As children lose their first teeth and enter middle childhood of seven to fourteen, they begin to approach life through Feeling. Artistic and hands-on experiences, as well as rich stories that evoke their pictorial memory are their vehicles for learning. Their thinking is not yet abstract, and over-intellectualizing content should be avoided. They should be presented with opportunities to come into relationship with the world, introduced to many things through the passionate relationship a teacher has for the content. Teachers strive to demonstrate enthusiasm and wonder for the world, as well as stand with resolve and natural authority. They bring awareness to the ever-present Beauty in the world and instill a curiosity, that will in turn, develop into Love and Respect for it.

In the typical Waldorf-inspired elementary school program, children are guided by a class teacher who begins with the first grade and ideally carries the same group of children through the eighth grade. At City of Fountains, grades classes may be carried by their lead teach through either fifth or eighth grade.

The goal of the grade school program is to support all students in developing their highest potential by encouraging the child’s artistic, creative, and imaginative life and by providing a strong base in academic studies. Subjects are taught in such a way that the whole child is involved in the learning process, from writing and illustrating their own lesson books beginning in Grade 1, to building shelters in Grade 3, and acting out stories from Norse Mythology in Grade 4. Daily and frequently students engage in movement that supports their incarnation process (gradual increase in self-consciousness) and solidifies their cognitive understanding of academic concepts.

The Waldorf Curriculum provides an interdisciplinary approach to a wide range of academic subjects including mathematics, grammar, botany, zoology, chemistry, physics, physiology, history and geography in blocks that span multiple weeks per subject. Teachers strive to bring the subject alive, first within themselves, and then through their presentation to awaken the enthusiasm and interest of the students. Additionally, students learn through specialty subject classes such as music, foreign language, movement and handwork.