Waldorf vs Forest School: How They Differ and How They Fit Together

Waldorf and forest school are often mentioned in the same breath. Both value play, the outdoors, natural materials and a childhood that isn't hurried. Families drawn to one are often drawn to the other, and plenty of Waldorf kindergartens spend whole days in the woods.

But they aren't the same thing. Forest school is an approach to outdoor learning. Waldorf is a whole education. Knowing the difference helps you choose, and it shows how well the two fit together.

Where each comes from

Forest school grew from Scandinavian outdoor life. Danish forest kindergartens took root in the 1950s, and Sweden and Germany (with its Waldkindergärten) followed. The UK Forest School movement is usually traced to 1993, when nursery nurses from Bridgwater College visited Denmark and brought the idea home. Today the Forest School Association in the UK sets out 6 principles. Forest school is a long-term process of regular sessions, in a woodland or natural setting. It's centered on the learner and supports the whole child. It offers supported risk-taking, it's run by qualified practitioners, and it builds a community of learning. In North America the same spirit lives in nature preschools and forest kindergartens, supported by the Natural Start Alliance.

Waldorf education began in 1919, when Rudolf Steiner opened a school in Stuttgart for the children of workers at the Waldorf-Astoria factory. Steiner watched how children develop in roughly 7-year stages, and he was ahead of his time. Much of what he described about the young child's need for movement, imitation and rhythm fits what research on early childhood has since found. Waldorf schools and kindergartens now number in the thousands worldwide.

How the two differ

Scope. Forest school is a way of learning outdoors that can sit inside any setting: a state primary, a nursery, a Waldorf school, a homeschool group. Waldorf is the whole setting: what happens in the morning circle, what the main lesson teaches in grade 3, which festival the school keeps in November.

Who leads. Forest school is child-led within a safe frame: the practitioner prepares the space and follows the children's interests. Waldorf in the early years works through imitation: the adult does meaningful work (baking, sweeping, gardening, singing) and the children join in and play around it. In the grades, the Waldorf teacher leads a main lesson, bringing each subject to life through story and art.

Rhythm. Waldorf builds everything on rhythm: the daily breathing in and out between focused and free time, a weekly rhythm (a painting day, a baking day), and the year's festivals. Forest school has rhythm too, through the regular session and the seasons in the wood, but it doesn't set out the rest of the child's week.

Curriculum. Forest school doesn't follow a subject sequence through the school years. Waldorf does: fairy tales in grade 1, fables and legends in grade 2, farming and building in grade 3, Norse myths in grade 4, and so on, with form drawing, painting, handwork, music and movement throughout.

Risk and tools. Forest school is known for supported risk: fires, knives, tree climbing, with careful risk-benefit judgment. Waldorf kindergartens and schools also value real work and real tools, but forest school makes this a defining feature.

Common ground

• The early years are for play. Neither approach pushes reading and sums on 4-year-olds.
• Natural materials. Sticks, wool, wood, beeswax and water rather than plastic and screens.
• Time outdoors, in all weather. Waldorf kindergartens go out every day, and forest school is outdoors by definition.
• The seasons. Both follow the turning year, the forest school through what changes in the wood, the Waldorf school through its festivals.
• Trust in the child. Both believe children learn by doing, moving and wondering.

When forest school fits best

• You want more time outdoors alongside whatever education your child already has.
• Your child's school runs forest school sessions and you want more of the same at the weekend or in the holidays.
• You're homeschooling with any curriculum and want a regular outdoor day with other children.
• You're drawn to child-led play and supported risk as the centre of the early years.

When Waldorf fits best

• You want a whole education, not only a session, with a curriculum that carries your child from kindergarten through the grades.
• You love the rhythm, stories, festivals and arts: the lantern walk at Martinmas, the Advent spiral, painting, knitting, form drawing.
• You want learning in the grades to be alive and artistic, with each subject brought through story and making.
• You're homeschooling and want a plan for the week and the year, not only for the outdoor day.

Doing both

This is where many families land. A few common patterns:

1. Waldorf kindergarten with forest days. Many Waldorf kindergartens spend one or more full days outdoors each week. If there's one near you, ask about it; you may get both in one place. Our Waldorf Map lists Waldorf and Steiner kindergartens and parent-and-child groups near you.
2. Waldorf at home, forest school once a week. A Waldorf curriculum gives the home week its rhythm and lessons; a local forest school session or outdoor homeschool group gives a day in the woods with friends.
3. A Waldorf co-op that meets outdoors. Many Waldorf homeschool co-ops meet in a park, a farm or a wood for part of the day, with circle time, story and handwork outdoors. See our guide to Waldorf homeschool co-ops.

How to choose

1. Ask what you want the rest of the week to look like. If the answer is "the same as now, plus a day outdoors", forest school is the fit. If the answer is "a different rhythm altogether", look at Waldorf.
2. Visit. Go to a forest school session, and go to a Waldorf kindergarten's open morning or fair. Our list of Waldorf fairs and festivals shows what's coming up near you.
3. Look at the years ahead. Forest school won't change as your child turns 7; Waldorf will, with grade 1 and its main lessons.
4. Remember you don't have to choose only one. The two sit together easily, especially before the age of 7.

Related reading

• Waldorf vs Montessori
• How do I start Waldorf homeschooling?
• The Waldorf homeschool daily rhythm
• Is there a Waldorf homeschool curriculum?
• Waldorf homeschool co-ops and learning pods