Grade School
First Grade
First Grade
The Child
First grade children share a great desire to learn. Memory, imagination, and enjoyment of rhythmical repetition are common to this stage of development. First graders remain very connected to adults, often forming strong attachments to role models. The child is still somewhat “dreamy” and is more able to bring broad awareness than focused attention to the classroom. Urban Prairie’s “moveable classroom” features benches and buckwheat pillows that can be rearranged and stacked to create a dynamic learning environment.
The Class
The first grader makes a great transition from the Early Childhood program to a more formal learning environment in grade school. Much learning takes place through activity and imitation. The first grader learns addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, up to the 7s times tables. Math is often taught through rhythmic repetition and movement, including jumping rope. In language arts, the children study fairy tales and nature stories and learn letter forms, sounds, blends, and word families, as well as writing and reading their own simple sentences. Mandarin and Spanish classes begin with numbers, animals, foods, seasons, and colors. The first grader learns to knit and felt, plays pentatonic flute, models with beeswax, and begins color study through wet-on-wet watercolor. Recess is twice daily, allowing ample time for the “work of play” and providing essential downtime for the brain to digest what’s encountered in the classroom.
During this year, students will acquire the good habits of classroom life that will carry them through their eight years at UPWS. Cultivating reverence for nature, class social cohesiveness, care for the environment, respect for others, interest in the world and a feeling of confidence in their teachers are all goals for the first grade class.
Curriculum Scope:
Mathematics
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Music
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Language Arts
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Art
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Mandarin Chinese and Spanish Immersion Class
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Movement
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Literature
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Eurythmy
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Natural Sciences
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Field Trip
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Handwork
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Second Grade

Second Grade
The Child
Much of who the child is in first grade continues on in second grade, but now with more form and ability. The events and experiences of the outside world are filtered through the child’s imagination and rearranged in accordance with the child’s perception of the world. The second grader is still connected with the world as a whole and sees themself as part of their community. As the year progresses, however, this wholeness gives way to a growing polarity. The child begins to vacillate between being saintly and naughty or courageous and whiny. The second grader explores their own inner life and how it relates to the greater world around them.
The Class
The initial experiences of the 1st grade are deepened and enhanced in the 2nd grade. This time is used primarily for practicing and developing all the new skills from the previous year. To assist the children with their growing polarity, the second graders explore the landscape of personality traits through fables and stories of noble historic figures: the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.
Second grade is a time when a child’s sensory-motor system, a foundation for all higher learning, culminates in its most intense growth period. As such, students receive an assessment toward near the end of the year to provide a better understanding of each child’s strengths and weaknesses in the areas of fine and gross motor development, balance, bilateral integration, early movement patterns (reflexes), body geography, spatial orientation, dominance, and visual and auditory processing. By observing these, we are better able to assess a child’s readiness to take on more complex and challenging academic work and further support them in the classroom and at home.
Curriculum Scope:
Mathematics
|
Music
|
Language Arts
|
Art
|
Mandarin Chinese and Spanish Immersion Class
|
Movement
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Literature
|
Eurythmy
|
Natural Sciences
|
Field Trip
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Handwork
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Third Grade

Third Grade
The Child
In Waldorf education, we recognize the third grade as a significant year of developmental change and self-discovery for students. A third grader leaves the world of imitation behind and transitions into a consciousness of greater individuality. The nine year old becomes more self-aware. They begin to see the world with new and different eyes.
The individuality of the child begins to come to expression, as the child acquires a dawning awareness of themself as an individual and comes to realize their separateness from the surrounding world. This awakening in consciousness enables another capacity—to gradually be able to become more objective in relationship to themselves and the surrounding world. As a consequence, they also become less naïve and less open. They are no longer content to be a part of life without doubts or questions. They may become more critical and may also feel lonely in this new awareness.
The Class
The Waldorf third grade curriculum marks the change to a more individualized presence in the children, as well as a new readiness for academics and a corresponding need to experience the work of the real world in a practical and meaningful way. Third graders are ripe for practical experience. This need is met in the curriculum through the study of farming, gardening, food preparation, house building, and clothing.
The primary lesson material features stories of people crossing the rubicon and starting life anew. This serves as an appropriate metaphor for the child’s inner experience. The child understands on some level what it is to leave paradise, step into the real world, and begin to stand on their own. Throughout the curriculum, teachers provide students with strong role models who show courage and determination.
Curriculum Scope:
Mathematics
|
Music
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Language Arts
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Art
|
Mandarin Chinese Immersion Class
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Movement
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Literature
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Eurythmy
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Natural Sciences
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Geography
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Handwork
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Field Trip
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Spanish Immersion Class
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Fourth Grade
Fourth Grade
The Child
Fourth graders become more self-confident as their perceptions of the world sharpen. They possess greater social and academic skills that allow them to become more independent. These developmental steps broaden the child’s perspective and open a world of endless, exciting possibilities. The fourth grader has an adventurous spirit, is full of curiosity, and is eager to explore new capacities for learning and creativity.
The Class
While the third grade curriculum helped the child to reconnect to the world around them through practical studies and activities, the fourth grade curriculum helps the child orient themselves in space and time through a study of local geography. Fourth grade students possess the solid academic skills needed to participate in more independent projects. The teacher directs their curiosity about the world toward nature and animals.
Curriculum Scope:
Mathematics
|
Music
|
Language Arts
|
Art
|
Mandarin Chinese and Spanish Immersion Class
|
Movement
|
Literature
|
Eurythmy
|
Natural Sciences
Geography
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Field Trip
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Handwork
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Fifth Grade

Fifth Grade
The Child
Fifth graders are confident, enthusiastic and capable to doing increasingly challenging academic and artistic work. This is frequently considered a “golden year” in which children exhibit a definite harmonious quality before becoming saddled with the challenges of adolescence. They also have an increasing understanding of personal responsibility and a growing awakening to the larger idea of ethics
The Class
Fifth grade marks a pivotal point in the curriculum. While the students begin the year with studies of the mythologies of several ancient cultures, they transition away from mythology into history with the biography of Alexander the Great. They will wrestle with the ethical question of their “Great”-ness. They also continue to hone their research and presentation skills with an independent project. Botany and Geometry present students the opportunity to explore the wonder and beauty of the world around us through mathematical and scientific lenses.
Curriculum Scope:
Mathematics
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Music
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|
Language Arts
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Art
|
|
Geography
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Movement
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|
Literature
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Mandarin Chinese Immersion Class
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Natural Sciences
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Eurythmy
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History
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Practical Arts
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Handwork
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Field Trip
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Spanish Immersion Class
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