from STLKIds Magazine

Tucked away, in North Webster Groves, is a magical place – Shining Rivers Waldorf School. Almost unrecognizable as a school from the outside, this special and unique campus consists of two schoolhouses in residential homes surrounded by a large natural meadow featuring stacked tree trunks, sand pits and ropes. Welcoming, homelike classrooms are filled with natural toys and beautiful objects of art and nature, limitless in the eyes of a child. Students experience the change of seasons, watching our gardens and playing outside in the sun, rain and snow.

Shining Rivers is St. Louis' Waldorf school. Based on the insights of Scientist and philosopher Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Waldorf schools have developed into an international movement with over 950 schools worldwide. By offering a learning method that strives to meet the physical, emotional, and intellectual dimensions of the developing child, Shining Rivers Waldorf School integrates artistic activities and the movement throughout the curriculum, providing a balanced and well-rounded education since 1992.

Waldorf education is noted for:

• A detailed, richly artistic curriculum that recognizes the developmental stage of children in each grade, allowing students to relate age-appropriate content to their own experiences, and become interested and engaged in their own education.
• Teachers that strive to transform education into an art that reaches the whole child - – the heart, hands and head.
• Developing capacities as well as skills so that their students will become self-aware, compassionate, independent thinkers with a sense of responsibility for the Earth.

Shining Rivers families appreciate the compassionate communication of the faculty, a strong sense of community and the peaceful atmosphere of the campus. They are happy to know that their children spend ample time outdoors each day, receive healthy, organic snacks, and enjoy classrooms that are free of media and advertising. Most importantly, families are inspired each day by the lessons their children share upon returning home - reciting poetry, recalling tales of ancient civilizations, knitting, singing and more.

Experience SRWS for yourself - learn more about our upcoming enrollment events at www.shiningrivers.org. Tours held monthly, open house events in January, March and May. Now enrolling Pre-K through Grade Five.