GRADES

Overview

The first two hours of each school day are spent in main lesson. This is where the core curriculum is taught. Subjects for Grades 1-6 include:

English Language Arts
Physical Education
Mathematics
Fine Arts (Drama, Music, or Visual arts)
Social Studies
Science

A central feature in the Waldorf Grade School is the “main lesson”. This lesson begins each school day and is about 2 hours in length. Subjects are taught in blocks of several weeks. The main lesson embraces and addresses a varied and progressive range of skills and competencies in mathematics, English, the arts, science and humanities. Each day’s main lesson is viewed as an integrated and organic whole. Meaningful connections are made across subject areas and between main lesson themes. The class teacher chooses material, presentation and activities to suit the requirements of the curriculum and the needs of the specific class.

Main Lessons

GRADE 1

Fairy tales, folk tales and nature stories. Pictorial and phonetic intro to letters, form drawing, reading approached through writing. Qualities of numbers, time, intro of the four processes in arithmetic and lower multiplication tables.

GRADE 2

Legends of Saints, animal fables. Reading, writing, arithmetic, elements of grammar (intro to nouns and verbs), cursive writing.

GRADE 3

Old Testament stories introduce history. Study of practical life; farming, housing and clothing. Reading, spelling, writing, original composition, grammar, punctuation, parts of speech. Higher multiplication tables, more complex examples of math, weight, measures, time, money.

GRADE 4

Norse myths and sagas. Composition, parts of speech, verb tenses, letter writing. Fractions. Local geography & map making. Study of the animal kingdom.

GRADE 5

Greek myths, ancient civilizations through Greek times. Canadian geography related to vegetation, agriculture and economics. Composition, grammar, spelling, reading. Arithmetic, decimals, botany.

GRADE 6

Roman and medieval history, Arthurian legends. World geography; types of climates, longitude/latitude, trade winds, ocean currents. Minerals and physics (acoustics, electricity, magnetism optics and heat). Composition, grammar, spelling, biographies. Arithmetic — percentage, ration proportion, geometry, business math, algebra, statistics. Theatre, drawing with instruments, woodworking, botany and astronomy.

Heartwood School Curriculum

Beyond the Main Lesson

Music (choir and musical instruments; recorder, guitar, flute, violin, cello, or other)
Languages
Art (form drawing, painting, clay and beeswax modeling, mosaics, calligraphy)
Handwork (knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, sewing, weaving)
Drama
Movement
Outdoor Pursuits (hiking, cross country skiing, etc)

During the Grade School years, children begin formal learning. All learning at this stage seeks to engage the feelings of the child so that a strong personal identification with the subject matter can occur. A key feature of the Waldorf approach is the emphasis on narrative. Narrative gives children a conceptual framework within which they can orient themselves and understand their experiences.

Ideally the class teacher moves up the grades with the class, remains with the students for six years.

The class teacher teaches the main lesson each morning and other skills lessons throughout the day such as handwork and music. The class teacher provides a focus for the class and continuity over many years of development. The teacher aims to be a figure of moral authority based on commitment, care for the children and a close relationship with the parents.

The Waldorf approach is centered around whole class teaching. The teacher is a focus for the learning experience. This form is complemented by group work, differentiation into ability groups for math, reading etc. However, differentiation always goes from the whole class to groups which are then re-integrated back into the whole class. A class of mixed ability children is a model for community. The task of the class teacher is to foster social awareness and cohesion with the class group. This process is enhanced by the long-term continuity offered by having the same teacher through the years. There is much emphasis on children learning from and with each other, learning to appreciate each other’s gifts and developing understanding of each other’s limitations and challenges. The cultivation of such social awareness, empathy and the daily experience of individual and group problems being tackled constructively helps prepare students for life.

The Movable Classroom

At Heartwood School, the Grade 1-2 class has a ‘movable classroom’, a method used in Waldorf education for the younger grades. This system is based around versatile classroom furniture.

In the Heartwood classrooms, each lesson is brought to life through movement. This may take the form of games, circle time, balance beam work, drama, dance or other creative inspirations.

The design of the movable classroom eliminates those issues. Students do their written work at low wooden benches, using large beanbag type pillows as seats. When it comes time for balance beam work, the benches are simply turned over and the bottom beam is perfect for balancing. Among the many uses, benches can create a circle, form rows for drama, or be used during playtime.

As the children move on from kindergarten, where there is a freedom of play and movement within the room, to the early grades, can be challenging to sit for longer periods of time. The movable classroom takes away the obstacle of sitting still on chairs by allowing them to sit on pillows in whatever way they choose. The set-up of the room brings a relaxed feeling. The children have more time to develop their strength and stamina. By grade three, it is a simple task to sit straight and still on their chairs at their desks for an extended period of time.

As the children move up from the earliest grades, they graduate to a more traditional classroom setting.