A Waldorf education emphasizes the role of the imagination and focuses on developing thinking that includes creative as well as analytic components. It includes an interdisciplinary curriculum that is structured to respond to the three developmental phases of childhood: from birth to approximately 6 or 7 years, from 7 to 14 years and from 14 to 18 years.
The Waldorf philosophy views education as an art, with each subject presented in a manner that speaks to the child's developmental stage. Each subject is presented through direct experience and is usually augmented with art, poetry, music, drama and movement. The teacher’s aim is to draw out the children’s inherent capacities by creating an atmosphere in the classroom that fills the children with interest, wonder and enthusiasm.