S1 EP2 - First Grade
On this week’s episode of Anthroposophy Today, Scott and Sarita talk about the Waldorf first grade classroom.
First grade is an important year of transition for the children. In this year, they leave the womb-like, homey environment of Early Childhood and enter a new world of discovery and learning in the first grade classroom, where they will begin to study academics: writing, reading, maths, and sciences.
THE CLASSROOM
The first grade classroom is still a very warm, welcoming space, but unlike the Early Childhood classroom, it is not designed as a home. In contrast to the Early Childhood classroom, in the first grade class each student now has their own desk, as well as a cubbyhole in which to place his or her shoes and lunchbox.
There is also a new addition to the front of the room: a blackboard. The blackboard will become an important part of all lessons throughout the grade school and high school years. The unique role of the blackboard in the Waldorf classroom will be further touched upon later on in this discussion.
The classroom may still have little corners with toys and soft lambskins or rugs on which to play, for the children who still need the comfort of a play space like that. However, these spaces and toys are only used during free times in the afternoons, and not throughout the day during lessons.
Each teacher in the Waldorf grade school designs their classroom in their own way, based upon these guidelines, and many beautiful variations may be encountered throughout Waldorf schools around the world.
CHARACTERISTICS OF FIRST GRADE READINESS
Sarita and Scott discuss certain characteristics which indicate when a child is ready to transition from Early Childhood into the first grade.
Since academics are not taught in the Waldorf school before first grade, those who are not familiar with Waldorf education may be puzzled as to how it is that a teacher decides when a child is ready for first grade, or when the child might benefit from another year in Early Childhood. There is no “test” at the end of kindergarten intended to separate the developmental wheat from the chaff, so to speak, as in many typical modern school systems.
Rather, a more holistic and individual approach is taken. Throughout the child’s time in the Early Childhood class, the teacher observes the child’s development—physical and emotional, psychological and neurological.
One of the traditional factors in deciding when a child is ready to enter first grade is the arrival of the child’s first adult teeth. However, as with all other guidelines, this is not a fixed rule.
The teacher takes note of the child’s level of coordination in games and movement-based activities. The teacher watches for the level of dexterity the child displays when they play outdoors, paint, and do handwork (such as whittling wood, knitting, finger-knitting, or working with natural fibers in a variety of other ways, which we discussed in our previous episode on the Early Childhood class).
One question which is used in assessing a child’s readiness for first grade is: how comfortable is the child crossing its midpoint? In other words, can the child easily coordinate the action of crossing body parts on the right side of his or her body over onto the left side and vice-versa? The ability to cross the midline in this way indicates a child whose coordination allows them to use both sides of their body to perform tasks which require a high level of dexterity, such as tying their shoelaces, writing, and using tools such as a knife for chopping vegetables.
If the child is not able to cross the midline, and shows some difficulty with coordination and manual dexterity, this does not rule out transitioning to the first grade. However, it is taken into consideration, and together with the level of the child’s development in other areas, is used as a tool for determining whether the child is ready to thrive in the first grade class, or whether they would be better off continuing to play and develop these skills further with one more year in the Early Childhood class.
As with everything in the Waldorf philosophy, the emphasis is placed on observing the individual child which stands before the teacher, and determining how best to serve that child in his or her education according to the indications left by Dr. Steiner.
DEFINITION VERSUS CHARACTERIZATION
There are two important things to keep in mind as we discuss child development, among many other concepts, from an Anthroposophical standpoint.
The first is that any indications left by Dr. Steiner for the teachers and parents of the Waldorf school were just that—signposts marking the way and guiding the teacher, parents, and students on their journey. As such, much is left up to the teacher’s discernment. When it comes to observing the child in question and determining whether he or she is ready for first grade, there are certain guidelines with Dr. Steiner outlined, but everything is decided on an individual basis, as each child is unique and its own special case.
The second element which Scott and Sarita discuss is the concept of “characterizing” something, as opposed to “defining” it. A definition is a label, a concrete description of something which is, by its nature, fixed and immutable. A characterization, on the other hand, allows for a discussion of an idea or a being (a child, say) which furnishes it with certain qualities, without closing this concept off to other possibilities. This is why, throughout his teachings, Dr. Steiner encouraged observation and characterization over definition.
The definition fixes something into place, freezing it into that moment in time—in essence, killing it: a beetle pinned to a card, a photograph of a moment which has already become the past.
The characterization allows for more fluid concepts, richly drawn but flexible and full of life: a vivid memory of a butterfly’s wings kissing one's hand, a sketch which evokes the movement and colors of the sea.
Hence, when we discuss a child’s readiness to move to the first grade, we attempt to do so with respect to the aforementioned elements: acknowledging the role of the teacher’s observation and discretion in determining a child’s readiness, and also attempting in our language to eschew strict definitions, in favor of more flexible characterizations.
We feel that making such a distinction between definition and characterization is not a petty argument over semantics, rather, it is a key element of Anthroposophical philosophy which bears some discussion, albeit as this brief aside in the context of our larger discussion about first grade.
Sarita stresses that the art of teaching lies in the teacher’s ability to know his or her students, observe them closely, characterize his or her findings while keeping these ideas open, and in so doing ultimately develop a deeper understanding of the child.
If the teacher in the Early Childhood class notices that a certain child is having some difficulty with skills which are necessary to transition to first grade, then the teacher works with the child to develop these skills over the course of the year. Activities are brought to the class to encourage the development of the skills that may be lagging in their development, such as coordination or dexterity. What is specifically good for one child who may be struggling with these skills will also benefit all the children in some way or another, and so they all engage in the activities as a group. This avoids singling the child out and causing any excessive awareness that they may need some extra help, which may cause shame or confusion.
Many of the larger Waldorf schools offer eurythmy in the kindergarten, as well as throughout the grade school, which can help develop some of the qualities we discussed which are necessary for a smooth transition into first grade. The Early Childhood teacher’s other colleagues at the school may also be invited to step in and assist in this process by sharing a lesson in their specialty with the class.
“SMOOTHING OUT ROUGH SPOTS” RATHER THAN LABELING
One of the advantages of “characterizing” rather than “defining”, as we discussed before, is that teachers and parents are encouraged to view children as being on a developmental spectrum, which is fluid and ever-changing, rather than locking them down with a fixed label.
All children come with challenges, ranging along a spectrum. Rather than labeling these challenges as defined problems or learning difficulties, especially at an early age when growth is so constant and rapid, the Waldorf philosophy prefers to take a healing-based approach toward “smoothing out the rough spots”.
Sarita and Scott briefly touch upon the idea of incarnation, which is a topic that merits more discussion at another time. For our current purposes and in the context of this episode about the first grade, suffice it to say that we are all familiar with children who are more “earthly”, those who hit the ground running and are ready to be here in this world and experience all it has to offer; and we are also familiar with children who are more dreamy, whom we might call a little reluctant to “incarnate” and come down to earth. Children on both ends of this spectrum are brought closer to the middle, and much of the teacher’s work during the early years of Waldorf education deals with helping the dreamier children to incarnate, and aiding the more grounded children to stay connected with spirit and imagination.
Sarita describes how our spirits arrive on earth and inhabit the physical body, and sometimes the fit isn’t quite right—she uses the analogy of putting on a pair of trousers that is the wrong size. In a child, this sense of not fitting in the body—or not “incarnating” properly—can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including learning difficulties or other issues which are often mislabeled as learning difficulties.
There are many ways that the Waldorf philosophy addresses these issues, usually in an indirect and artistic way, which helps the child handle their learning difficulty (e.g., ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, etc.). The children learn tools and different ways to function that are healthy. Rather than using labels and teaching the children “coping mechanisms”--which is a term that seems to imply the issue is incurable and must simply be borne--the teacher and remedial education specialist in the Waldorf philosophy focus on healing and awakening the child to the wealth of his or her own possibilities.
Sarita refers to first grade as an “awakening”: it is the beginning of a healing process which is carried out throughout the many years of school, where the children learn to manage the individual gifts and “rough spots” they brought with them into this life.
If the child is having difficulty, it is because something is not translating. The teacher’s work is to help them to create a bridge, as Sarita calls it, in order for the child to connect their talents to things that are harder for them. All this is done without casting judgement upon the child, or labeling them, which could create complexes or insecurities.
Oftentimes, in traditional schools, children are encouraged to play to their strengths and pushed to specialize very early on in their lives. The intellectually precocious child is given more advanced worksheets and allowed to take extra classes, which they are ready and eager to take on, but little attention is paid to the fact that this child may have problems with movement, coordination, or spatial awareness. On the other hand, a child who shows special ability as an athlete is often allowed to scrape by with the minimum passing grade in academic subjects in order for them to spend the majority of their time devoted to skill development in their respective sport.
While no child—or adult, for that matter—can be expected to perform equally across the board in all areas of academics, art, and sports, the Waldorf school encourages building a child’s natural abilities without allowing their weaknesses to fall by the wayside. The emphasis is placed on harmonizing these strengths and weaknesses in order to best serve the child as a whole.
As an aside, relating to the discussion of early specialization and young athletes, there is some interesting evidence which seems to indicate that children who specialize in one sport before late adolescence experience a higher rate of injuries, psychological stress, and burnout. One study states that there is “no evidence that intense training and specialization before puberty are necessary to achieve elite status”.
While sports and academics are not one and the same, it may nonetheless prove interesting to compare this study in the field of competitive athletics to the modern phenomenon of pushing academics onto children at earlier ages than ever before.
The entire community of the Waldorf school—including the specialty teachers such as the eurythmists, curative education specialists, and art teachers of various disciplines—come together to support the healing and awakening of the children as they journey through each grade, beginning here in grade one.
HOW READING AND WRITING IS TAUGHT: A MULTI-SENSORY, EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH TO CREATING “LIVING IMAGES”
Another of the key elements Sarita and Scott discuss is the way the Waldorf grade school teacher uses a multi-sensory, experiential approach to reach children of a variety of temperaments and abilities. Activities are designed in order to engage the child on a visual, auditory, and kinesthetic level, and to fully immerse the children in the experience of learning.
While the children—now six or seven years old—are ready to start tackling academic subjects, they are all still in varying periods of transition out of Early Childhood throughout this first year. As such, all of the lessons are still imagination-guided and inspired by a sense of play, often featuring storytelling as a powerful element in creating what is known in Waldorf as “living images” in the heart and mind of the child.
Sarita describes a way of teaching the letters of the alphabet using a simple story, rhyme, or verse. To teach the letter S, for example, the teacher might use this simple verse: “Sly and slinking serpents slither hissing through softly stirring grass”.
She explains how using these evocative words along with the alliteration of the letter S in this way creates a striking impression on the children, and how the teacher will build upon this experience throughout the week to create a fully embodied experience for the children.
Not only does the teacher use the concept of repetition, the importance of which we discussed before in our Early Childhood episode, by repeating this little verse over the course of days or a week, but the teacher enriches the experience of the letter S through art and movement.
The teacher and children may clear away their desks in order to have more space to experience the letter in space, hissing and slithering in the space. This allows the children the chance to feel the contour of the visual representation of the letter, physicalize the auditory impression the sound leaves on our ears, and play with making the sound themselves.
Sarita emphasized that the concept has to live in the children, especially at this age. Once the children have experienced the letter with their whole body and through the sound, they transition to learning how the letter is experienced by the hand—which is to say, by writing the letter.
However, at this stage, we refer to this not as writing, but as drawing the letters. This is one way in which the blackboard at the front of the room is used. The teacher might make a blackboard drawing of a letter S in the shape of a snake lying in grass—not a pure abstract shape, but founded in a sense of reality by a simple background.
This use of story, movement, and blackboard drawing to teach the alphabet is an example of the important place of art in the Waldorf school: it is everywhere. Art is not confined to just the specialty classes. Rather, the whole lesson is permeated by this kind of art as a tool for learning and development.
The role of art in Waldorf is perhaps best exemplified by the “main lesson book”, a bound book full of drawings and written work that each child makes for him or herself, based on the lessons and guidelines given by the teacher. While textbooks are not used in Waldorf schools, this main lesson book could be considered a sort of textbook that each child is making for him or herself, a record of the learning which occurred during the time spent studying that subject. The main lesson book is an important element of the Waldorf philosophy, and we will continue to discuss it in more depth in future episodes.
Returning to our discussion of how reading and writing is taught in Waldorf schools, another important element of the method is that writing is taught first and then reading follows.
The children mimic the movements of the teacher in shaping and drawing the letters, making letters on their own piece of paper, and then they learn to read what they’ve written. Throughout this process, the child comes to feel the letter with their entire body. In this way, the children do not struggle by attempting to understand it as an intellectual concept, but understand it as a living image, feeling, and sound within their own bodies.
There are many ways of creating these living images in the child, which evolve as the child grows older. In middle school, for example, Sarita describes how biography is used to help the child connect to subjects on a deep, human level. In first grade, this creation of living images is accomplished primarily through multi-sensory exploration in the form of movement-based, visual, and auditory experiences, as described above.
Creating these living images is possible with any subject, and is a way to allow the child to connect to the subject in a profound way. This can prove especially helpful with subjects like maths and sciences, which many people find challenging or dry.
Later in this discussion, when we talk about how a typical day in first grade begins, we will give an example of a way that the foundations are laid for learning mathematics in the Waldorf school.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAIRY TALES IN FIRST GRADE
We have spoken already about the importance of storytelling as a tool for learning, both in Early Childhood and in the first grade. The stories we are referring to are often very simple, ones which the teacher makes up for themselves—as in the example of a painting lesson in Early Childhood, which we described in our previous episode.
At this age, fairytales are also very important and widely used throughout the lessons. This is an indication from Dr. Steiner, who described how human development as this age closely resembles the archetypal symbolism of fairy tales around the world.
While some people might consider fairytales to be too “gruesome" for this age, the archetypal elements of the fairytales have strong moral and spiritual lessons which make them powerful tools for learning, especially in the early grades. Sarita reflects that you don’t have to explain to a child that the wicked queen in Snow White is wicked—the children understand it for themselves. The queen is beautiful, but her behavior is ruled by envy and malice, and by this the children understand that she is wicked, without needing it to be defined or explained.
The teacher in the Waldorf class does not read the fairytales, however. Rather, the teacher memorizes the story and comes to class prepared to tell it from memory to the class. Often, the longer fairy tales are told over a course of days, and the children wait eagerly to hear the next part of the story. Sarita recounts with fondness how quiet and attentive the whole class becomes when a fairytale is being told, and how absolutely magical it is for the children to allow their consciousness to drift into the world of the story.
One technique the teacher uses in storytelling when telling a tale over the course of a few days is to always begin with a recapitulation of the story thus far.
The teacher might ask the class, “Now, where did we leave off last time?”, and the children volunteer to help tell a brief version of what came before, helping to remember what they heard and learned in the story in the days preceding. As they get older, the recapitulation and review becomes more concrete, but when they’re young, a brief “so where were we?” suffices.
Some children are more awake and engaged and will readily call out and volunteer information, and others are more dreamy—neither is right or wrong. This technique of beginning with a recapitulation is a great learning tool which teachers use and which parents may choose to mimic at home during story time with their own children.
Recapitulation is a beneficial exercise for:
building concentration and listening skills, since the children quickly learn that they will be asked to tell part of the story the next day;
improving memory and recall, as the children grope around in their memory to remember the crucial details
sharpen sequencing abilities, as the children strive to place all the events in the correct order
boosting imagination and creating a living image of the story in their minds
transforming the story into fodder for their playtime
THE BEGINNING OF A TYPICAL DAY IN FIRST GRADE
As with every example we give, the typical day in a Waldorf first grade varies from school to school. However, there were some indications given by Dr. Steiner as to what would be a healthy way to begin the day in order to keep the rhythm of healthy “in-breathing and out-breathing” (see our previous discussion of Early Childhood for more details about this concept).
Certain activities are done early in the day to promote healthy circulation of the blood and the breath, which allows the energies of will and thinking to travel up and down the body, ensuring enough life and energy travels throughout the extremities, the head, and the “middle realm”, in which the heart and lungs are located.
Similarly to how the Early Childhood day begins, many Waldorf schools have a fifteen minute period at the beginning of the day before class in which parents are encouraged to gather outside the class. This gathering always occurs outside the class, rain or shine, which is why the children and parents are encouraged to bring warm clothes and rain gear, depending on the season and weather.
The teacher is outside with the children and with the parents, who gather according to grade and chat with one another while they watch the children play. The first graders usually play in a separate part of the yard or play area than the rest of the children, since they’re smaller.
There are three rituals Scott and Sarita discuss which are significant parts of the morning routine: jumping rope, shaking the teacher’s hand, and the morning verse. Again, there is a great deal of variety in the way these rituals are performed in Waldorf schools throughout the world, and different teachers lead these activities in different ways. In this discussion, we offer a way of performing these rituals which is based on our own experience.
JUMPING ROPE — A BELOVED RITUAL AND THE BEGINNING OF MATH
Jumping rope is not only a great way to get the blood running and open up the breathing, it is also a tool used in Waldorf to teach the multiplication tables and build coordination through the repetition of rhymes while skipping. The activity is presented very wholesomely, as a form of play which is low-stress and joyful.
If you were to happen upon a first grade class gathered around the jump rope on a cool, wet autumn day, you would likely see the children lined up and waiting to take their turn jumping the rope, one by one. You would see them beginning with very simple skipping patterns early in the year, then mastering faster and more complex ones later on; you would observe how the rhythm of the rope sped up or slowed in order down to accommodate the ability of the child whose turn it was.
The teacher might begin a game of simple counting by ones while jumping rope, which the children happily mimic. Then the teacher might introduce the idea of counting by twos, or threes—or twelves! All the children practice together, not just the one who is jumping rope, which helps build a feeling of camaraderie and also removes the pressure from the child whose turn it is to jump, so they can all be challenged and enjoy partaking in the game without being put on the spot.
The key element in this activity, as with all others, is the teacher: how the teacher approaches presenting these activities, how the teacher inspires enthusiasm in the children to try more complex skipping patterns and rhymes, more advanced times tables. It is the teacher’s job to sense when a child is ready to be challenged further, or when the child needs to be allowed more time at a slower pace.
There is never any pressure placed on the child to perform, no pushing the child to do complex time tables when they’re not ready, and there is no shaming them in front of their classmates and their parents. Rather, it is a game the entire class loves and looks forward to, and which provides endless hours of fun throughout the early grade school years.
At a certain point, the mindless repetition of the multiplication tables during the jump rope game transitions from the playground into the classroom and becomes more concrete—it is in this playful way that the first graders are introduced to math.
After the jump rope activity and outside play is over, the children come inside the classroom and begin what is called “main lesson”—a period of around two hours where the children are taught by their main class teacher, focusing on one subject at a time for a period of in-depth study (known as a “block”) that lasts three to five weeks. While the subject of the main lesson stays the same every day for the duration of the three to five week block, the children have other lessons later in the day on other subjects, such as math and foreign language and art, among others.
Here we see an example of a first grade version of the Waldorf rhythms, which we discussed in our last episode. The beginning of the day starts outside with jumping rope, which is an “out-breathing” activity, and then transitions to an “in-breathing” activity indoors—main lesson.
The first week and first month of first grade is hugely important. This is the time when the teacher instills in the children the important rhythms of being in the classroom. When the children come in from being out in the playground, which may be wet and muddy depending on the season, the teacher shows them to respect their space and their classroom by taking off their outside shoes and outer gear, making sure they have prepared themselves to enter the inside space all tidy and ready to learn.
SHAKING HANDS — ACKNOWLEDGING THE CHILD
When the teacher greets the child for the first time each morning, they often shake the child’s hand as they say hello.
This act, which requires only a couple of seconds spent with each student, serves several important purposes:
it allows the teacher and student a brief moment to look one another in the eyes and communicate in that way
it is a way for the teacher to acknowledge the child’s presence, and for the child to acknowledge his or her teacher
it gives the teacher the opportunity to check in with the child that day, to see how the child is doing, and in so doing allows the teacher to notice changes in the child’s behavior or physical condition which might be noteworthy
MORNING VERSE
The next thing that happens, before the day’s main lesson begins, is the recitation of the morning verse. This verse is memorized by the children over time as they repeat it day after day. There are specific verses which are used for the earlier grade, and different verses for the upper elementary school children.
Some teachers recite the verse and include gestures with their hands, others do it simply standing and speaking. The importance is not so much in the specific way it is spoken, rather, the importance lies chiefly in the feeling with which the teacher leads this recitation.
If the teacher recites the verse with reverence and feels the importance of it in his or her heart, then he or she will transmit this to the children, which is the most important part of the recitation of the verse. This ability to transmit a feeling of reverence and awe for the activity at hand relies greatly upon the teacher doing his or her own “inner work”, which is something we can speak about in more depth in a later episode.
THE WALDORF TEACHER: CONDUCTOR OF THE GREAT ORCHESTRA AND RENAISSANCE SCHOLAR
Though we have thus far only discussed Early Childhood and now first grade in our series on Waldorf education, we have already spoken many times of the critical importance of the teacher. It is probably apparent by now that, rather than hiring a teacher whose job it is to follow a set curriculum and lecture out of a textbook, the Waldorf philosophy leaves much up to the judgment and discernment of the teacher in interpreting and applying the guidelines left by Dr. Steiner.
Scott describes his observation of a master Waldorf teacher working with the first grade class as akin to watching a great conductor leading an orchestra, harnessing the power of a concert hall of talent to coax forth beautiful music and harmonize them in a way that brings out the very best they have to offer.
Sarita uses the analogy of the Waldorf teacher as a Renaissance scholar, who is able to teach language arts, mathematics and arithmetic with the same confidence as music, and the arts and sciences.
In addition to these abilities, Sarita describes how the Waldorf teacher must also develop the ability to bring their attention fluidly from “center to periphery”, in order to maintain order in what is often a very large class of energetic youngsters, without quelling their enthusiasm.
A great Waldorf teacher keeps the rhythm of their class like a rower keeps the rhythm of his oars, feeling and responding to the changes of the current beneath his or her boat.
A great Waldorf teacher has prepared his or her lesson of the day as thoroughly as a conductor has learned the music of that evening’s opera or concerto before taking the stand. He or she is as ready as both the rower and conductor to confidently change course and guide the class to success, depending on what occurs in the lesson that day.
A competent, experienced Waldorf grade school teacher is truly a force of nature, and a wonder to behold in action.
A MORNING VERSE FOR FIRST GRADE
Brave and true will I be,
Each good deed sets me free,
Each kind word makes me strong.
I will fight for the right,
I will conquer the wrong!