Linden Waldorf School

🌟 Key Highlights: Linden Waldorf School

Linden Waldorf School (LWS) is a private, independent school in Nashville, Tennessee, and is part of the international Waldorf education movement. It is committed to providing a holistic, experiential education that integrates academic rigor with the arts, movement, and practical skills, nurturing the student’s intellectual, emotional, and spiritual capacities at each stage of development.

🏫 Overview

• Type: Private / Independent Waldorf School

• Location: Nashville, Tennessee (Crieve Hall Area)

• Grades Served: Preschool (PK) – 8th Grade (with a Parent-Child Program for infants and toddlers)

• Enrollment: Approximately 150–200 students

• Core Mission: To offer a curriculum guided by the principles of Waldorf education, nurturing the whole child—the head (thinking), the heart (feeling), and the hands (willing)—and preparing them to be free-thinking, morally responsible individuals.

• Affiliation: Member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA).

• Focus: Dedicated education from early childhood through middle school, emphasizing a developmentally appropriate, arts-integrated curriculum.

✅ What Makes the School Unique?

LWS is defined by its deep commitment to the Waldorf method, developmental approach, and integrated curriculum:

• Waldorf Method & Developmental Stages: The curriculum is based on the three distinct developmental stages of childhood, with an emphasis on imaginative play in the early years, artistic expression and feeling in the elementary years, and intellectual rigor and moral responsibility in the middle school years.

• Arts Integration: The Arts are fully integrated into all academic subjects, not treated as supplements. Activities like painting, music (flute, strings), drawing, modeling, handwork (knitting, weaving), and Eurythmy (expressive movement) are core components of the daily academic program.

• No Textbooks in Early Grades: Instead of relying on traditional textbooks, students create their own Main Lesson Books that contain the material they study, fostering deeper engagement and ownership of the material.

• Main Lesson Block System: Core subjects (like Math, Science, and History) are taught in concentrated blocks lasting several weeks, allowing students to immerse themselves deeply in one subject before moving to the next.

• Teacher Continuity (Looping): Teachers often stay with the same class for multiple years (grades 1–8), serving as the “Class Teacher.” This continuity creates exceptionally strong student-teacher relationships and deep understanding of each child’s needs.

• Emphasis on Practical Skills: Students receive instruction in practical life skills and crafts (e.g., gardening, woodworking), connecting intellectual learning to physical work.

📞 Contact Information