General FAQs About Earthschooling

Earthschooling offers three levels for purchase, each progressively more comprehensive. The first level we offer is a Curriculum Package. This option includes written curriculum, audio files, and teacher tutorial videos. This curriculum is comprehensive. You will not need any additional books or educational materials when you purchase one of our Curriculum Packages. The video tutorials in these packages help you learn how to knit, do wet-on-wet watercolor, create chalk drawings, teach block crayon drawings, and more. These tutorials help you teach the curriculum.

The second level we offer is our Living Lessons Main Lessons Only. In these lessons, a Waldorf-trained teacher will teach your student through a series of pre-recorded asynchronous lessons. These Living Lessons Main Lessons Only provide your student with a full set of main lesson videos for every subject in their grade. These lessons are directed towards the student but can also be used as a teacher education resource. Most students use these lessons directly. However, some teachers, parents, and schools use them as a guide for their own teaching. These lessons are also complete. You will not need any additional books or educational materials when you purchase one of our Living Lessons Main Lessons Only sets.

The third option we offer combines the written lessons and the Living Lessons, and also includes specialty lessons in handwork, music, eurythmy, and art enrichment. This choice is called the Living Lessons Full Curriculum and includes everything in the Living Lessons Main Lessons Only curriculum as well as all the written curriculum, all the audio files, a full set of handwork lessons for the year, a full set of music lessons for the year, monthly eurythmy instruction, and additional art enrichment that goes above and beyond the main lessons.

Once you make your purchase, you can log in with a username and password you choose. Once you are logged in, you can view all the videos, audio files, PDFs, webinars, and tutorials included with your curriculum package. All these items can be viewed/watched/listened to on any mobile device (tablet or phone) or computer. All items can also be downloaded to a USB, hard drive, or mobile device. Curriculum can also be printed. Most of our members print at least the verses and schedule. Beyond that, it depends on each member as to how they use the materials. Some like to print everything, and others use a tablet exclusively. One reason we rely on an online delivery system is that each curriculum package includes numerous videos, MP3s, and webinars in addition to the written curriculum.

Yes, you may receive credit for any of your previous purchases when you upgrade within a year. You will need to fill out a request form on this page here.

Answer: See our list below…
Preschool: 3-5 Years
Kindergarten: 5-6 Years
First Grade: 7-Year-Old
Second Grade: 8-Year-Old
Third Grade: 9-Year-Old
Fourth Grade: 10-Year-Old
Fifth Grade: 11-Year-Old
Sixth Grade: 12-Year-Old
Seventh Grade: 13-Year-Old
Eighth Grade: 14-Year-Old
Ninth Grade: 15-Year-Old
Tenth Grade: 16-Year-Old
Eleventh Grade: 17-Year-Old
Twelfth Grade: 18-Year-Old

Planner Blocks: These lessons cover the same topics as the Subject Blocks; however, we have organized them into a detailed daily planner so you can open it each day and see your lessons laid out for you. All the instructions, recipes, verses, stories, and illustrations are contained in the planner, so you have everything you need on hand for an “open and go” experience. These lessons are ideal for classrooms that include multiple ages, families new to homeschooling or Waldorf-inspired education, or teachers/parents who function best with a firm structure. 

Subject Blocks: These are lessons arranged by subject, with each subject contained in a single set of files. To use these files, the teacher, parent, or (older) student will work through the provided lessons in order. A sample schedule is provided. However, the block system largely functions on the principle that the teacher/parent/student will be able to work through the materials at their own comfortable pace. Parents and teachers who work best with this system have previous experience with Waldorf education.

Curriculum Packages: Curriculum Packages contain both Subject Blocks AND Planner Blocks, so the teacher/parent can try both or switch between them. Curriculum Packages also contain audio files for verses (pre through G4), audio files for stories (pre through G2 at this time), video tutorials for teachers, hundreds of photos of main lesson book pages, access to the Earthschooling forum, access to the Cultural Enrichment pages, and access to the Parent/Teacher Essentials pages (with many basic tutorials).

Yes, the curriculum content is the same whether you purchase it by Planner Block, Subject Block, or by grade. The benefit of purchasing the entire grade year at once is that you receive a large discount, access to the member forum, and numerous teacher tutorials and additional enrichment lessons for your student.

The monthly curriculum offers the following benefits:

1. You pay only $45.00 per month.

2. You will receive access to one page containing all your lessons for the month, along with audio files of the verses and three basic resource files.

The yearly curriculum package offers the following benefits:

1. Your cost for the year is greatly reduced. Instead of paying per month, you pay one low fee up front.

2. You receive a username and password to the website, which allows you to access all your curriculum for the year from any location using a computer,  mobile tablet, or phone. You may also download these files to your computer from the website.

3. You receive access to the Subject Blocks as well as the Planner Blocks so you can choose which method of teaching you want to use or switch between methods during the year (the lessons have the same content).

4. You receive access to the member forum where you can share images and tips with other members, view their photos, and ask questions.

5. You receive a variety of teacher support videos based on the grade you have purchased.

6. You receive access to the “Cultural Enrichment Page,” which includes enrichment lessons in language and additional seasonal and holiday materials.

7. You receive access to the member’s blog where we put additional enrichment lessons and verses as they become available. We also archive all past Waldorf Teacher Q&A sessions here.

8. You receive access to the “Essential Parent/Teacher Guide” page, which contains many documents, webinars, and tutorials that help you learn more about the teaching techniques used in the curriculum.

9. You receive access to an enrichment page and a math problems page. These provide the student with optional enrichment lessons and math practice problems.

You are correct; the language component of the first-grade curriculum may not be a perfect fit. However, he would probably find the other areas quite interesting. During the first-grade year, students learn many core skills. They learn from drawing, knitting, handwork basics, tales that nurture the imagination, storytelling skills (which later become public speaking), wet-on-wet watercoloring, block crayon drawing (used up to 5th grade), and more. During first grade, students also learn a unique way of looking at the four processes of math, which always seems to delight students even if they have ‘learned’ these skills quickly in school before. Even in the public school system, the four processes of math are something children practice over and over until the concepts finally seem to take hold around fifth grade. Read more on our blog post here.

We follow the Waldorf/Block curriculum in our lesson plans. We also offer sets of daily planners (you have access to both as a curriculum package member) that offer the same methods in a scheduled format. This alternative method is similar to the Block method. However, in these daily planners, we have put the individual blocks into a schedule for you. That being said, many members use the curriculum in their own way. Some members even combine Montessori or another program or use “unschooling” style methods.

If a state entity requires documentation demonstrating how the curriculum you use aligns with its Common Core standards, we can provide the requested correlations. These charts often just require us to show available material across different grades and to interpret where some lessons, like “form drawing,” would fit into their “boxes”.

We do not give exams at Earthschooling. However, you may choose to grade your students’ work and use some of the provided material to administer exams if your state/region requires it. Our standard student evaluation method is for students to complete the assigned work in their Main Lesson Book until they demonstrate comprehension and mastery. This means that some students may do the assignment once while others will do it multiple times.

Each time the assignment is done, the teacher will offer feedback. These evaluations can include tasks such as correcting math problems, editing grammar or spelling, or making other observations. If you would like to offer your student an exam, we suggest using the existing assignments and turning them into exams. For example, a math practice worksheet can be an exam or quiz instead of an assignment. Or, an essay assignment could be turned into an essay question on an exam.

The Earthschooling system operates on a “completion and comprehension” model, meaning the student will work through the lesson until they complete and comprehend it, rather than taking an exam after studying the subject briefly. Their completed work goes into a main lesson book, which provides a record and proof of their accomplishment. Parents can choose to grade this final work if needed. This can serve as an “open book exam” if you are required to administer exams by your region.

However, because the system works on comprehension, students are prepared to take any outside exams that your region may require. For example, all of my children took the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) exam, which the state administers to anyone upon request.

Yes, we embrace and leave room for many different cultures in our curriculum. This is how we do it:

1. Our curriculum follows themes each month or each block rather than seasons or holidays. This is so the curriculum can be used in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (we do include holiday and seasonal options for the blocks for those that want to include them).

2. We provide a “Cultural Enrichment Page” that has language lessons in Spanish, French, and Arabic.

3. Our “Cultural Enrichment Page” also includes extra verses and stories in other languages and from other cultures beyond Spanish, French, and Arabic.

4. We include stories from cultures around the world in all of our curriculum. The stories are not all from Grimm’s fairy tales or Western sources – the stories are from around the world. For first-, second-, and third-grade, we even include extra stories that can be used as substitutes for the ones we chose.

5. The curriculum is planned so that stories or lessons can be easily “switched out” if you have something local or cultural you want to include instead. 

6. Our members often share their cultural celebrations on the forum and contribute to the cultural enrichment page, so these resources are always growing.

People all around the world use our curriculum to teach in languages other than English. Although the curriculum itself is in English, we provide a variety of verses in French and Spanish. We also provide lessons that are easily adapted to any country in the world since we work with so many different students. For example, the local geography block in fourth grade provides a daily planner and detailed instructions on which lessons the child will do each day; however, the actual lesson will depend on the local surroundings the child is collecting data from. 

History blocks also include details on how to teach each lesson, making it easy to simply substitute a French history lesson for the one already in place for that block. The only extra task the teacher needs to do in that situation is to find a French history lesson. If you write to us and make a request, we can do that for you. We always fill these requests and then post them on the cultural enrichment page.

Before fourth grade, this is usually not an issue, as children are working on basic language, math, handwork, and craft skills. These lessons, when taught by the parent/teacher, can be easily translated because they do not need to be translated word-for-word. Lessons are taught through stories, and there are tips on how each parent/teacher (even in English) needs to put those stories into their own words. For example, a story about a “Sally” walking around the American countryside can easily be told in the teacher’s own words, with “Sally” replaced by any name and her location set in a local area. I always do that when telling stories. I don’t think I have ever told the same story twice for any lesson, as I always adapt them to my audience. I find it easy to do as I am telling the story. It becomes “second nature” after a while. 

If you do want the children to hear a story in English, or you want to practice the English version, we do provide all the stories in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade as mp3s so you can listen to them. Many of our English-as-a-second-language parent/teachers use these MP3s.

Earthschooling is used in schools around the world and has been approved for use in both public and private schools. The curriculum had to go through an approval process at each school to demonstrate that it meets appropriate standards. In this way, Earthschooling has been accepted and accredited by individual schools. However, because of our international audience, we have not sought accreditation from a single entity, as it would not apply to all of our students, parents, teachers, and schools. You can read more details about our certifications here.

‘Are you accredited’ should not elicit a “yes” or “no” reply from any institution, so we advise caution with any institution that tries to push accreditation as a reason to join their program.

Earthschooling is a secular curriculum. We include the Old Testament stories for literary and historical reasons only and not for religious reasons. However, because some parents or teachers prefer to include these stories later in the student’s educational experience, alternative stories for the “Third Grade Old Testament Block” are available on the “Third Grade Enrichment” page. Also, on the main “Third Grade Curriculum Page” under “Main Lesson Stories,” there is an entire block you can substitute for the “Third Grade Old Testament Block.” It is called the “Third Grade Creation & Origin Myths” block. We included that block to act as a substitute for people who do not want to teach the “Old Testament Block”. However, we also recommend using this secondary block to expand the students’ experiences this year. You can also include/substitute stories from the Cultural Enrichment Pages (for example, the Aboriginal stories).

The description of the third-grade curriculum touches on why students study this block. It says, “By the third grade, children are beginning to comprehend the difference between self and other and wonder where in the scheme of things they belong. To fortify their growing personal identity, they read origin and creation stories (you can choose one or more of the following: Aboriginal, Native American, European, African, Asian, Old Testament, or others). Creation and origin stories give the nine-year-old an inner picture of the vast offerings of the world and the sense of wonder and potential the world holds, provide a foundation for understanding different cultures, and provide a foundation for understanding world literature.”

Because so many authors use references to the Old Testament in advanced literature (Moby Dick, etc.), it is important for the student to become familiar with these stories so they can understand the references later. In Western cultures, it is assumed that most people know these basic stories, so they are referenced in political speeches, magazine articles, and even daily conversation. Some terms have even made their way into modern colloquial speech. If preferred, however, this block can be saved until the student is older. We have provided plenty of other “origin & creation stories” from other cultures for you to share with your students at this point.

Our program is secular in nature and does not follow any religion. Pentagrams are not religious. Although many religions have chosen them as a holy shape, that does not replace their value in math and movement. Circles are, in fact, used as a holy shape in more religions than the pentagram. Pentagrams are introduced briefly in the curriculum as complex form drawings and movement shapes that help the child coordinate brain and complex body movements. Pentagrams are actually the simplest of the “star polygons”, which is why they are used instead of the other stars. However, if you look up “star polygons” on the Internet, you could substitute a more complex star shape if you feel your student is up to the challenge.

Official Definition: A star polygon {p/q}, with p,q positive integers, is a figure formed by connecting with straight lines every qth point out of p regularly spaced points lying on a circumference. The number q is called the polygon density of the star polygon. Without loss of generality, take q<p/2. The star polygons were first systematically studied by Thomas Bradwardine.

Because we work with students, parents, teachers, and schools from around the globe, we keep the curriculum focused on monthly topics rather than seasons or holidays. We do include a light sprinkling of seasonal verses, stories, and lessons for the year, so each month does have a little seasonal “flavor” but is not dependent on it to use the lessons. Each of these verses, stories, and lessons is also flexible.

The majority of the extra seasonal and holiday activities are found in the cultural enrichment lessons, which mesh with the curriculum itself but are set apart from it (these enrichment lessons are provided for free for all curriculum package members and are not part of the curriculum itself but do add more options for holidays and seasonal activities for those that want more).

When a month includes more seasonal activities, we try to make sure they are flexible and offer ideas people can use even when they are not in that season. For example, in January we have some lessons on ice (for winter); however, we also discuss how ice can be used in a fun summer lesson.

The lessons themselves are also designed to be balanced, so you can start at any time of year. This means that the language lessons we have in April, for example, do not require that you have studied the ones in December first. All the lessons are self-contained.

The only exception is the month of “August.” This month does not include any seasonal or holiday events, but it does include all the basics you need for the year, so we always recommend starting with this month or purchasing it to use alongside the month you are starting with.

For our Australian members, we provide the following resources/benefits:

1. A document called “My Waldorf Year in the Southern Hemisphere” that guides you through how to use the curriculum in Australia.

2. A “Cultural Enrichment Page” where we provide additional lessons for Australia, including Australian creation stories for the third grade block, Australian native history stories for the fourth grade geography block, and ideas for celebrating Australia Day. We add additional items to this page upon request.

3. Our science and geography programs are designed to be universal because we have students in all areas of the world. For example, the animals we have chosen to study in the “Man & Animal” block for fourth grade, such as deer, are commonly found in most areas of the world. We also provide a guide to creating lessons for additional animals. Our geography program focuses on geography skills rather than a specific location. However, we do provide ideas and suggestions for students around the world.

4. The curriculum can be started at any time of year. It does not need to be started during a certain month.

Currently, we offer the Earthschooling program in English. However, we do have many ways in which we assist parents and teachers who speak English as a second language:

1. We offer some basic verses in Spanish, French, German, and Arabic for grades preschool through fourth grade on the Cultural Enrichment Pages.

2. We offer some short stories in Spanish and French for early childhood on the Cultural Enrichment Pages.

3. We offer a teacher guide called Language in the Dell that instructs teachers on how to include other languages in the program.

4. We offer mp3s of all the verses and stories for preschool and kindergarten. Mp3s for first-grade stories are coming soon, and we will be working our way through all the grades to continue this service.

5. Mp3s for verses are included for preschool through fourth grade.

6. Our video tutorials for teachers can also be used by students and provide an important visual, rather than audio, instruction.

7. Since you will be telling each story to the students as well as teaching each lesson, you are able to teach in any language. Even in English, I always change the names, locations, and many of the details in each story.

8. Our lessons are all “open and go,” and we keep the instructions basic and easy to follow.

Answer: All of our samples are listed under that grade.  

There are many challenges in creating a secular curriculum for seasonal/holiday activities that provides sufficient quality content for main lesson topics and can be adapted for members around the globe. For this reason, we have created the al Teacher/Parent Guide Page that helps members plan their year

I would like to share my experiences with the curriculum on a social media platform (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc...) - what are the guidelines for sharing and what copyrights should I be careful about when sharing?

When sharing work online, you can share:

1. Your child’s Main Lesson Book work (as images or as them drawing their lesson) 
2. Your child’s painting or samples of their painting work
3. Your child’s writing or samples of their writing work
4. Your child showing what they did that day, such as holding up a doll they made and a page from the Main Lesson Book and talking about their experience.
5. Circle time samples (not the full circle time)
6. Breadmaking, Nature Walks, and other items not related to the curriculum
7. Pages on the website that are open to the public (such as free sample videos, purchase options, etc.)
8. General images of your classroom and general talking about what you are doing, such as “we told Native American stories today” or “we did some gardening lessons today.”

1. Pages from the curriculum
2. Pictures of the inside of the curriculum
3. Pages of the website that are member pages
4. Describing lessons or “the day” in detail
5. Stories from the curriculum
6. Songs from the curriculum
7. Crafts from the curriculum
8. Full lessons from the curriculum
9. Teacher Support videos or writings from the curriculum
10. Any Living Lessons (those are copyrighted by each teacher)
11. Handwork from the curriculum that shows how you made it