Our Philosophy:
Meeting the Student at Each Stage of Development
🌿 Spring River: Holistic Homeschool Programming
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Flexible Options for Northeast Florida Families
Spring River offers flexible programming and support to the growing homeschool community in Northeast Florida. We welcome families seeking a holistic, Waldorf-inspired education, whether for a whole week of learning or a part-time experience to supplement other homeschool choices. We’re here to support your child’s educational journey and your family’s homeschool lifestyle. Whether you join us for classes, festivals, playdates, or parent education events, all are welcome in the Spring River community!
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🌱 A Developmental Approach
Spring River’s curriculum is built around a unique horizontal and vertical framework. From kindergarten through high school, we offer age-appropriate content that meets children at their developmental stage, supporting the growth of thinking (head), feeling (heart), and willing (hands).
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Kindergarten
Our Kindergarten class supports homeschooling families during this final stage of early childhood. Designed for 5- and 6-year-olds who are “ready for more,” our program provides rich, meaningful experiences that meet the child’s needs through movement, play, creativity, and nature immersion—not early academics.
We emphasize:
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Motor skill development through movement and outdoor play
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Imaginative thinking through storytelling, puppetry, and art
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Social-emotional growth through shared experiences and rhythm
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Seasonal rhythms that guide our stories, songs, and creative work
Daily nature walks to the forest and nearby beach provide grounding and inspiration as the natural world becomes a living classroom.
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Grades 1–3: A World of Wonder
Ages 7 to 9 are a time of eager learning and deepening imagination. At Spring River, we nurture this phase with:
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Story-rich main lessons
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Artistic integration of math and literacy
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Movement and music woven into daily learning
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Loving teacher guidance in a rhythm-based environment
Students learn through their memory, movement, and imagination, with a strong emphasis on beauty, repetition, and connection to the natural and spiritual world.
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Grades 4–5: Entering the Physical World
Around age nine, children begin to experience a separation from the world around them. This is known as the "nine-year change." Our curriculum helps students navigate this threshold through:
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More independent thinking and inquiry
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Lessons that explore geography, local history, and myth
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Artistic and academic balance to meet the growing intellect
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Social dynamics supported with compassionate guidance
Children explore their place in the world, develop resilience, and deepen peer relationships.
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Grades 6–8: Will in Motion
As early adolescents, students begin to turn their gaze outward—testing ideas, questioning authority, and seeking purpose. Our program supports this stage with:
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Complex projects that build confidence and independence
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Emphasis on articulation and self-expression
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Physical, social, and artistic challenges
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Practical arts such as woodworking, handwork, and movement
Our curriculum guides students toward seeing their gifts as needed in the world, while encouraging responsibility, skill, and self-awareness.
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High School: Seeking and Self-Knowledge
High school students are ready to explore abstract thought and deep questions. Our high school curriculum offers:
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Academic rigor through interdisciplinary studies
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Integrated practical, artistic, and conceptual learning
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Electives designed to promote balance, creativity, and purpose
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Encouragement of intellectual curiosity and ethical thinking
Students emerge with a stronger sense of self, direction, and responsibility, ready to engage the world with heart and clarity.
Learn More About Our Programs
Early Years & Kindergarten
Lower School (1-5)
Upper School (6-8)
Note: Spring River’s 7th/8th Grade Class is a blended group for school year 2024-25 which will cover both curriculums in a way that meets the needs of each student.
Homeschool Enrichment Classes
High School (9-12)
The Class Teacher (Grades 1-8)
At Spring River, each class has a core teacher that stays with them for multiple years. This continuity enhances the children's learning in both academic and social aspects and allows the teacher to develop a deep understanding of the child as a whole and of the class as a community.
The Main Lesson
At Spring River, the “Main Lesson” is fundamental which is a two-hour period of concentrated study for grades 1-8 that begins each school day, following circle time, when students are most prepared for sustained effort. In Main Lesson, we study a core academic theme for a “Main Lesson Block” of three to four weeks, inviting in-depth exploration and learning into one of the core subjects - language arts, science, mathematics, geography, and history. This allows the class teacher time to explore each subject in-depth and to approach it in a "whole child" fashion, bringing in poetry, movement, drama, modeling, painting, and the potential for field trips or other exploration. In this way, the students' intellectual learning is combined with artistic and practical work.
Main Lesson Books
During Main Lesson blocks, the students each create their own Main Lesson Book. These beautiful books are organized, ongoing records of the students' work and are filled with observations, illustrations, diagrams, stories, and essays. This act of generating one's own artistic "textbook" is one of the unique parts of the Spring River Experience.
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Special Subject Classes
In addition to Main Lesson, we offer special subjects such as handwork, nature immersion, medieval nature quests, music, Spanish, form drawing, painting, modeling, drama, woodworking (7-8), and (for grades 3-8) curriculum-related field trips.
For more details see our Special Subject page or visit the individual grade description.
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Forest School and Nature Hikes and Immersion:
From our earliest days, Spring River has honored the relationship between growing children and nature, and ensured that outdoor time was an essential component of our school day. Now, as an outdoor school, our students are immersed in nature every day and engage in forest trail and beach walks in all weather. First-hand experiences and observations of nature are at the heart of all of our programs. We also offer a unique and more in-depth one day Forest School Enrichment Class for families seeking that experience to complement their homeschool studies.