Experiential Learning: Why Children Learn Best by Doing A growing body of international research confirms what many educators have long understood: children learn best when they are actively involved in what they are learning. This approach is known as experiential...

Education Designed for a Different Time — and One That Still Serves the Future This TED Talk by Aylon Samouha offers an important reminder: modern schooling is not broken. It is doing exactly what it was designed to do — over a century ago. Schools were built to...

When Education Listens to the Child This poem by Let’s Make A Difference gives voice to an experience many children struggle to put into words. It speaks of classrooms that prioritise compliance over connection, performance over presence, and measurement over meaning....

Our 2025 Growing Together newsletter reflects on a remarkable year at The Waldorf School and The High School at Rosemary Hill. From kindergarten rhythms and hands-on learning experiences like the Grade 3 Wheat Journey, to entrepreneurial projects, festivals,...

What Should Children Study in the Age of AI? This question was sparked by a reel shared by The Economist, reflecting a growing concern among educators and parents alike: when technology is evolving faster than school curricula, what truly prepares children for the...

Why Class Plays Matter in Waldorf EducationMore than a performance — part of the curriculum In Waldorf schools, the class play is never simply a show at the end of term. It is a carefully held part of the curriculum and a rich learning process that unfolds over weeks...

Why Nature Belongs In The Classroom  Learning doesn’t begin with textbooks or tablets — it begins in the garden, under the trees, and  within the rhythm of the seasons. Here, nature isn't an extra activity; it's the living, breathing classroom where curiosity, calm...

Our September edition of The Sprig captures the vibrant rhythm of Term 3 at The Waldorf School at Rosemary Hill. From Kindergarten spring activities and the Class 3 wheat and house-building projects, to the Class 4 Norse-inspired play, camps, cycling achievements and...

“Receive the children in reverence; educate them in love; and send them forth in freedom.” — Rudolf Steiner Every parent knows that choosing a school isn’t only about academics, it’s about finding a place where your child will be truly seen.Rudolf Steiner’s words...

Part 2 of “Learn to Change the World” – the Waldorf 100 film – takes us deeper into an education that nurtures the whole child. It shows how Waldorf schools across the globe are building resilience, empathy and courage in young people. From Jewish and Arab children...

Wondering what Waldorf education is really about? If you’re curious about how Waldorf schools approach learning, this short film is a wonderful place to begin. “Learn to Change the World” asks the big questions every parent holds close: - What does my child need to...

When parents set out to choose a school, they often begin with the obvious checklist: exam results, sport fixtures and facilities, technology. These are the official signals – public facing indicators of quality and worth. But beneath these questions lies something...

“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be inthe first place.”– Paul Coelho – Being a specialised teacher in a high-performing school environment, I...

Parenting today can often feel like a race - rushing from one milestone to the next, keeping up with schedules, screens, and expectations. An article on Parents.com, “6 Waldorf-Inspired Principles Every Family Should Adopt”, offers a refreshing perspective drawn from...

In today’s digital world, children are spending less time outdoors than ever before. This growing disconnect from nature has been described by journalist Richard Louv as Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD). While not a medical diagnosis, NDD highlights the risks to...

Maths with Meaning: How Waldorf Education Builds Mathematical Confidence for Life In many traditional school settings, mathematics is taught through repetition, memorisation, and an early push into abstract problem-solving. But in Waldorf primary schools, the journey...

What Are We Filling Our Children With? Exploring Noise, Moral Imagination, and the Inner Life of the Child Noise isn't just loudness. It's not only traffic, television or toys that beep. In today’s world, noise comes in many forms - from endless Netflix episodes to...

What is Form Drawing—and Why Do Waldorf Children Do It? In many Waldorf classrooms, you’ll find children quietly drawing graceful lines, mirrored curves, and flowing shapes. This is form drawing, a practice that might seem unfamiliar at first glance, but plays a...

Our June edition of The Sprig reflects on an exciting Term 2 at The Waldorf School at Rosemary Hill. Highlights include the Autumn Harvest Festival, the magical Winter Fire Festival, sporting achievements across soccer, cycling and netball, and the everyday learning...

In an age of compartmentalised knowledge and fast-paced academics, it’s easy to forget how naturally children learn. Real learning doesn’t happen in neat, isolated subject boxes - it happens when the world makes sense, when connections are drawn, and when a child is...

Waldorf Education in Real Life: A Path of Head, Heart and Hands What is the true value of a Waldorf education? In a time when education is so often measured by numbers - grades, test scores, and rankings, Waldorf Ways, a beautifully made short film from The Waldorf...

A Day in the Life of a Waldorf Classroom: Where Learning Comes Alive In a world that often rushes childhood and fragments learning into facts and figures, Waldorf education offers something refreshingly different. It offers depth, rhythm, beauty, and meaning. From the...

Connected Letters, Connected Thinking: Why Waldorf Still Teaches Cursive Writing – and How It All Begins in Kindergarten In many modern classrooms, handwriting—particularly cursive writing—is becoming a thing of the past. Left out of curricula like the Common Core, it...

Why We Don’t Grade Children or Give Exams in Primary School A reflection on stress, learning, and what children really need In a recent talk, Dr Gabor Maté — renowned physician and expert in childhood development and trauma — highlighted something many of us have come...

The Hidden Magic of Boredom: Why Your Child Needs Time to Simply Be In today’s fast-paced world, childhood is often hurried. Children are rushed from one activity to the next, their free time filled with screens, structured lessons, and endless stimulation. Boredom,...

Why Waldorf? A Parent’s Reflection & What Makes This Education Different In today’s world of jam-packed schedules, early testing, academic pressure, and constant stimulation, many parents are beginning to ask: Is there a better way to educate our children? For...

  A Winter Festival Near Pretoria, Rooted in Waldorf Tradition Each year, as winter deepens and the nights grow long, our Waldorf School community gathers to celebrate a meaningful seasonal tradition — the St. John’s Festival. This midwinter festival symbolises...

From Kindergarten to Primary School In Waldorf education, we believe that true learning begins with relationship - the kind of deep, respectful connection that grows between teacher and child over time. Whether in the Kindergarten or in the Primary School years, this...

In Waldorf education, we understand that resilience is not built by simply “getting through” hardship. True resilience grows when children face meaningful challenges—ones they care about—supported by loving relationships and a strong sense of purpose. It begins in the...

More than 100 years ago, Austrian philosopher and educational pioneer Rudolf Steiner introduced a revolutionary approach to education—one that remains strikingly relevant today. At the heart of his vision was a simple but powerful idea: that education should nurture...

 Doing the same thing over and over againand expecting different results borders on insanity,or so it was first coined by Albert Einstein. Cleverly spoken. More cleverly used as a cash cowon many a cup, t-shirt, mouse pad or bookmark. Some may argue it to be a chronic...

The first edition of The Sprig for 2025 celebrates a vibrant start to the school year at The Waldorf School at Rosemary Hill. Highlights include the Kindergarten Parents Be Kids Day, student achievements in sport and dance, the Class 2 and 3 Chinese Zodiac play,...

Ever met a kid who’s wise beyond their years?You know, the one who can comfort a crying friend, express themselves clearly without throwing a tantrum (most of the time), and just seems to get people? Chances are, they’ve got emotional intelligence in spades. At The...

Our final edition of The Sprig for 2024 celebrates a year of transformation and growth at The Waldorf School at Rosemary Hill. Highlights include the Kindergarten’s St Martin’s celebration, the school’s first wheat harvest from The Patch, student achievements in...

This edition of The Sprig reflects on a lively Term 3 at The Waldorf School at Rosemary Hill. Highlights include the Class 3 greenhouse building project at The Patch, inspiring student performances such as the Norse mythology play The Apples of Iduna and the Class 2...

Our June edition of The Sprig reflects on a lively winter term at The Waldorf School at Rosemary Hill. Highlights include the much-loved Winter Festival, the Class 6 performance of The Odyssey, the Class 7 camp adventure in the Free State, sporting achievements across...

The first edition of The Sprig introduces the vibrant life of The Waldorf School at Rosemary Hill. Highlights include the PBK Day celebration with the Kindergarten, student sporting activities, creative classroom projects, outdoor learning adventures on the farm, and...

Unlock Your Child’s Potential: Key Criteria for Choosing the Best Private School   In the dynamic landscape of South African education, we understand that finding the perfect learning environment for your child can be a rewarding yet overwhelming task. Say...

We encounter rhythm on a daily, almost momentary basis. Rhythm is all around us – think of the rhythmic timing of the seasons, the tides of the ocean and the multi-layered biological rhythms of our brains and bodies, controlling everything from our heart rates to our...

The Waldorf School, in conjunction with Rosemary Hill Stables, will be hosting a Summer Camp from 5 to 9 December 2022. Throw your toothbrush, cozzie and sunscreen in a bag and join us for a jam-packed adventure on Rosemary Hill Farm:        ...

What is St John’s? Waldorf schools around the world have many things in common, most notably our celebration of seasonal festivals. They help instil consciousness of the rhythms of nature, the passing of time, celebrating life and community and become highlights in...

Many of my helicopter-parenting peers (Gen X and Millenial parents) have strong views on whether they will, or won’t, consider boarding as a schooling option for their offspring. Most of us have either experienced boarding first-hand or can recount tales told (in all...