Curriculum

In our school, being different is celebrated and becoming a responsible freethinking individual is encouraged. Each child’s development is carefully and lovingly guided so that he or she is to have a firm foundation for becoming a socially balanced and productive adult. Every child has his or her own needs, own temperament and own level of capability relative to thought, feeling and action.

Our teachers aim to become worthy authorities and role models for the pupils. Here, teachers accept that each child is a soul that needs to be nurtured, and that each lesson is carefully planned in order to awaken strengths that lay within each human being that will later become the foundations for healthy character building. Commitment, care and positivity foster mutual respect and help to develop self-discipline in the child. Teachers work imaginatively and are challenged to bring originality, creativity, rhythm and movement into the lessons.

Class teachers move with their classes through the Primary School and for a limited period in the High school. Through this, a deeper understanding develops between the pupils and their teacher. Throughout the years, the class teacher and the parents form a co-operative relationship central to the growing child.

At Khanyisa, we have observed that most children are very happy to be outdoors and in nature and that this allows the natural world to perform its wonders and to help heal any broken spirits that are weighed on by materialism and modern living demands. The type of education offered at Khanyisa School therefore, allows for art, science, logic, creativity, imagination and experiential learning to integrate into a holistic education for life.

Waldorf Education recognises three main stages within a child’s development. The curriculum meets these three stages in various ways through the three main stages of childhood.

The first stage is the EARLY CHILDHOOD STAGE, which stretches from birth to around 7 years, when the child loses their first teeth. During this early stage, the life forces within that child work mainly through their will capacities or actions. The child learns everything through imitation. The Waldorf curriculum is designed to meet this stage by learning through play with a focus on reverence for life.

The second developmental stage is the PRIMARY SCHOOL or MIDDLE CHILDHOOD STAGE, which lasts from about 7 years of age until the onset of puberty around 14 years. During this period, children learn through imagination and emotion or feeling. The curriculum meets the growing life forces in the child through storytelling, picture thinking, beautiful artistic forms and experiences by stimulating the child’s imagination in order to enhance learning.

The third stage of development is the HIGH SCHOOL or ADOLESCENT STAGE. This period extends from around 14 years until 21. This remarkable stage or crossing from childhood into adulthood marks the birth of the thinking consciousness. Lessons are geared towards healthy judgement and critical thinking. Children are on the search for truth and now experience the incredible power of thought.