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Imagination-Rich Learning

Nurturing the intellect, imagination, and emotional life of each child.

Wasatch Charter School fully delivers the content and competencies outlined in the Utah Core Standards during the progression from K–8, but in addition to developing these skills, WCS uses Waldorf methods and curriculum to immerse children in the arts and an environment that nurtures their emerging capacities at each age.

Educating the Whole Child.

In a world of accelerating change and increasing uncertainty, what values will help inspire and sustain children as they become young adults? Unlike past generations, children today can expect to have several careers during their lives, and they can expect to be lifelong learners because many of the jobs they will have don't yet exist. The pace of change today is accelerating as never before in history.

How can we prepare a generation that will be comfortable with change and will have the tools and the willingness to confront and solve the many problems of our global society, instead of sinking into cynicism or apathy?

The importance of storytelling, of the natural rhythms of daily life, of the evolutionary changes in the child, of art as the necessary underpinning of learning, and of the aesthetic environment as a whole – all basic to Waldorf education for the past 70 years – are being “discovered” and verified by researchers unconnected to the Waldorf movement.

Paul Bayers

Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University

Developmentally Aligned

Curriculum Overview

WCS is a valuable option for families seeking whole child centered education where children learn reading and writing, mathematics, history, geography, and the sciences, while also learning to sing, play a musical instrument, draw, paint, model clay, carve and work with wood, act in plays, do handwork such as knitting and sewing, speak a foreign language, think critically and independently, and work harmoniously and respectfully with others. WCS fully delivers the content and competencies outlined in the Utah Core Standards during the progression from K–8, but in addition to developing these skills, WCS uses Waldorf methods and curriculum to immerse children in the arts and an environment that nurtures their emerging capacities at each age.

Curriculum by Grade Specialty Classes

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Kindergarten

We provide a beautiful and warm, home-like environment that is filled with rhythmic activities indoor and out.

Free play allows children to develop the capacity for creative thinking, problem solving, and social skills. 

The school year is filled with the work of daily life, stories, crafts and seasonal activities . Movement, Fairy Tales, songs and verse develop in the child a love of language and a strong foundation to further academics in the grades.




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Grades 1-5

First grade teachers continue the work of the Early Childhood and bridge the children into a full grades program.

Stories provide a base for learning numbers, letters, emergent and early reading. All four mathematical processes are introduced and the children learn the pentatonic flute. Specialty classes round out the program including Spanish, Gardening, Eurythmy, and Games. 

As the children continue through fifth grade, language arts and math are built upon cumulatively. Rich stories and class plays that meet the children developmentally, enhance the standard core curriculum. Strings are introduced in 4th grade and in 5th grade, children participate a Greek-inspired, Pentathlon weekend. 


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Middle School

As the child enters the middle school grades, the beginning of higher capacities to think emerge.

Students move into a realm where they will be governed more by their quest for what is true, than by just their feelings and imagination.  

The middle school student is met in this phase with a deep dive into the sciences where lawfulness and order prevail; including astronomy, chemistry, physics, mechanics, physiology.  

In addition, the middle school student emerges from the world of myth and enters a study of history including the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the Age of Discovery, the Renaissance, and the Age of Revolutions.  Both in content development and in ever-increasing mastery of skills, students are met with a curriculum that aligns with their development; allowing seeds that were planted in earlier years to blossom into deep competencies.

Social Emotional Support

Most of the time our children are doing well at school. They are “in the flow.” Sometimes, though, they experience challenges. For one reason or another they feel out of kilter with their teacher and classmates. Their challenges may have to do with the social realm (“They’re being mean to me.”); learning challenges (“Everyone knows how to read except me.”); or, occasionally, acting out, misbehavior, or non-compliant behavior (“I don’t have to if I don’t want to; you can’t make me.”) Social and emotional well-being is a prerequisite for academic success. Wasatch Charter School is committed to providing a foundation for healthy learning by supporting those students who are experiencing challenges. This commitment is the foundation of the curriculum and the heart of our work at Wasatch Charter. 

We have adopted our Three Care Streams of Student Support process in order to provide as much support as possible for students who are experiencing social, disciplinary, or learning challenges. It is based on the work of Kim John Payne, who is respected worldwide for helping children, parents, and teachers navigate challenge as well as conflict.

Student Support