The Main Lesson takes place from 8:30 – 10:30 each morning and presents an in-depth study of a subject for three to four weeks. The subject classes, four per day, are 45 minutes long. The Main Lessons are taught primarily by the Class Teacher, who stays with the class in a cycle of grades 1 – 8, grades 1 – 5, or grades 6 – 8, to bring continuity to the class and to develop a deep understanding of each student and his or her needs and interests.

Subject Classes
Specialty subjects are taught by subject teachers, who meet with students two to four times per week.

Handwork
In the handwork and practical arts curriculum at Shining Mountain, we consciously cultivate manual dexterity in order to further cognitive development. Handwork and practical arts are integrated at all grade levels – not simply to teach a skill, but to support every student’s unfolding as a well-balanced individual with self-confidence. We recognize that both simple crafts and modern technology are creations of the human imagination. Therefore, students receive fundamental skills and understanding to develop and evolve future technology.

For first and second grade, children learn to knit and sew. In third grade they learn to crochet, and certain blocks in the curriculum involve basketry, spinning, weaving, and gardening. In fourth grade, the children take up cross-stitch. In fifth grade, children learn how to knit with four needles; woodworking is now added and continues through eighth grade. Sixth grade brings the opportunity to design and hand-sew an animal. Seventh grade progresses to hand-sewn dolls and doll clothing, and eighth grade involves sewing clothes on a treadle sewing machine.

Eurythmy
The word “eurythmy” means beautiful, harmonious rhythm. This Waldorf class attempts to make visible through movement the forms that sounds create in the air, ordinarily perceived only by the ear. In eurythmy class, students progress from simple clapping and walking in different rhythms to group exercises with copper rods, which require considerable skill and timing. A number of exercises develop social sensitivity, heightening children’s awareness of each other’s place in the group.

Chorus
Although children sing almost daily in the early grades, more formal choral work begins in fourth grade and continues with the fifth-sixth grade choir and the seventh-eighth grade choir. Choral work brings a strong harmonizing and humanizing force into a child’s life and enhances social awareness, such as having to match pitch with another or cooperate to balance voices.

Instrumental Music
Along with chorus the instrumental program develops the innate musicality every child is born with. In first grade children learn to play a simple pentatonic flute. In third grade they advance to the soprano recorder and choose to play either the cello or the violin. A strings ensemble begins in fifth grade and continues through eighth grade. Some students may switch to a wind instrument in fifth grade and form a winds ensemble in seventh grade.

Foreign Languages
Our foreign language program starts in first grade with two languages: Spanish and German, chosen for their contrasting language structure and cultures. In the early grades the focus is a cultural experience through stories, drama, songs, food, festivals, and customs. Gradually, the particulars of grammar and writing are introduced. Immersed in new sounds, discovering different names for familiar experiences and objects, children find a fresh way of relating to the world. Moreover, their brains are activated in new ways and additional myelination takes place, which fosters a greater flexibility in their thinking.

Physical Education
At Shining Mountain the movement curriculum recognizes that healthy physical activity lays the foundation for healthy brain development; enhances physical, emotional, ethical, and spiritual aspects of the human being; and provides a vital pathway for self-exploration. We structure our program to strengthen different abilities at each stage of development. Cooperative games in the early grades yield to competitive sports in middle school and high school. Circus arts, such as juggling, riding the unicycle, and tumbling, improve posture, balance, coordination, self-confidence, and strength.

Man is so made that whenever anything fires his soul…impossibilities vanish.

La Fontaine