Curriculum

Celebrating Twenty Years
1996 ~ 2016

Dances of Universal Peace At the start of every school week, all students and their teachers come together for Dances of Universal Peace. The idea is that we begin our week by moving together in harmony . These dances were introduced to the world in the 1960s by Samuel Lewis, a scholar of Buddhism, Judaism and Sufism, advocate of organic agriculture, and international proponent of world peace. Lewis believed that if people could eat, dance and pray together, there would be peace on Earth; teaching these dances formed part of his mission.

The dances, most of which are performed in a circle, combine simple movements with songs and chants from spiritual traditions from around the world. The themes honor peace, love, the Divine, nature, and the unity of humanity. Through the music, our students become acquainted with foreign phrases, names and stories from various cultures. Rudolf Steiner died in 1925; Dances of Universal Peace did not begin until the late 1960s. While not formally part of the Waldorf curriculum, Dances of Universal Peace are very much in keeping with the spirit and purpose of Waldorf-inspired education. Waldorf education came into being in the aftermath of World War I, when some forward-thinking individuals felt the need for a new type of education. They asked philosopher Rudolf Steiner to develop a new kind of school: one that would help children become harmonious citizens who would create a just and peaceful society. The result was Waldorf education. Dances of Universal Peace fully support these aims. .

Hearthstone School offers an in-depth curriculum that brings academics to life through arts and the natural world, awakens the imagination, opens the heart, and engages the hands by developing each child's ability to think clearly, feel deeply and act purposefully. Hearthstone is an active partnership of students, teachers, families, and community members who create an atmosphere of safety, belonging, and mutual support. 

Hearthstone's arts-based, integrated curriculum is based on a holistic vision of the child. Respectful regard for the sanctity of the individual is taught. Expectations for learning are developmentally appropriate. The program draws on many models of educational research and draws special inspiration from the Waldorf approach to learning.

Parents are encouraged and expected to be involved in their children's education and in the life of the school. Every family contributes at least eight hours per month towards the work of the school. This is an essential element of our students' success. Admissions are by application.

Hearthstone was founded in 1996 as a parent cooperative for nursery / kindergarten through 12th grades. Hearthstone moved to its current site in 2000 and over the past five years has worked to renovate the lower school building for Nursery through Second Grades, the pottery studio and the main school building. Renovations to the first floor of the main school building were completed in 2004, and now house a large Community Room as well as several therapy offices which will become classrooms as the school continues to grow. Renovations to the lower level of the main school building were completed in the fall of 2005, and now houses the school administration office, classrooms, music room, arts and crafts room, library, kiln room and photography studio.

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Hearthstone is located in Sperryville, Virginia, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains and adjacent to the Shenandoah National Park.

Our students are drawn from the surrounding six-county area of Rappahannock, Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Warren and Page.

Please call 540-987-9212 or email for more information or to arrange a visit.

Hearthstone School's mailing address is P.O. Box 247, Sperryville, VA 22740.

Hearthstone welcomes students of every race, color, gender, religion, ethnicity or national origin.