A new private micro-school will open this year in Eastern Idaho. Rooted Meadows School uses something called the Waldorf Method for teaching students. Rachael Sparhawk is the founder of the school.
When living abroad in South America, Sparhawk found herself homeschooling her children. While researching education methods, she discovered the Waldorf method.
“When we moved back to the United States, we put our children in a private Waldorf school in Washington and had an amazing experience,” Sparhawk said. “But then we really wanted to move closer back to family. And there was no Waldorf school in that area. And so I was like, ‘Okay, we'll make one.’”
Beginning in the early 1900s, the Waldorf education method became the largest independent school movement in the world. It is a holistic individualized approach that focuses on intellectual, physical and artistic growth through creative means.
“It becomes very intentional and very meaningful,” Sparhawk said. “It is based on what is age appropriate, according to what the child is needing to learn and how they learned best at that age.”
Rooted Meadows will be different than a standard private Waldorf school, offering lower costs through a hybrid homeschool teaching system.
“In short, the core classes would be taught by the certified Waldorf teachers,” Sparhawk said. “And those are the main lessons where they learn science, math, language, arts, social studies and history, while the extracurricular classes are taught by parents and volunteers.”
Rooted Meadows plans to offer a shorter school day, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. four days a week, with an extended year. The school also will have an emphasis on agriculture and farming, with a farm to table program.
“From kindergarten to eighth grade, they're going to be learning and working gardens on the farm, learning how using stuff from the garden and farms for cooking, for fiber arts, construction with natural materials, things like that,” Sparhawk said.
Rooted Meadows School is holding a scavenger hunt across Rexburg and Idaho Falls with help from local businesses. The “Where’s Waldorf” scavenger hunt begins in March. Posters have been placed in local storefronts, with clues to answer: What is Waldorf education? Participants who find all ten clues and fill out a completion form will have the chance to win various prizes, including gift baskets, gift cards, and other items.
Find enrollment information, details about the Waldorf approach and more information about the school on the Rooted Meadows website.