How is reading taught in a waldorf school?

How is reading taught in a Waldorf school? Why do Waldorf students wait until 2nd grade to begin learning to read?

Waldorf education is deeply bound up with the oral tradition,(of Europe) typically beginning with the teacher telling the children fairy tales throughout kindergarten and first grade (All very Eurocentric which is inappropriate in Aotearoa NZ) The oral approach is used all through Waldorf education: mastery of oral communication is seen as being integral to all learning (they pay little heed to the oral traditions of our country).

Reading instruction, as such, is deferred. Instead, writing is taught first (nonsensical in the extreme). During the first grade year the children explore how our alphabet came about (German at Christchurch), discovering, as the ancients did, how each letter’s form evolved out of a pictograph. Writing thus evolves out of the children’s art, and their ability to read likewise evolves as a natural and, indeed, comparatively effortless stage of their mastery of language (my step-daughter needed private tuition).

So much for the natural and effortless way in which steiner schools teach children to read. You can read more here at waldorf answers.

pedagogy for class one in a steiner school

Class 1: Little or no reading. “It is a mistake to try to learn to read before learning to write.” [11] Children can play with illustrated books having moving parts. “The themes of these are fairy stories, seasons, nature.” The kids can also be exposed to “such delightful creations as “The Song of the Elfin Miller” … and “The Fairies”.

From Waldorf Watch HERE

I know 6-7 year olds who have not been taught a thing about reading in class one. I accept that it is fine for some children. But not for children who are eager to learn. Christchurch rudolph steiner do not differentiate between children. They employ a ‘one size fits all’ methodology that failed my wife, her sister, and several of their friends. Now it’s some of their children.