![Middle school students engaged in project-based learning](/images/middle-school.jpg) ### Middle School Grades 6-8 [Learn More about Middle School program](/middle-school) ## Still have questions? Detailed Frequently Asked Questions can be found on our FAQ page. [View Full FAQ](/faq) ## Ask a Parent Ambassador Connect directly with current families who chose Waldorf for their children. ### Betsy Bradley SUNY Empire State University Professor Member since 2021 [Email Me](mailto:betsyandcurtis@gmail.com) ### Gavin Labate Data, AI and Finance Professional Board Secretary Parent of Early Childhood/Lower School students Member since 2024 [Email Me](mailto:gavin.a.labate@gmail.com) ### Julie Labate C3 Hip Hop Dance Founder / Coach Parent of Early Childhood/Lower School students Member since 2024 [Email Me](mailto:julielabate44@gmail.com) ### Kiere Neulander Certified Financial Planner Board Chair Member since 2017 [Email Me](mailto:board@waldorfsaratoga.org) ### Olya Prevo-White Electrical Engineer / Electrician Parent of Lower School student Member since 2022 [Email Me](mailto:olyaprevo@gmail.com) ### Gina Valenti-Beall Registrar Assistant / Alumni Liaison Parent of Lower School student Member since 2018 [Email Me](mailto:alumni@waldorfsaratoga.org) ### Kerri Williams Elementary School Teacher Parent of Early Childhood / Lower School students Member since 2023 [Email Me](mailto:kerri.valero@gmail.com) ## Videos & Research Explore documentaries and academic research on Waldorf education. ### Seeding the Future Documentary exploring how Waldorf education prepares children for an unknown future through creativity and resilience. ### An Education for The Future Discover why graduates of Waldorf schools excel in careers that require innovation, adaptability, and human connection. ### Research Studies [ ### Exploring Alternative Education: Waldorf Charters vs. Public Schools (Frontiers in Education) Waldorf charter students scored lower in grades 3-5 but surpassed peers by 8th grade in ELA and math. Read Research ](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1323535/full)[ ### Growing a Waldorf-Inspired Approach in a Public School District (Stanford / Learning Policy Institute) Waldorf-inspired public school approach benefits disadvantaged students academically and reduces suspensions. _When compared with similar students in other district schools, quantitative analyses reveal that students have low transiency and suspension rates and positive student achievement outcomes on standardized state assessments, particularly for African American, Latino/a, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students._ Read Research ](https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/scope-growing-waldorf-inspired-approach-public-school-district)[ ### Survey of Waldorf Graduates, Phase II (Waldorf Research Institute) Graduates value lifelong learning, relationships, and ethical principles across diverse careers. Read Research ](https://www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/?sdm_process_download=1&download_id=2030)[ ### The Effects of Arts-Integrated Instruction on Memory for Science Content (Johns Hopkins University) Arts-based science lessons significantly improved long-term memory retention in fifth graders. _We did find an effect of arts-integrated instruction at the different reading levels; basic readers remembered significantly more science content learned through the arts._ Read Research ](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211949317300558?via%3Dihub)[ ### Investigating Causal Effect of Arts Education Experiences (Houston Arts Access Initiative) Arts education reduced disciplinary infractions, improved writing, and increased student compassion. Read Research ](https://www.artsedsearch.org/study/investigating-causal-effect-of-arts-education-experiences-experimental-evidence-from-houstons-arts-access-initiative/)[ ### The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth (National Endowment for the Arts) Arts-engaged low-income youth had significantly better academic achievement and civic engagement. Read Research ](https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf)[ ### Creativity and Waldorf Education: A Study (ERIC) Research examining the relationship between Waldorf pedagogy and creative development in students. Read Research ](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED364440.pdf) ### In the Press [ ### A Silicon Valley School That Doesn't Compute (New York Times) Silicon Valley tech executives choose low-tech Waldorf schools for their own children. _The chief technology officer of eBay sends his children to a nine-classroom school here. So do employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard... This is the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, one of around 160 Waldorf schools in the country that subscribe to a teaching philosophy focused on physical activity and learning through creative, hands-on tasks..._ Read Article ](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html)[ ### Why Your School Should Keep Students With the Same Teacher for Years (New York Times (Adam Grant)) Teacher looping -- keeping students with the same teacher for years -- significantly boosts math and reading. _With more time to get to know each student personally, teachers gain a deeper grasp of the kids' strengths and challenges. The teachers have more opportunities to tailor their instructional and emotional support to help all the students in the class reach their potential..._ Read Article ](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/opinion/education-us-teachers-looping.html) ### Organizations [ ### Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) Learn more about Waldorf education and find accredited schools across North America. Visit Website ](https://www.waldorfeducation.org) 1,000+ Waldorf Schools Worldwide 25,000+ Students in North America Since 1919 Proven Educational Philosophy ## Ready to Visit? The best way to understand what makes Waldorf special is to experience it yourself. Schedule a tour to see our classrooms, meet our teachers, and feel the warmth of our community. **Contact Admissions** Email: [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) Phone: [(518) 587-0549](tel:+15185870549) [Connect With Us](/connect) [Tuition & Financial Aid](/affordability) ## Looking for Something Different? # Looking for Something Different? If your child seems stressed, disengaged, or just going through the motions at their current school, you're not wrong for exploring alternatives. ## This Isn't About Public Schools Being "Bad" Public schools serve many families well. But they're designed to educate large populations with standardized approaches - one curriculum, one pace, one measurement system. Some children need more movement. More creativity. More individual attention. A different approach that honors who they actually are. That's not a criticism. It's just a recognition that fit matters. ### What We Hear From Families - "My child was wired when they got home - they had to sit all day with hardly any recess." - "She was getting lost in the shuffle. Nobody really knew her." - "We wanted something different - not necessarily better, just different." ## We Adjust to Who We Have in Front of Us In a public school, teachers want to individualize - but with 25+ students per class, the structural reality makes it nearly impossible. At Waldorf, with an 8:1 student-teacher ratio and teachers who stay with students for years, individualization isn't an aspiration. It's how we operate. One year, we noticed a particular group of students needed more physical, kinetic experiences. Rather than forcing them into a predetermined curriculum, we created a "Ninja Lab" to meet them where they were. We tailor everything to the group we have that particular year. Your child is not managed or standardized. They are seen, supported, and guided as an individual. ### What Individualization Looks Like - Teachers observe children daily over multiple years - Lessons adjusted based on how students respond - Communication with parents about development, not just behavior - No tracking or pigeonholing - everyone does everything - Head, heart, and hands - for every type of learner ## What About Homework and Testing? These are the questions every parent asks. Here's our honest answer. ### "If there's no homework, how will my child keep up?" Research shows character, resilience, and engagement matter more for life outcomes than rote repetition. Our students learn deeply during school. Afternoons are for play, family, and rest. ### "Without test prep, will my child fall behind?" We teach for understanding, not bubble sheets. Our students consistently perform well on standardized assessments. More importantly, they develop skills no test measures: creativity, collaboration, communication. ## See for Yourself The best way to understand Waldorf is to experience it. Visit our campus, talk to current families, and trust your instincts about what your child needs. [Contact Admissions](/admissions) [Explore Our Programs](/#programs) [Calculate Your Tuition](/affordability) ## Stories # Stories Reflections, classroom moments, and community news from our school. - [![A young child in a knit hat and snowsuit sitting in the straw beside a gray rabbit, offering it fresh grass](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-01.jpg) ## Growing a Relationship With the Earth: Nature in Waldorf Education August 10, 2026 How regular time outdoors, gardening, seasonal rhythms, and careful observation help Waldorf students build a lasting relationship with the natural world — and lay the foundation for a lifetime of stewardship. ](/stories/growing-a-relationship-with-the-earth) - [![Two grades students kneeling at wooden desks in a sunlit classroom, painting wet-on-wet watercolors in pink, yellow, and blue](/images/hero/hero-painting.webp) ## Waldorf 101 July 29, 2026 A short, plain-English introduction to Waldorf education: what whole-child learning actually means, how the academics work, and why our students learn the way they do. ](/stories/waldorf-101) - [![The Saratoga TODAY newspaper logo, white lettering on a deep blue background](/images/stories/saratoga-today-logo.png) ## Saratoga TODAY: Our Screen-Free Summer Programs July 23, 2026 Saratoga TODAY covers the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs summer programs, where children ages 3 through rising 5th grade spend their days outdoors, hands busy, screens nowhere in sight. ](/stories/saratoga-today-screen-free-summer-programs) - [![A grades-class teacher gesturing toward a chalkboard filled with American Civil War lesson notes as students sit at wooden desks in a sunlit classroom](/images/stories/no-traditional-letter-grades-hero.webp) ## What's the Deal With No Traditional Letter Grades? July 18, 2026 Every July, Waldorf parents open a multi-page narrative report on their child's growth — and never find a letter grade. Here's what we do instead, and why it works. ](/stories/no-traditional-letter-grades) - [![A Lower School teacher in a red dress reading a chalkboard verse aloud beneath a hand-drawn classroom alphabet](/images/stories/learning-to-read-classroom.jpg) ## What's the Deal with Learning to Read at Waldorf? June 26, 2026 A journalist mom investigates the question every prospective Waldorf parent asks — are kids really not taught to read until third grade? — and discovers a beautifully measured approach where no child feels left behind. ](/stories/learning-to-read-at-waldorf) - [![A teacher in a cream sweater pins a paper to the chalkboard at the front of a sunlit, wood-paneled Waldorf classroom while two children work with colored pencils at wooden desks near tall windows](/images/stories/screen-free-day-classroom.webp) ## What Does a Screen-Free Day Actually Look Like? June 15, 2026 A look at what children do at our screen-free campuses, and what parents notice when they get home. ](/stories/what-a-screen-free-day-looks-like) - [![Students raising their hands in a Waldorf classroom as a teacher leads a music lesson at a chalkboard with hand-drawn notation](/images/stories/tuition-reduction-classroom.webp) ## Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs Announces Tuition Reduction for Grades 1–8 June 2, 2026 Annual tuition for Grades 1–8 will decrease from nearly $19,000 to $10,500 per student beginning with the 2026–2027 school year, with a $25,000 family maximum. ](/stories/tuition-reduction-grades-1-8) - [ ## I Work in AI. My Son Goes to Waldorf. April 1, 2026 An information scientist who builds AI capability for a living explains why she chose a screen-free Waldorf education for her son. ](/stories/i-work-in-ai-my-son-goes-to-waldorf) - [![A Waldorf student using a hand tool at the woodworking bench](/images/stories/limb-woodworking.jpg) ## The Hidden Link Between Movement and Reading Readiness January 28, 2026 Notes from a movement workshop with Jane Swain on how purposeful movement in the early years builds the foundation for reading, writing, and sustained academic work. ](/stories/movement-and-reading-readiness) - [![Students in colorful capes acting out the Michaelmas story with a large dragon puppet](/images/stories/autumn-2025-05.jpg) ## The Importance of Festivals and Traditions in Waldorf Education November 6, 2025 Why festivals and seasonal traditions are woven through the Waldorf curriculum, from Early Childhood lantern walks to middle-school leadership in the Angel Room. ](/stories/festivals-and-traditions-in-waldorf-education) - [![Students gathered along a river bank in autumn](/images/stories/summer-2025-07.jpg) ## Field Trips in the Waldorf Curriculum June 12, 2025 From forest walks in early childhood to a week-long sailing trip in seventh grade, here is how field trips turn the world into a classroom at every age and stage. ](/stories/field-trips-in-the-waldorf-curriculum) - [![A young student writing at a desk in front of a chalkboard](/images/stories/spring-2025-01.jpg) ## Promoting Literacy Through the Grades April 9, 2025 How a Waldorf education builds literacy from preschool puppet plays to eighth-grade research papers, giving students the skills to communicate clearly and make sense of the world. ](/stories/promoting-literacy-through-the-grades) ## The Importance of Festivals and Traditions in Waldorf Education [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) The Importance of Festivals and Traditions in Waldorf Education # The Importance of Festivals and Traditions in Waldorf Education November 6, 2025 Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs ![Students in colorful capes acting out the Michaelmas story with a large dragon puppet](/images/stories/autumn-2025-05.jpg) **Rooted in Rhythm: Festivals in the Waldorf Curriculum.** When Rudolf Steiner founded the first Waldorf school in 1919, he urged teachers to shape education around the natural rhythms of life rather than fixed routines alone. Festivals, he explained, help connect us to both the cycles of nature and to our cultural traditions. In Waldorf education today, festivals still mark the rhythm of the year — living experiences that nurture reverence, imagination, and joy. By observing the changing seasons and honoring traditions old and new, children encounter the mysteries of nature while developing a deeper sense of belonging, both to the natural world and to the community that surrounds them. The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs’ approach to festivals is inclusive and secular, ensuring that celebrations are both universally meaningful and in harmony with families’ own beliefs. ![Children dancing around a Maypole on the school field](/images/stories/autumn-2025-02.jpg) ## A Rhythm for Early Childhood: Connecting With Nature’s Cycles In our Early Childhood program, the cycle of the seasons is experienced through daily rituals and joyful celebrations. Lantern walks in late autumn bring light to the darkening days, while the Maypole in spring embodies renewal and growth. Birthday celebrations and moving-up ceremonies honor significant life transitions and give children a sense of courage to meet what lies ahead. These traditions help young children feel secure within a world that’s ever-changing. Through age-appropriate songs, stories, and activities, their awareness of the natural world and its rhythms grows year by year. ![Children carrying lanterns on a lantern walk at dusk](/images/stories/autumn-2025-03.jpg) ![Handmade lanterns glowing with pressed autumn leaves](/images/stories/autumn-2025-04.jpg) ## Celebrations in the Lower Grades As children grow, the meaning of festivals deepens. Stories, songs, and traditional activities bring the curriculum to life. In the early grades, students don capes for Michaelmas, acting out the timeless tale of St. George and the dragon. This autumn festival cultivates courage, willpower, and the strength to meet challenges. Later in the year, the winter Spiral Garden celebration invites quiet reflection and hope, with each child placing a candle to brighten the darkness. These experiences invite children to live into archetypes of bravery, beauty, and renewal in ways that words alone can’t reach. ![A festively decorated seasonal table set for a celebration](/images/stories/autumn-2025-06.jpg) ![An Advent spiral of evergreens lit with candles](/images/stories/autumn-2025-07.jpg) ## Tradition Meets Study In the 3rd grade, when children study farming and building, harvest celebrations naturally align with their lessons, and they experience the timeless human partnership with the land. In 5th grade, when students explore ancient cultures, May Day dances echo the rhythms of civilizations past while reinforcing the joy of community in the present. Festivals and traditions become not only seasonal markers, but also opportunities to deepen what they are learning in the classroom. ![Students in white dresses dancing the Maypole with ribbons](/images/stories/autumn-2025-08.jpg) ![The school community gathered on the lawn for a May Day celebration](/images/stories/autumn-2025-09.jpg) ## Middle School Years: Becoming a Keeper of Tradition By middle school, festivals become opportunities for reflection and leadership. Students may take on roles in which they guide younger children in song or performance or help organize and lead activities, stepping into their place as community leaders. In this way, traditions become intergenerational: what once filled them with wonder as small children is now carried forward in service to others. The Angel Room captures this full-circle quality — those who once entered in wonder now return as “angels,” guiding the younger children through the experience. ![Students running an outdoor booth at a harvest fair](/images/stories/autumn-2025-10.jpg) ![Students standing before a painted mural of angels](/images/stories/autumn-2025-11.jpg) ## A Community Practice Festivals and traditions create shared memories and experiences. They remind us that education is not only intellectual, but also cultural, social, and spiritual. Activities like decorating, crafting, and participating in songs or performances foster a sense of collective purpose and belonging. In Waldorf education, festivals and other celebrations are not incidental; they are woven into the curriculum, offering lessons that no book can teach: meaning, belonging, and the art of living well in community. As the holiday season draws near, we invite you to explore the deeper meaning behind the Waldorf festivals that kindle light, warmth, and community through the autumn and winter months: - [Martinmas and Waldorf Lantern Walks](https://www.waldorfpublications.org/blogs/book-news/martinmas-and-waldorf-lantern-walks) - [The Winter Garden in Waldorf Schools](https://www.waldorfpublications.org/blogs/book-news/what-is-the-winter-garden-or-advent-spiral-in-a-waldorf-school) - [Candlemas](https://waldorfshop.net/blogs/waldorf-education/celebrating-candlemas) ## Experience the rhythm of the year with us Visit our campus and see how lantern walks, Michaelmas, and the seasonal festivals in this essay bring our whole community together. Schedule a Tour [Contact Us](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## Field Trips in the Waldorf Curriculum [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) Field Trips in the Waldorf Curriculum # Field Trips in the Waldorf Curriculum June 12, 2025 The Administration Team ![Students gathered along a river bank in autumn](/images/stories/summer-2025-07.jpg) Waldorf education teaches students how to become good citizens of the world. Field trips are an essential part of achieving this outcome as they transform the world into a classroom suited to each age and stage of development. ## Sparking a Sense of Adventure In our Early Childhood program, daily walks in the woods instill a sense of wonder and delight in the natural world. These excursions continue in all sorts of weather, nurturing resilience and adaptability. Tuning in to the cycle of the seasons opens the child’s spirit to the wonder of a frozen swamp, as well as the spring thaw that urges the maple sap to flow. The rhythm of time-honored rituals is also cherished. At Michaelmas, an autumn celebration that promotes courage and steadfastness as the sunlit days shorten, children don hand-dyed yellow silk capes and venture bravely into the forest. On the first of May, they deliver colorful May baskets to neighbors, spreading the joy of springtime and friendship. These trips into the broader world promote trust, confidence, and community. ![Early childhood students in yellow silk capes walking into the woods for Michaelmas](/images/stories/summer-2025-01.jpg) ![Young children in warm clothes delivering handmade baskets to a neighbor's door](/images/stories/summer-2025-02.jpg) ![Children walking along a snowy woodland trail](/images/stories/summer-2025-03.jpg) ## Continuing a Connection with Nature It is typical in grade school to find students confined to desks indoors, uneasily separated from Mother Nature. In Waldorf schools, maintaining a child’s connection to the earth is emphasized not only through the presence of a nature table in the classroom, but more importantly, through regular forays into the natural world. In grades one and two, field trips often consist of walks to the several parks we are fortunate to have nearby — like High Rock Park or Spring Run Trail — where children explore and climb on the rocks or dabble in the water. Second graders also enjoy a special weekly excursion to the Forest Kindergarten campus to enjoy nature’s original playground: the woods. Immersive time spent in nature fosters a sense of calm, fully engages the senses, and invites children to experience the world more fully. ![Children climbing on rocks beside a stream at a local park](/images/stories/summer-2025-04.jpg) ![Students clambering over fallen logs in the forest](/images/stories/summer-2025-05.jpg) ![A student balancing on a log in the woods](/images/stories/summer-2025-06.jpg) ## Good Scholarship Begins With Observation In third grade, field trips begin to align more with students’ academic studies and are designed to deepen their understanding of a subject through firsthand observation and experience. The third grade theme is farming, so to augment their studies of various agricultural practices across cultures, students visit a farm to get their hands a bit dirty. This year, the class visited Goode Farm, where they helped plant many rows of garlic and observed the inner workings of a farm. Fourth grade supplemented their unit on animal studies with a visit to The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, where they observed otters and birds of prey — and imagined themselves caught in an oversized spider’s web. They brought these experiences back to the classroom and later applied them to animal observation and research projects as well as detailed dioramas that brought each animal to life within its environment. ![A child watching an otter through the glass at The Wild Center](/images/stories/summer-2025-08.jpg) ![A handmade relief map model of mountains and water](/images/stories/summer-2025-09.jpg) ## Nature and Culture In fifth grade, students begin their study of ancient civilizations beginning with Persia, then Egypt and Greece. In order to observe ancient artifacts in real life, they traveled to both the Albany Institute of History and Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. There, they sketched Egyptian mummies and Greek sculptures, integrating these experiences into their main lesson books back in the classroom. Sixth grade students continue to study the Roman and Medieval eras, but their field trips were somewhat earthier, aligning with their Geology block. They visited both the Herkimer Diamond Mines and the Adirondack Garnet Mines to try their hand at extracting semi-precious gems from the rocky ground. Whether wielding a shovel and pick or a pencil and paper, studying nature and culture firsthand brings the subject to life in the soul of the observer. ![Students sketching artifacts among the display cases at a museum](/images/stories/summer-2025-10.jpg) ![Students posing beside a sculpture in a museum gallery](/images/stories/summer-2025-11.jpg) ![A student searching for gems at a rocky mine](/images/stories/summer-2025-12.jpg) ## Exploring Farther Afield By middle school, students are ready for longer trips and deeper immersive study — experiences that help them fully embrace the complexities of their subjects. Grade seven traveled to Maine and embarked on a week-long sailing trip, which brought to life the adventure and challenge of the Age of Exploration. Learning to tie knots, swab the deck, and navigate in all weather gave them a new appreciation for the courage and canniness of the early naval explorers. Eighth grade took a capstone journey that captured the spirit of the Age of Revolution they studied: a week-long adventure by train to Montreal. They explored the diverse eco-systems of the Biodome de Montreal, savored dishes at a chocolate-themed restaurant, and learned to read a map and navigate a European-style, bilingual city. Despite the many wonders they encountered, one student reflected on the importance of simply being present and open to new experiences, which is a foundational quality of a Waldorf education: > “When you’re traveling and having a full day packed with plans, it’s easy to forget to stop and take in a moment. If you’re traveling, you probably want to make memories, and you will remember all the big cool things you did, but what did the experience actually mean to you? A good memory from a trip doesn’t have to be something crazy or large scale; it could be as simple as sitting in a quiet park while the weather is nice. Making and taking in observations and treasuring them is the key part to traveling and is very important.” [Read the complete student essay about the trip to Montreal.](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hYyQZqz8tWcqBjeUX9MDiG5wtCx1ldyu/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109575356536289881970&rtpof=true&sd=true) ![Seventh graders handling the rigging aboard a sailboat in Maine](/images/stories/summer-2025-13.jpg) ![A student in a sun hat and life vest aboard the boat](/images/stories/summer-2025-14.jpg) ![Eighth graders exploring the city of Montreal](/images/stories/summer-2025-15.jpg) ## Field Trips Through the Grades From early childhood through the lower and middle school years, field trips are a vital part of the Waldorf curriculum. They foster curiosity, inspire courage in the face of adventure, and nurture lasting friendships. Waldorf education is about building connection — both inwardly, within the school community, and outwardly, with the wider world. Developmentally tailored excursions create space for our students to learn and grow together in an ever-expanding community. ![Two young students exploring the autumn woods](/images/stories/summer-2025-16.jpg) ![Three smiling students outdoors](/images/stories/summer-2025-17.jpg) ![A group of students together at the end of a class trip](/images/stories/summer-2025-18.jpg) ## See where learning leaves the classroom Tour our campus and the woods, gardens, and trails that turn the world into a classroom at every grade, just as this essay describes. Schedule a Tour [Contact Us](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## Growing a Relationship With the Earth: Nature in Waldorf Education [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) Growing a Relationship With the Earth: Nature in Waldorf Education # Growing a Relationship With the Earth: Nature in Waldorf Education August 10, 2026 Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs ![A young child in a knit hat and snowsuit sitting in the straw beside a gray rabbit, offering it fresh grass](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-01.jpg) A child crouches beside a stream, turning over stones to see what might live beneath them. Another collects fallen leaves, noticing their different shapes, colors, and textures. A group of students sits outside, sketching trees and recording their observations of bark, leaves, and branches. These moments may look like simple play or exploration, but beneath the surface, children are building a relationship with the natural world—one that’s rooted not just in knowledge but also in curiosity and care. This understanding is central to Waldorf education, where meaningful experiences in nature are woven throughout childhood rather than treated as an enrichment activity. Research increasingly supports many practices that have long been part of Waldorf education, including regular time outdoors, careful observation of nature, gardening, seasonal rhythms, and opportunities for unstructured exploration. One of the gifts of Waldorf education is the way these experiences help children develop a lasting connection with the Earth. ![A young girl crouching in a garden bed to lean in close and smell a yellow tulip](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-02.jpg) ![Three students crouched together at the edge of a woodland stream, turning over wet leaves beside a stand of ferns](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-03.jpg) ## Nature as a Living Teacher in Waldorf Education In Early Childhood classrooms, young children begin understanding the world through direct experience. Before they can understand larger environmental concepts, they first need opportunities to notice, explore, and build a relationship with the living world around them. Waldorf education honors this developmental process by giving children opportunities to learn through observation, exploration, and meaningful encounters with nature. A child who watches a seed become a plant begins to understand growth. One who observes birds returning each spring begins to recognize patterns and cycles. And a child who spends time walking through a forest begins to understand that the natural world is a living community of interconnected beings. Waldorf education creates space for this kind of learning by weaving nature into the rhythm of everyday life. Instead of encountering the environment only as a concept to study, children develop understanding through direct experience. Researcher and environmental educator Louise Chawla has written extensively about the relationship between childhood experiences in nature and later environmental engagement, noting that meaningful experiences with the natural world can help shape lifelong connections to place and a sense of responsibility toward the environment. In Waldorf schools, nature is not treated as a separate subject but as an essential context for learning. From Early Childhood through the grades, students regularly observe seasonal changes, garden, explore local ecosystems, create with natural materials, and develop scientific understanding through direct observation before abstract explanation. These experiences help cultivate not only academic understanding but also patience, resilience, wonder, and a sense of belonging within the living world. ![Three students sitting on the roots of a leaning tree at the edge of an autumn lake, sketching and pointing out across the water](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-04.jpg) ![Young children watering the raised beds of the school garden with a hose while a teacher looks on](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-05.jpg) ![Four young children in rain gear and sun hats sitting on logs at the edge of a woodland pond, watching the water](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-06.jpg) ## From Wonder to Stewardship Environmental awareness is often framed as a responsibility that children must learn: recycle more, conserve resources, protect endangered species. These lessons matter, but stewardship begins much earlier. For children, environmental awareness doesn’t begin with a list of facts to memorize. It starts with relationship: knowing the tree outside their classroom, noticing the return of familiar birds, or caring for a garden. Throughout the Waldorf curriculum, this relationship is built through repeated experiences, such as observing the changes that come with each season or learning the names of the plants and animals that share their environment. Over time, these experiences help children understand that they are not separate from the natural world. Environmental educator David Sobel has emphasized the importance of allowing children to develop affection and familiarity with the natural world before asking them to understand environmental problems. In his work, he argues that direct experiences with meaningful places help children develop the emotional connection that can later support environmental stewardship. This philosophy reflects Waldorf education’s commitment to educating the whole child. The goal extends beyond academic preparation to nurturing capable, compassionate human beings who meet the world with curiosity, creativity, and a sense of responsibility. In this view, caring for the Earth is not a lesson that is added to the curriculum. It grows naturally from a child’s relationship with the world around them. ![Three children leaning over a raised garden bed on the playground, working the dark soil with their hands](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-07.jpg) ![Two young children in overalls pushing small green wheelbarrows of squash and eggplant across the grass](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-08.jpg) ## The Benefits of Slowing Down One of the challenges facing children today is that many aspects of modern life move quickly. Information arrives instantly, entertainment is always available, and answers can often be found with the tap of a screen. Nature offers a different pace: A forest does not rush. A seed does not grow overnight. A season changes gradually. Research on nature exposure and child development has found connections between time spent in green spaces and improvements in attention, stress regulation, and overall well-being. These experiences are not only about what children learn; they are also about how they learn. In Waldorf education, time outdoors invites children to notice, wait, and pay attention. It invites questions that do not always have immediate answers and creates opportunities for problem-solving, creativity, and reflection. These skills extend beyond environmental learning. The ability to notice patterns, ask questions, and approach unfamiliar situations with curiosity is an essential capacity in every area of life. ![Children's muddy hands lifting a fallen log in the grass to reveal a slug on the bark underneath](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-09.jpg) ![Children in winter hats gathered around a metal sap bucket hanging from a maple tree, watching the sap drip from the tap](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-10.jpg) ## Raising the Next Generation of Environmental Thinkers The environmental challenges facing the world today are complex, and addressing them will require scientific knowledge, innovative thinking, and collaboration. These abilities begin developing in childhood. When children form meaningful connections with the natural world, they are learning more than facts about the environment. They are learning how it works, developing a deeper understanding of the living systems around them, and recognizing that they are part of it. This sense of connection and understanding is one of the first steps toward stewardship, inspiring children to care for the world around them and imagine ways to protect it. Waldorf schools do not seek to teach children simply about nature. They seek to help them experience themselves as part of it. By fostering curiosity, wonder, observation, and meaningful experiences outdoors throughout childhood, Waldorf education helps lay the foundation for a lifetime of stewardship. In a world where many children spend less time connected to the natural world, that relationship may be one of the most important lessons of all. ![A young child in yellow rain overalls and a sun hat raking sticks and leaves along a woodland path](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-11.jpg) ![Young children with rakes and wheelbarrows working together on a spring cleanup in the yard outside the brick schoolhouse](/images/stories/nature-in-waldorf-12.jpg) ## See how children learn alongside the natural world Visit our campus and walk the woods, gardens, and trails where the seasonal rhythms and daily outdoor time is part of every school day. Schedule a Tour [Contact Us](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## I Work in AI. My Son Goes to Waldorf. [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) I Work in AI. My Son Goes to Waldorf. # I Work in AI. My Son Goes to Waldorf. April 1, 2026 Abigail S., Parent and Board Member I work in AI and capability development for an aerospace company. As an information scientist and knowledge management leader, my job is to help people and systems hold onto meaning: how engineers structure knowledge, how organizations build capability, and how AI can reason over information usefully. I am not afraid of AI. I use it. I value it. I think it can extend human capability in extraordinary ways. But that is exactly why I care so much about what kind of human capability comes first. My son goes to the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs, our region’s only Waldorf school, and its only completely screen-free school day. **That screen-free day matters. But it’s not the whole point.** The deeper point is Waldorf’s understanding of child development: Children do not become thoughtful, capable, creative people by being rushed into abstraction. They become that way through rhythm, story, movement, imitation, handwork, music, nature, memory, beauty, and sustained relationships with teachers who know them over time. At the Waldorf School of Saratoga, the day has a shape. Children begin with rhythm and movement. They enter deeply into a [main lesson](/lower-school), staying with one subject long enough for it to become more than information. They draw, recite, sing, knit, build, paint, garden, play outside, and work with their hands. These are not decorations around academics: They are how thinking is built. **That is the part people often miss.** Handwork is not a quaint alternative to “real” learning. It teaches sequencing, patience, pattern recognition, frustration tolerance, and the relationship between effort and result. ([It is also how the brain is built for reading and writing.](/stories/movement-and-reading-readiness)) Form drawing is not just drawing. It trains attention, spatial awareness, and embodied concentration. Long stories are not just stories. They build memory, imagination, moral feeling, and the ability to hold meaning without a device doing the holding. This is Waldorf’s advantage. It does not merely remove screens. It fills the space with something better. AI can summarize, retrieve, draft, translate, classify, and pattern-match at a speed no child can match. That is real. It is powerful. And it means the competitive ground has shifted. > The scarce skills will not be quick answers. They will be judgment, attention, originality, moral imagination, social perception, and the ability to stay with a difficult problem long enough to understand it. AI can help a person think. It cannot do the work of becoming a person who thinks. That formation has to happen somewhere. For my son, I want the school day to be a protected window: not because screens do not exist in our home or in the world, but because they already do. He will encounter technology. He will use AI. The question is whether or not he meets those tools with habits of attention, imagination, and inner authority already growing in him. A child who uses AI without those internal reference points may not know when an output is wrong, shallow, derivative, or simply not theirs. A child who meets AI after years of deep, hands-on, relational learning meets it from a position of strength. That is why Waldorf matters to me. Not because it is nostalgic. Not because it is anti-technology. But because it is one of the few educational models still designed around the slow, deliberate development of the whole human being. **I chose Saratoga Waldorf because I work in AI, not in spite of it.** I want my son to become the kind of person who can use powerful tools without being shaped by them first. Someone who can notice when a system is subtly off. Someone who can imagine something a model has not already produced. Someone who knows the difference between a good answer and his own answer. A screen-free Waldorf education is not a retreat from the future. It is preparation for meeting it with a self intact. If you are weighing this choice for your own child, come visit Saratoga Waldorf. Sit in a classroom. Watch the rhythm of the day. Watch children listen, move, draw, build, argue, repair, imagine, and return to their work. Watch what a Waldorf childhood makes possible. * * * **Weighing this choice for your own child?** Come see a Waldorf day for yourself — the rhythm, the handwork, the unhurried attention this essay describes. We’d love to show you what a screen-free classroom actually looks like. [Schedule a visit →](/connect) ## What's the Deal with Learning to Read at Waldorf? [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) What's the Deal with Learning to Read at Waldorf? # What's the Deal with Learning to Read at Waldorf? June 26, 2026 Amy Reinink ![A Lower School teacher in a red dress reading a chalkboard verse aloud beneath a hand-drawn classroom alphabet](/images/stories/learning-to-read-classroom.jpg) _This is the start of an occasional series examining our most frequently asked questions about Waldorf education. Written by parents, teachers and staff, they aim to provide a candid and forthright perspective on the topics prospective parents are most curious about. Want more honest perspectives about Waldorf? [Book a tour](/lower-school-enrollment) today!_ My son, now a rising fifth grader, started Waldorf’s Forest Kindergarten as a Little Acorn at age 3. By the time he reached kindergarten age, we had fallen in love with Waldorf and the well-balanced, human-paced days he enjoyed on the beautiful campus. But before we could sign on to a Waldorf education for his elementary grades, I needed to address what I viewed as the elephant in the room: Are Waldorf kids really not taught to read until third grade? As a lifelong journalist and writer, I cared about childhood literacy and a lifelong love of literature more than the average bear. I needed to learn more. I started by talking to parents with children at the Lower School. I heard the most magnificent stories about first-graders learning letter shapes by tracing the shapes in the sand, and about second-grade classes walking to High Rock Park with early readers to enjoy their books in the sunshine. I also visited the first-grade classroom, where teacher Kristyn Gibbs was prepping the room for the next day of learning. The blackboard was adorned with capital and lower-case letters written in pastel chalk. She had just told her students a story about baking cookie batter, emphasizing the ending sound of “r.” This didn’t look or sound like not learning to read. It looked like a beautifully measured approach to learning language arts. ![Letters and an illustrated lesson written in colorful pastel chalk on a classroom blackboard](/images/stories/spring-2025-07.jpg) > [_Visit our school_](https://www.waldorfsaratoga.org/admissions) _and see what our approach to teaching reading looks like firsthand._ We enrolled our son in the Lower School when he was 6. At the first parents’ night, his teacher, Farida Doriwala, looked out at an audience of parents that included engineers, special education teachers, college professors and others who likely cared as much about childhood literacy as I did. “I know that your children already know the alphabet,” she said as she drew a letter M in the shape of two mountains on the chalkboard. “Let me show you what we’re learning.” At the end of her magical story about the letter M and the mighty men who climb mountains, I was so impressed with the deep and comprehensive phonics lesson, I leaned over to another parent and said: “I don’t think _I_ knew what the letter M was before this.” The approach taught me that it’s one thing to memorize a letter shape, but another entirely to tie that letter shape and the sound it makes to the greater world. I only grew more impressed as his education continued. By the end of first grade, many children were picking up the early-reader books strewn throughout the classroom and reading them out loud. There was no pressure or sight-word flash cards for the kids who weren’t doing so, only more thoughtful instruction and encouragement. Children with IEPs may have visited the amazing Joanne Fuson, the special education teacher who famously has a game for almost everything. Nobody felt slow. Nobody felt left behind. It’s not that reading is hidden or kept away from children who are ready; it simply isn’t pushed on children before it’s developmentally appropriate. When my son was in second grade, I witnessed another unique aspect about Waldorf: Teachers can adjust their curriculum to the students in front of them rather than pushing their students to keep up with a curriculum that doesn’t fit. This particular class was ready to read, and hungry for more opportunities to do so. So one afternoon, Ms. Doriwala presented each child with a reader she knew they would be successful in decoding. After the class successfully read the book, she lit a candle, and told them that the light of knowledge belonged to them now. ![Lower School students reading early-reader books at their desks](/images/stories/spring-2025-06.jpg) That moment was possible because Ms. Doriwala was deeply attuned to her class, and had the flexibility to meet them with exactly the right challenge at exactly the right moment. What a gift. Here’s what some other parents had to say about watching their kids learn to read the Waldorf way: > **“When my daughter’s class hit third grade, their ability to read was just … _there._ They had such a strong foundation that there was no struggle, only joy.”** > **“My son struggled with reading in public school. Waldorf changed everything. Free from pressure, he learned at his own pace and fell in love with reading. Today, he picks up books on his own — something I never thought I’d see.”** You can find lots of great information about Waldorf’s approach to reading on our website, especially in this [piece from our literacy taskforce](https://www.waldorfsaratoga.org/stories/promoting-literacy-through-the-grades). But nothing compares to seeing how engaged and happy kids are when they’re learning. [_Schedule a tour_](https://www.waldorfsaratoga.org/admissions) to see. ## See how children learn to read at Waldorf Visit a classroom and watch the sand letters, candlelit readers, and unhurried phonics lessons this essay describes — and see for yourself why no child feels left behind. Schedule a Tour [Contact Us](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## The Hidden Link Between Movement and Reading Readiness [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) The Hidden Link Between Movement and Reading Readiness # The Hidden Link Between Movement and Reading Readiness January 28, 2026 Karen Crandall, Grade 3 Class Teacher ![A Waldorf student using a hand tool at the woodworking bench](/images/stories/limb-woodworking.jpg) Notes from a workshop with Jane Swain _Jane Swain is a movement specialist. She has studied Spatial Dynamics with Jaimen McMillan and she works with Waldorf kindergartens throughout the United States. The following is a condensed version of some of the main points that Jane shared in her workshop about movement and child development._ We human beings are multisensory beings, and our greatest sense organ is our limb system. The world begins to make sense to us through our limbs. When we move, we gain knowledge about movement itself, dynamics, weight, balance, perspective, color, shapes, and so much more. Movement is a sensory-motor experience. Movement creates the superhighways that cognitive learning will make use of later. Limbs know things that the head does not. For example, it is easier to teach knitting limb to limb, through showing it, rather than talking it out or reading directions. This limb-to-limb learning is what we call imitation. In kindergarten, imitation is the mode of education engaged. Teachers dig with shovels, rake leaves, scoop mud, set the table, and sing. And children follow along, digging, shoveling, raking and singing. As young humans, we explore the world specifically through movement. Movement helps orient us in space and begins to organize our inner sense of our body in space. This is how our proprioceptive system is developed. The more movement, and varied movement, there is, the more neural pathways are being created. ![A child in a yellow jacket climbing a rope strung between trees in the woods](/images/stories/unnamed.jpg) The right brain begins to develop between the ages of 4 and 7. The right brain is engaged with visualization and mental pictures, movement of all kinds, music and emotions. This is why imitation (limb-to-limb learning) is the approach to learning that Waldorf kindergartens embrace. Puppet plays, stories, singing, yardwork, walks, exploration and imaginative play help strengthen the right brain. In preparation for the left brain’s beginning development at age 7, specific kinds of movement are attended to in the kindergarten. These movements help strengthen a child’s relationship of the body in space and help to create the network of the corpus callosum, the bridge at the center of our brain that helps both hemispheres communicate with each other and work together. The corpus callosum ensures bilateral integration. These movements are listed below. They are what our teachers nestle into the many different kinds of activities happening in our [Early Childhood program](/early-childhood). ## 5 Movements Important for Bilateral Integration **Orientation to Midline:** Knowing where the midline is, finding one’s balance, one foot in front of the other. **Symmetrical Movement:** swinging on the swing with the pumping action. **Crossing the Midline:** Yardwork, sweeping, raking shoveling, digging, bubble wands, ribbon wands, puppets. With younger children, their eyes will track your movement crossing the midline, even if they are not moving. This is important later when eyes need to track even more when reading. ![A young child splitting kindling with a mallet outdoors](/images/stories/limb-02.jpg) **Reciprocal Movement:** A counter rotation of the spine as when skipping, rhythmic hand clapping with partners, etc. **Stability/Mobility Differentiation at Midline:** An activity like holding a grater steady with one hand and grating cheese with the other; holding down the paper with one hand while drawing with the other; finger knitting, sewing, sawing; and using a dust pan and small broom. ![A young child steadying a potato with one hand and peeling it with the other](/images/stories/unnamed%20\(1\).jpg) Bilateral Integration is important for stepping into the first grade. What begins in Early Childhood through purposeful movement continues to unfold throughout the grades in practical, visible ways. The balance and coordination described here support everyday academic tasks: following a line of text while reading, writing with control; keeping numbers organized on the page; and staying focused for longer periods of work. These abilities develop gradually, built over time through movement that helps children feel at home in their bodies and oriented in space. ![Children kneeling at low desks doing focused main lesson work](/images/stories/unnamed%20\(2\).jpg) In the [grade school](/lower-school), this foundation is consciously continued and reinforced. Form drawing develops spatial awareness, crossing the midline, and fine motor control that later support fluent writing and geometry. Handwork—such as knitting, sewing, and woodworking—strengthens concentration, sequencing, and dexterity, while also requiring both hands to work in coordination. Rhythm is woven into main lesson blocks through clapping, marching, catching, throwing, and movements that help children internalize patterns in language and mathematics. Physical education and outdoor play continue to challenge balance, coordination, and perseverance. These in turn are all skills needed for sustained academic work. ![A grades student writing and illustrating a map in his main lesson book](/images/stories/unnamed%20\(3\).jpg) ![A student sewing by hand at her desk](/images/stories/limb-sewing.jpg) Rather than separating movement from learning, Waldorf education understands that they are deeply interconnected. By cultivating and encouraging purposeful movement in the early years and continuing it thoughtfully through the grades, we help prepare children to meet academic challenges with confidence, focus, and resilience. * * * **Curious what this looks like in a real classroom?** The best way to understand how movement and hands-on work build strong learners is to see a Waldorf day in person. [Schedule a visit →](/connect) ## What's the Deal With No Traditional Letter Grades? [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) What's the Deal With No Traditional Letter Grades? # What's the Deal With No Traditional Letter Grades? July 18, 2026 Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs ![A grades-class teacher gesturing toward a chalkboard filled with American Civil War lesson notes as students sit at wooden desks in a sunlit classroom](/images/stories/no-traditional-letter-grades-hero.webp) Every July, Waldorf parents savor a special moment in the school year when they receive an email announcing that annual student grade reports are ready. When parents open the file, they discover a multiple-page narrative detailing their child’s progress over the past year: Their strengths, challenges, growth and development. The child’s teachers each share multiple paragraphs about the child’s participation in class and their understanding of the subject matter, along with their emotional and social development. They answer the question every parent wants to know: How is my child doing, really? One thing parents won’t see in those reports is a traditional letter grade. [Research has long shown](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10159463/) that traditional letter grades reduce both motivation and achievement. What’s more, grades can define a student and their progress too narrowly. As with so many facets of Waldorf education, the magic isn’t in the fact that we don’t use traditional letter grades, but in what we do instead. On a daily basis, children are guided and encouraged in the classroom as they work through their Main Lesson, a period of deep, focused learning. Their mistakes are viewed as gifts to learn from, fostering a sense of inner satisfaction for work completed and well done. Teachers use a holistic approach to assess how well students are grasping the subject matter they’re taught. Rather than judging students’ comprehension based on one moment in time, our teachers have the bandwidth to use a variety of metrics to assess a student’s learning, and have the freedom and flexibility to adjust the curriculum accordingly. Because the class teacher travels with the students through the curriculum for more than one year, the teachers have the time to learn who each student is and what will help each one learn best. Parents also learn about their children’s academic progress, social development and emotional growth during two annual in-depth conferences, and through regular communication with teachers. ## See how we measure what matters Visit a classroom and watch the holistic, mistakes-are-gifts learning this essay describes — the kind of growth no letter grade can capture. Schedule a Tour [Contact Us](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## Promoting Literacy Through the Grades [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) Promoting Literacy Through the Grades # Promoting Literacy Through the Grades April 9, 2025 The Literacy Taskforce ![A young student writing at a desk in front of a chalkboard](/images/stories/spring-2025-01.jpg) Literacy is defined by the National Literacy Trust as “the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in a way that lets us communicate effectively and make sense of the world.” Waldorf education is uniquely designed to achieve this outcome. In this, our first seasonal newsletter, it is our pleasure to outline how the Waldorf approach to education gives students a multi-faceted set of skills that help them communicate effectively and successfully navigate the world. ![Young children looking through picture books together](/images/stories/spring-2025-02.jpg) ## Fostering a Love of Literacy in Early Childhood Literacy involves the whole child, not just the intellect. Beginning in preschool, Waldorf education nourishes students with stories, songs, and puppet plays that spark a love of learning and foster a sense of community and belonging. A seemingly simple puppet play promotes careful listening, looking for story cues, and afterwards reflecting on the characters and story details. Tuning into verbal and non-verbal cues; listening comprehension; sustaining focus; and learning to create mental pictures are the building blocks of literacy. ![A cozy reading and play corner in an Early Childhood classroom](/images/stories/spring-2025-03.jpg) ![A teacher and young children gathered at a table by the nature table](/images/stories/spring-2025-04.jpg) ![A handmade puppet play set up with felt figures on colored silks](/images/stories/spring-2025-05.jpg) ## Listening, Speaking, Drawing, then Writing After learning the alphabet and other basics in kindergarten and first grade, second graders experience literacy through multiple modalities, one combination of which is shared here: Students first hear a fable told in prose, then poetry, which makes the content come alive in a memorable fashion. Next, they create a guided comprehension drawing and read chorally as a class, taking turns finding familiar phonics patterns in the poem. Lastly, they write the fable down on artistically designed pages that are bound into a unique book. Activities like these touch upon fluency and comprehension as well as decoding skills in reading, writing, and listening. Students have also been exploring more complex phonics patterns such as -ow and -ou both saying “ow.” During a recent phonics lesson, students were introduced to owl and mouse. They collectively brainstormed a list of words that say “ow” and organized them into spelling patterns. After compiling a lengthy list, the class worked together to write a short story based around owl and mouse using the words they had brainstormed. ![Students reading books at their desks](/images/stories/spring-2025-06.jpg) ![An illustrated fable written out on the classroom chalkboard](/images/stories/spring-2025-07.jpg) ![A student writing at her desk by candlelight](/images/stories/spring-2025-08.jpg) ## Expanding Students’ Worldview Between grades three and four, students transition from learning to read to reading to learn, and by fifth grade, students develop research-based essays. Fifth grade spent a month studying North American Geography and all its varied features. Then, they wrote about one region — the Southwest — and read their essays out loud to the class. By gathering, processing, writing about, and then sharing the information with the group, students gain much more than a superficial understanding of a subject. This learning, as is always the case in a Waldorf school, is enhanced through artistic practice such as making salt dough relief maps of the continent as well as watercolor paintings. > “The Southwest is the home of the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, and some interesting animals. Some examples are foxes, snakes, and mules. Mules are great for transport. It is one of the only ways to get to the bottom of the Grand Canyon! You can go rafting down the Colorado River, too. As a breed between a horse and a donkey, a mule is good at carrying gear and they have great endurance.” — Fifth grade student ![A teacher leading a geography lesson at the chalkboard](/images/stories/spring-2025-09.jpg) ![A student's watercolor painting of a Southwest desert landscape](/images/stories/spring-2025-10.jpg) ## Taking Literacy to the Next Level After learning in sixth and seventh grade to write argumentative essays in which they create and defend a thesis, students delve into independent projects and longer research papers using MLA citations. Two of the high peaks in the journey of literacy through the grades are communication and thinking. Students of our eighth grade class are encouraged to hone their expository and essay writing skills, especially through the history and science blocks like this physiology block. Crafting a thesis and topic sentences help to bridge the thoughts, facts and sometimes description-rich passages shared in an essay. Students listen to their classmates’ work and track the progressing thoughts throughout the presentation. Discussions on content and phrasing support us in our path of communicating with others and bringing meaning into our work. ![A student illustrating a map with colored pencils](/images/stories/spring-2025-11.jpg) ![A detailed skeleton drawing in a student's main lesson book](/images/stories/spring-2025-12.jpg) ![A physiology main lesson book page with a hand-drawn skeleton](/images/stories/spring-2025-13.jpg) ## Bringing it All Together The culminating project in eighth grade is a public presentation of students’ personally chosen long-term projects. This brings together the multitude of skills they have gathered throughout the grades: harnessing curiosity to gather experience and research; listening, learning, asking questions and thinking deeply about a topic; writing an extensive paper about their chosen project using citations and proper formatting; developing a hands-on component to supplement the writing; and lastly, sharing their knowledge with the community through public speaking. ## See how literacy comes alive through the grades Visit a classroom and watch how puppet plays, main lesson books, and lively discussion build the confident readers and writers this essay describes. Schedule a Tour [Contact Us](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## Saratoga TODAY: Our Screen-Free Summer Programs [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) Saratoga TODAY: Our Screen-Free Summer Programs # Saratoga TODAY: Our Screen-Free Summer Programs July 23, 2026 Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs ![The Saratoga TODAY newspaper logo, white lettering on a deep blue background](/images/stories/saratoga-today-logo.png) The article covers our summer camp programs and the thinking behind them: that imaginative play, real-world skills, and unhurried time outdoors are the substance of child development. **[Read the full article at Saratoga TODAY](https://saratogatodaynewspaper.com/waldorf-school-of-saratoga-springs-offers-community-a-screen-free-summer-camp-experience/)** Our summer programs are open to the whole community, whether or not your child attends the Waldorf School during the year. To ask about availability, call us at 518-587-2224. ## See a screen-free summer for yourself Visit our campuses and watch the outdoor play, handwork, and unhurried days that Saratoga TODAY describes. Schedule a Tour [Contact Us](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs Announces Tuition Reduction for Grades 1–8 [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs Announces Tuition Reduction for Grades 1–8 # Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs Announces Tuition Reduction for Grades 1–8 June 2, 2026 Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs ![Students raising their hands in a Waldorf classroom as a teacher leads a music lesson at a chalkboard with hand-drawn notation](/images/stories/tuition-reduction-classroom.webp) The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is pleased to announce a substantial reduction in tuition for students in Grades 1–8 beginning with the 2026–2027 school year. Annual tuition will decrease from nearly $19,000 to $10,500 per student, with a family maximum of $25,000 per year for households with multiple children enrolled. ([Estimate your family’s tuition with our calculator.](/affordability)) This change reflects the school’s commitment to making Waldorf education accessible to more families throughout the Capital Region and beyond, while supporting the school’s long-term goal of welcoming and serving a larger community of students. At a time when many parents are seeking alternatives to increasingly screen-centered childhoods, the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs offers an educational experience grounded in human connection, creativity, and meaningful engagement with the world. Students learn in a screen-free environment where academic learning is balanced with artistic expression, practical skills, movement, and outdoor exploration. Waldorf students engage deeply in core academic subjects, including reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history. Lessons are designed to cultivate not only knowledge and skills, but also curiosity, critical thinking, and a genuine love of learning. Through hands-on experiences, rich storytelling, artistic integration, and project-based work, students develop strong academic foundations while learning to think independently and approach challenges with creativity and confidence. Waldorf education recognizes that childhood is not simply preparation for the future—it is a vital stage of life deserving of protection and care. The curriculum is designed to support children’s intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development while fostering confidence, resilience, and a strong sense of self. Said Board Member Gavin Labate: “It has never felt more urgent for families to have options for their children’s education. A Waldorf education, with its screen-free classrooms, deep focus and hands-on learning, builds children who thrive academically, emotionally, and socially. This tuition change removes the biggest barrier standing between families and that kind of education. We are ready for this moment.” The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is an independent school serving children from [early childhood](/early-childhood) through [middle school](/middle-school). Rooted in Waldorf education, the school offers a hands-on, screens-off curriculum integrating academics, the arts, and practical skills to support the healthy development of the whole child. The school’s three campuses are located in Saratoga Springs and serve families from Saratoga, Ballston Spa, Schuylerville, Clifton Park, Corinth, Queensbury, Glens Falls, and other communities throughout the greater Capital Region. * * * **Ready to learn more?** With this change, a Waldorf education is now within reach for more Capital Region families than ever before. [Schedule a visit →](/connect)  ·  [Estimate your tuition →](/affordability) ## Waldorf 101 [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) Waldorf 101 # Waldorf 101 July 29, 2026 Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs ![Two grades students kneeling at wooden desks in a sunlit classroom, painting wet-on-wet watercolors in pink, yellow, and blue](/images/hero/hero-painting.webp) If you’ve heard people talk about Waldorf education but aren’t quite sure what it actually means, this short post is for you! Waldorf education has been around for more than a century and is practiced in more than 1,000 schools around the world. It combines strong academics with movement, the arts, practical work and deep relationships, all guided by one simple idea: children learn best when education matches how they naturally develop. You’ll often hear the phrase “whole child education.” That isn’t educational jargon. It simply means we don’t think children are just minds that need information. We care about how they think, how they feel and what they can do with their own hands. Around Waldorf, you’ll often hear this described as educating the head, heart and hands. ## But what about academics? It’s a fair question. From the outside, Waldorf classrooms can look very different from what many parents experienced in school. There is more movement, more storytelling, more art and more hands-on work. What you don’t always see at first glance is that those experiences are carefully designed to support serious academic learning. Students study mathematics, science, literature, history and writing [throughout the grades](/lower-school). They write extensively, solve increasingly complex mathematical problems, conduct [laboratory science](/middle-school), read classic literature and develop strong communication skills. The goal isn’t to do less academics—it’s to help children understand ideas deeply instead of simply memorizing them. ## Why do Waldorf students learn differently? Waldorf education asks a different question than many schools. Instead of asking, “How early can we teach this?” we ask, “When is a child developmentally ready to learn it well?” That philosophy influences everything from [reading instruction](/stories/learning-to-read-at-waldorf) to mathematics. [Young children](/early-childhood) spend more time building language through stories, conversation, music and play before formal reading instruction begins. As they grow, reading, writing and mathematics become daily academic work, taught in ways that engage imagination, movement and real-world application rather than worksheets alone. This doesn’t mean children learn less. It means they often learn more deeply because ideas are connected to experience rather than simply memorized for a test. ## Learning by doing At Waldorf, lessons are designed to become experiences. Fractions might be explored through baking. Geometry appears through woodworking. History comes alive through storytelling, drama and art. Science is observed, experimented with and discussed before conclusions are memorized. When children actively engage with what they’re learning, ideas tend to stay with them. [Movement is part of learning, not a break from it.](/stories/movement-and-reading-readiness) Throughout the grades, students play games, move, practice coordination, sing, perform and participate in activities that support healthy physical and cognitive development. These experiences aren’t separate from academics—they help children focus, collaborate and think clearly. The arts aren’t electives, either. Music, painting, handwork, woodworking and performance are woven throughout the curriculum because creativity strengthens observation, perseverance, problem-solving and confidence. These are abilities that support every academic subject, not distractions from them. ## Do Waldorf graduates succeed? Parents naturally wonder whether this different approach [prepares students for what’s next](/stories/i-work-in-ai-my-son-goes-to-waldorf). The answer is yes. Waldorf graduates attend outstanding public and private high schools and go on to colleges and universities across the country. They pursue careers in medicine, engineering, business, education, the arts, entrepreneurship and countless other fields. Just as importantly, [many alumni](/alumni) describe leaving Waldorf with something that is harder to measure but equally valuable: curiosity, resilience, creativity, confidence and the ability to think independently. Those qualities serve them long after graduation. ## A different path to the same goal Perhaps that’s the biggest misconception about Waldorf education. It isn’t a choice between academics or creativity. It’s the belief that children learn academics best when curiosity, movement, the arts and meaningful relationships are part of the learning process. The goal isn’t simply to help children score well on the next test. It’s to help them become capable learners, thoughtful human beings and confident young adults who are prepared not just for high school or college—but for a lifetime of learning. That’s Waldorf in a nutshell. ## See whole-child academics for yourself Visit our campus and watch the movement, storytelling, and hands-on work this essay describes turn into serious academic learning. Schedule a Tour [Contact Us](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## What Does a Screen-Free Day Actually Look Like? [Home](/) [Stories](/stories) What Does a Screen-Free Day Actually Look Like? # What Does a Screen-Free Day Actually Look Like? June 15, 2026 Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs ![A teacher in a cream sweater pins a paper to the chalkboard at the front of a sunlit, wood-paneled Waldorf classroom while two children work with colored pencils at wooden desks near tall windows](/images/stories/screen-free-day-classroom.webp) **What does a screen-free day actually look like?** This is hands-down the No. 1 question we’re asked at Waldorf. The question underscores a deep and rising anxiety about whether screens belong in our children’s classrooms, with many parents and educators—[most recently a major teacher’s union](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/education/randi-weingarten-teachers-union-limits-ai-screen-time-school-rcna346871)—coming down on “no.” The [research](https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/23/05/embracing-learning-through-play) continuously shows what Waldorf educators have understood for more than 100 years: Children learn best through experience and observation. So what do they do all day if they’re not on screens? A Waldorf student’s day begins with morning circle, where children gather for coordinated movement and seasonal songs, mental math and recitation. Children experience it as play. Teachers know they are priming their students’ brains for learning. They move on to [main lesson](/lower-school#how-we-teach), a long block of time scheduled when kids’ minds are freshest and most ready to learn. They spend three to four weeks on a single academic subject, allowing for deep, focused learning. You won’t see any kids using “educational” apps on tablets while the teacher works in small groups with others; just steady, hands-on engagement from the whole class. Children have two daily recesses in our leafy, expansive playgrounds, one after snack, one after lunch. Their play is unstructured by design, and lets them not only integrate the day’s learning, but build deep relationships with their classmates. Arts and movement are integrated into every subject, but in the afternoon, children enjoy a deep-dive into practical arts, using their hands and real tools to sculpt, carve, [knit and weave](/stories/movement-and-reading-readiness). But the biggest difference might be what parents notice when their kids arrive home after a day on our screen-free campus. One parent recalls his children coming home enlivened and ready for more imaginative play rather than ready to crash on the couch. Another parent recalls her children coming home “properly dirty” after spending both recesses digging holes and building wooden bridges with their friends, and recalls their night of deep sleep that evening. ## Want to see a screen-free day for yourself? Come visit our campus and watch the rhythm of the day, the handwork, and the unhurried outdoor play this essay describes. Schedule a Tour [Contact Us](/connect) × ## Book a Tour Choose the program you'd like to visit and we'll take you to our scheduler. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) ## Saratoga Springs Summer Camp for Grades 1-5 # Saratoga Springs Summer Camp for Grades 1-5 Small groups · 15 kids per week · Real teachers [Reserve Your Spot](#programs) [Ask a Question](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=Summer%20Camp%20Question) The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs offers two summer camp programs: an Early Childhood program at our Forest campus for ages 3-6, and a Lower School program at our York Avenue campus for grades 1-5. Both programs are grounded in nature-based exploration, creative arts, and the nurturing rhythm of Waldorf education. - [Now Enrolling Lower School Summer Camp Grades 1–5 Weekly themed crafts and outdoor adventure at our York Ave. campus. See weeks & register ](#lower-school) - [Waitlist Early Childhood Ages 3–6 Nature-based forest days at our Spa State Park campus. Join the waitlist ](#early-childhood) ## Lower School Summer Camp Grades 1-5 Our lower grades program is designed to engage children in sustainable and environmentally-friendly crafts and activities that encourage exploration, experimentation, and self-expression. Our indoor and outdoor arts and crafts activities will allow children to explore their creativity in a variety of ways. Whether they're working with paints, or other materials, our teachers will encourage them to experiment and discover their own unique artistic vision. ![A camper in a yellow dress tending pink flowers in a raised garden bed.](/images/programs/summer-camp/summer3.webp) ![Children painting together at an outdoor picnic table at summer camp.](/images/programs/summer-camp/summer4.webp) In addition to our creative endeavors, we'll also take time to explore our neighborhood and experience it in new and exciting ways. We'll discover the beauty and diversity of our area while learning about the importance of sustainability and environmental stewardship. ![Myths and Legends, July 6 to 10: explore myths and legends through storytelling, art, and watercolor.](/images/programs/summer-camp/01_myths.webp) [Register](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/appointment/89744401/calendar/any?categories%5B%5D=2026+Summer+Enrichment+%E2%80%94+Lower+School) ![Weaving, July 13 to 17: discover the art of weaving and turn colorful thread into something beautiful to keep.](/images/programs/summer-camp/02_weaving.webp) [Register](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/appointment/89744647/calendar/any?categories%5B%5D=2026+Summer+Enrichment+%E2%80%94+Lower+School) ![Bread and Butter, July 20 to 24: make bread, focaccia, pies and more, plus food and skills to take home.](/images/programs/summer-camp/03_bread.webp) [Register](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/appointment/89744696/calendar/any?categories%5B%5D=2026+Summer+Enrichment+%E2%80%94+Lower+School) ![Beads, Braids, and Creative Design, July 27 to 31: craft beads, bracelets, plant hangers, and more from scratch.](/images/programs/summer-camp/04_braids.webp) [Register](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/appointment/89744743/calendar/any?categories%5B%5D=2026+Summer+Enrichment+%E2%80%94+Lower+School) ### Details Location Lower & Middle School campus: 62 York Ave., Saratoga Springs Grades Rising 1st graders – rising 5th graders Price $350 per week. $150 will be charged as a deposit at checkout. Schedule 9:00 am – 3:00 pm daily Included Daily snack and all activity materials provided Capacity Limited to 15 children (1 lead teacher + 1 assistant) Daily Rhythm - **9:00 am** Arrival & free play - **10:00 am** Circle time - **10:15 am** Snack (provided) - **10:45 am** Outdoor play and/or themed crafts/activity - **12:30 pm** Lunch - **1:00 pm** Outdoor play and/or themed crafts/activity - **3:00 pm** Pick-up What to Bring Children must bring with them daily: - A backpack - A water bottle - A lunch (please do not pack soda, chocolate, candy, or other sugary snacks) - A sun hat - A pair of water shoes - A bathing suit and towel - A complete change of clothing (no cartoon characters, advertisements, or large logos) - Appropriate outerwear (be sure to check the weather each morning—for rainy weather, children should have rain boots, rain pants, a raincoat, etc.) Forms & Logistics 1. An up-to-date immunization record and physical examination form is required and MUST be received before your child is officially registered for summer camp. Email all medical records and forms to [healthoffice@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:healthoffice@waldorfsaratoga.org) OR via fax to 518-581-1466. Please state on the form "Attn.: School Nurse." 2. An [Authorization to Administer Medication (PDF)](/documents/Authorization_to_Administer_Medication.pdf) form must be completed ONLY if your child will require medication administered while at the program (example: an EpiPen.) Only 15 spots per week [Register for Lower School Summer Program](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=category:2026%20Summer%20Enrichment%20%E2%80%94%20Lower%20School) [Ask a Question](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=Summer%20Camp%20Question) ## Early Childhood Summer Camp For ages 3-6 Registration Full Please email [admissions](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) if you would like to be placed on the waitlist. Our Forest program is designed to engage children in exploration of their environment. Our Forest campus is located on Spa State Park land, which features numerous forested hiking trails and ample yard space for climbing, gardening, digging, playing, and working. A restored farmhouse provides a nurturing indoor space and respite from extreme weather. Each week is led by a particular theme of focus, and water play will be incorporated each day to provide fun and relief from those hot summer days. Join us for a summer of fun, exploration, and adventure at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs Summer Camp! ![Children exploring nature at the Forest campus summer program](/images/programs/summer-camp/summer1.webp) ### Details Location Forest campus: 45 Kaydeross Ave. W., Saratoga Springs Ages 3-6 (Please note that children must be able to use the bathroom independently before enrolling) Dates June 22 – August 14, 2026 Sign-Up Available in one-week increments Price $350/week ($280 for 4th of July week) Schedule 9:00 am – 3:00 pm daily. No camp July 3. Before/Aftercare Not provided Included Daily snack and all activity materials provided Capacity Limited to 20 children (1 lead teacher + 2 assistants) Daily Rhythm - **9:00 am** Arrival & free play - **10:00 am** Circle time - **10:15 am** Snack (provided) - **10:45 am** Forest walk - **12:30 pm** Lunch - **1:00 pm** Themed crafts/activity - **3:00 pm** Pick up What to Bring Children must bring with them daily: - A backpack - A packed lunch (**Note:** We are a STRICT nut-free and sesame-free campus. No exceptions.) - A water bottle - A sunhat - A lightweight long-sleeved shirt and long pants (for protection from bites, scratches, poison ivy, ticks, etc., while in the forest) - A bathing suit, plus an extra set of clothes and shoes (no cartoon characters, advertisements, or large logos) - Appropriate outerwear (please check the weather each morning—for rainy weather, children should have rain boots, rain pants, a raincoat, etc.) Forms & Logistics 1. An up-to-date immunization record and physical examination form is required and MUST be received before your child is officially registered for summer camp. Email all medical records and forms to [healthoffice@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:healthoffice@waldorfsaratoga.org) OR via fax to 518-581-1466. Please state on the form "Attn.: School Nurse." 2. An [Authorization to Administer Medication (PDF)](/documents/Authorization_to_Administer_Medication.pdf) form must be completed ONLY if your child will require medication administered while at the program (example: an EpiPen.) Our Early Childhood is sold out. Registration is full for this summer. [Email us to join the waitlist](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=Early%20Childhood%20Summer%20Camp%20Waitlist) [Ask a Question](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=Summer%20Camp%20Question) ## Summer Chess Camp In partnership with Albany Chess Center ![Children playing chess at Albany Chess Center summer camp](/images/programs/summer-camp/chess.webp) Albany Chess Center is bringing a structured, instructor-led chess experience to our school this summer. We are partnering with Albany Chess Center to host 1 week of Summer Chess Camp from June 29 to July 3, 2026 for ages 5-12. Parents can choose from the following attendance options based on what works best for their schedule: - Half-Day AM - Morning session - Half-Day PM - Afternoon session - Full-Day - A complete day of chess instruction and activities Optional add-ons are also available to make the experience even more convenient and enjoyable for your child. More information can be found at [albanychesscenter.com](https://albanychesscenter.com/index.html#summer-camp). Registration Closed #### Summer Programs - [Lower School (grades 1-5)](#lower-school) - [Early Childhood (ages 3-6)](#early-childhood) Questions? Reach out to our Admissions Office. [admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org) [(518) 587-2224](tel:+15185872224) [Reserve Your Spot](#programs) ## The best way to experience our school is to take a tour. # The best way to experience our school is to take a tour. Choose an option below to meet us. [Early Childhood Toddler – Age 6](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/?appointmentType=71870410) [Lower & Middle School Grades 1–8](https://waldorfschoolofsaratogasprings.as.me/schedule/c18fa97c/?appointmentTypeIds[]=94365816) Don't see a time that works? [Email us at admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org](mailto:admissions@waldorfsaratoga.org?subject=Tour%20Request) and we'll find one. ## Your tour is confirmed # Your tour is confirmed We can't wait to welcome your family to campus. Thank you for booking a visit. You'll receive a confirmation email from our scheduler with the date, time, and directions. If anything comes up, just reply to that email or call us at [(518) 587-0549](tel:+15185870549). While you wait, you might explore: [See what tuition could look like](/affordability) [Back to home](/) ## Request a Transcript # Request a Transcript Please complete this form and our Registrar will assist you. Student first name \* Student last name \* Email \* Phone Mailing address Did you graduate from the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs? Yes No Graduation year, or last school year at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs \* Please send my transcript to the following school(s) or program(s) Special instructions Sign me up for school news and updates Submit ## Windows Into Waldorf # Windows Into Waldorf A Glimpse of What’s Possible Join us for Windows into Waldorf, a free live Zoom session for prospective families. Live on Zoom · Free to attend - Tuesday, October 20, 2026 7:00 PM ET [Register](https://waldorfsaratoga-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/kdBXVFKGQ_-DX_X_8suC7w) - Monday, November 16, 2026 7:00 PM ET [Register](https://waldorfsaratoga-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/23MVLSWtTOWDkincnxFK8g) - Wednesday, January 27, 2027 7:00 PM ET [Register](https://waldorfsaratoga-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/ejETouhNRZe7VHv5ELUsvw) - Wednesday, February 24, 2027 7:00 PM ET [Register](https://waldorfsaratoga-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/bcyxZ-cPQReVWGogOyKHCQ) - Monday, March 15, 2027 7:00 PM ET [Register](https://waldorfsaratoga-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/kSZP4AcuRJSaVhWEV3MJPA) - Monday, April 12, 2027 7:00 PM ET [Register](https://waldorfsaratoga-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/O-FYnzVSQ3mB2BeP9xxB7g) Register for one session or for all of them. Zoom sends your join link by email. Join our experienced Waldorf Teacher, Karen Crandall, and Admissions Director, Marthe Matthews, for a welcoming introduction to Waldorf education and the ways it supports children’s growth, curiosity, and love of learning. Wondering how the Waldorf approach supports reading and math—or why movement is such an important part of each school day? We’ll explore these topics and more. ![A teacher leans over a student’s main lesson book, reading a hand-lettered story about a little plant rising to see the outside world.](/images/windows/windows-main-lesson-960.webp)