Waldorf teachers are dedicated to creating a genuine love of learning within each child. By freely using arts and activities in the service of teaching academics, an internal motivation to learn is developed in the students, doing away with the need for competitive testing and grading. The letters are introduced artistically in class 2, with the children learning to read from their own writing in class 2 or 3. In the younger grades, all subjects are introduced through artistic mediums, because the children respond better to this medium than to dry lecturing and rote learning. All children learn to play recorder and to knit.
Upper grades use textbooks to supplement their main lesson work.
All children learn a stringed instrument from class 3 onwards. Learning in a Waldorf school is a non-competitive activity. The use of electronic media, particularly television, by young children is strongly discouraged in Waldorf schools. The Waldorf curriculum is designed to be responsive to the various phases of a child's development. The era of human history being studied corresponds in many ways with the stage of development of the child.