Our Curriculum Year by Year
Grade 5
Core:
Oak Meadow 5
We are using the history, grammar, vocabulary, composition, and science portions of the curriculum.
Math:
Singapore Math 4b/5a
Rod and Staff Math 4b/5a
I use Singapore math to introduce new concepts and then have her do review work in Rod and Staff. We make notebooking pages for important concepts as they appear in both.
Spelling:
Spell to Write and Read
Worksheets for Lists A to M I created these so that she could work with the words.
Grammar:
Prepositions with
Interjections and Conjunctions with
Pronouns with
And then we will be doing sentence analysis using techniques from the album found here
Click on Language album
Just for fun:
She has completed lapbooks on
Thomas Edison Project Pack
Hamsters--we made it from information on Wikipedia
Other resources:
Grade 5 posts
If you are wanting a more traditional Waldorf experience for Fifth grade then you will want to include:
Ancient history
Botany
Geography of North America as it is settled
Decimal and Fraction work
Hexameter Poetry
Knitting in the round--make socks
Clay--concave sculpture like a bowl
Wet on dry painting and layering of paint
Wind instruments
Blogs:
A Little Garden Flower
Schooling from the Heart Nice pictures and ideas
Waldorf Reviews
Waldorf Handwork Cable knit hat
Seasons of Joy
Waldorf Online Library:
Perseus the Brave By Roberto Trostli
Cupid and Psyche: A Play By Roberto Trostli
Natural Science & Plants
The Gospel of Hellas
Audio:
Peeps in Ancient Egypt
Famous Men of Greece
The Baldwin Project:
The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Before Achilles by Padric Colum
Famous Men of Greece
Yahoo groups:
Fifth Grade Waldorf
4th Grade
My oldest's fourth grade year was a little different. We were still using mainly Classical and then switched to Oak Meadow 1/2 way through. The first part of the year we used workboxes and a lot of Montessori.
First Half of Year
Math:
Singapore Math 4a
Montessori Style Fraction work
History:
Early 19th Century
Science:
Solar System Lapbook This is free.
Chipmunk Lapbook This is free.
Great Kapok Tree Lapbook This is free.
Lion Lapbook This is free.
Language Arts:
Preparing for Poetry Project Pack
Spelling:
Spell to Write and Read
Worksheets for Lists A-M
We did the worksheets as well as made notebooking pages on the phonograms and rules as they came up in our studies. We worked from List A to I.
Grammar:
We read the books and notebooked the concepts.
Nouns with
Collective nouns with
Adjectives with
We also used Montessori grammar boxes to sort phrases.
Just for fun:
Polar Express Lapbook This is free.
Second Half of Year
Core:
Oak Meadow 5
We used this for history, science and grammar.
Math:
Singapore 4a
Rod and Staff 4a
We used Rod and Staff to review and work on multiplication/division and then we were able to finish up fraction work and move on.
Spelling:
Spell to Write and Read
Worksheets for Lists A-M
We worked from lists I to K.
Grammar:
Verbs with
Adverbs with
Just for Fun:
Dolphin Lapbook This is free.
Rabbit Project Pack
Resources:
Grade 4 Posts
Man and Animal Podcast
For grade 4, if you want a more Waldorf experience you will want to include:
Norse myths
Do knotted forms in form drawing
Map-making starting with your room and moving outwards
History of your community and state
Fractions
Man and Animal block
Poetry
Cross stitch
Clay--make convex forms
Some links for 4th grade:
Norwegian Folktales I found these links at the blog Our Journey 'Round the Mulberry Bush
Vikings
Runes
Norse Gods
The Poetic Edda
Ancient History Good for both 4th and 5th grade.
Blogs:
Blue Skies Dragonflies
Waldorf Online Library Articles:
Geography for 4th Grade
The Beaver
The Curse of the Ring: A Play by Roberto Trotsli
The Baldwin Project books:
The Children of Odin by Padric Colum
3rd Grade Curriculum
Our Weekly Lesson Plans
Core:
Oak Meadow 3
We are using a syllabus from 1999 so it is a bit different. We used this for grammar, math, social studies, and science.
Math:
A Little Flower Garden A Journey Through Math stories for 3rd grade
Rod and Staff 3
We used Waldorf style stories to introduce new concepts in a fun, creative and playful way. We worked on concepts with Rod and Staff for review and independent work.
Spelling/Phonics:
Treasures Workbooks grade 1 phonics, spelling and grammar
These workbooks are for the Treasure readers by Mcgraw-Hill that you may find used. They are really good for working on phonics and reading skills.
Language arts:
Scott Foresman grade 1/2 grammar and composition workbooks
Scott Foresman grade 1/2 practice book pages, you click on the grade and the cover will come up and you click on the words "practice book," we are using the phonics, vocabulary, grammar and study skills materials.
Just for Fun:
Lapbooks
owls
Resources:
Grade 3 posts
Old Testament Podcast
Our Little Nature Nest Third Grade She posts ideas and lessons.
Months & Seasons Poetry & Quotes
Waldorf Handwork 3rd Grade Fiber Block
For my grade 3 posts. When I taught this grade to my older daughter we were going through a time when I was doing child care in my home in addition to homeschooling. She wanted more of a Classical focus and the material I used with her reflects this.
For Waldorf Third Grade the child would learn:
Old Testament stories
Native American stories
Some Grammar is introduced with basic parts of speech
Spelling is introduced
They can read and write a little
cursive
Shelter--clothing, houses, etc
Farming, gardening, from seed to finished product sorts of things
Math--multiplication to 12, long division, carry and borrow, place value, 2-digit multiplication
Crochet a hat
This is more of a hands-on year with lots of building.
Blogs:
Our Journey Round the Mulberry Bush Third grade posts. Very helpful resource
Rockin Granola Nice pictures and ideas.
A Little Garden Flower
Lower Case Learning Nice tree house building project.
Our Little Nature Nest Great lessons for measurement, shelter, farming and Old Testament.
Seasons of Joy
Henny Penny Link to main blog but 2009/2010 was mostly 3rd grade ideas.
Our Trip Around the Sun link to main blog, posts about 3rd grade.
Waldorf Online Library Articles:
Stages of the Ego Conscious Child
By the Waters of Babylon: A Play By Roberto Trotsli
Baldwin Project books:
The Red Indian Fairy Book Excuse the title please but the stories are short and some people may find it helpful.
Yahoo groups:
Third Grade Waldorf
2nd Grade Curriculum:
Core:
Oak Meadow 2
This is our guide to science, social studies, math and language arts. We are not using the reading selections but have found different things that we like better.
Our Lesson Plans for Grade 2
These are our weekly plans for the year and include links to lapbooks and other resources.
Math:
Rod and Staff Math 2
A Little Garden Flower's Journey Through Waldorf Math second grade stories
We are using the math stories to introduce concepts and make learning beautiful and fun. She works on Rod and Staff math for review on her own using her gems to work out the sums.
Phonics:
Spell to Write and Read Phonograms linked to tales in Aesop's Fables and
Saint Stories
We are using Saint Stories during weeks where we have no fables linked to the phonics work.
Just for fun:
We have completed lapbooks on
Ancient Egypt This is a free lapbook.
Kentucky Derby This is a free lapbook.
Horse Project Pack
One of Deserts that we created ourselves that focused on the Sahara.
Camels This is a free lapbook
Hamsters--We made this one using Wikipedia.
A New Coat for Anna This was a lot of fun and ended up being a large lapbook
Great Resources for Second Grade
MainLesson.com Grade 2 Waldorf Selections
Fables and Saints podcast by A Little Garden Flower
Our Little Nature Nest blog Go to the posts from 2008 to 2009 for ideas/lesson
1 Homeschool Nice files for multiplication tables 3-8
My posts on second grade:
Grade 2 posts
We've been using Oak Meadow since January and have been moving back toward a more Waldorf experience since then. I call last fall second grade as well even though we were doing first grade things and we were incorporating more Montessori and lapbooking.
My oldest daughter's second grade experience started as heavy Classical experience, we burned out with Tapestry of Grace, switched to a Waldorf experience and with time, my daughter requested more Classical material brought back.
For Waldorf Second Grade the child would learn:
Saints and Fable stories
Phonics--blends, rhyming words
Begin writing sentences and paragraphs
Math--the gnomes are back, the four operations, big numbers, place value, times tables and a little more equation work on paper. They learn to carry and borrow.
Animals and their homes
Time
They learn to crochet.
2nd Grade Waldorf Blogs
Rockin' Granola Nice pictures and ideas.
A Little Garden Flower
Schooling From the Heart Nice Main Lesson book pictures.
The Waldorf Way A nice block on Brother Francesco
Waldorf Reviews Posts on grade 2 resources
Innateway lots of pictures and book recomendations
Waldorf Online Library
Spelling Lessons
The Good Bishop--A Play by Roberto Trostli
Stories for 1st and 2nd Grades
Learning to Read and Write in Waldorf Schools
The Importance of Handwork
Yahoo group:
Second Grade Waldorf
Before First Grade
Circle Time:
A time for verses
A time for action rhymes
A time for movement
A time for song
A time for story
Daily Rhythm:
Before the child enters first grade in the preschool and Kindergarten years, it is time to build up a daily rhythm. To have morning, afternoon, evening and bedtime routines. You may want to make a short circle time a part of this day. But this is a time for you and the child to interact as parent and child.
Things you can do to prepare your child for later learning:
cook together
do chores together
sing together
take walks together
talk with one another
enjoy time in the park while your child plays
read your child stories
tell your child stories
dance together
paint together
play with play dough or clay
build with blocks
let your child tell you stories
let your child use their imagination while they play
have fun
enjoy this special time
Some resources for preschool and Kindergarten:
Little Acorn Learning
A Little Garden Flower This link will take you to her early years resources.
Preschool Post There are some fun lessons and games and ideas here that would be good for Kindergarten.
Preschool/Kindergarten Blogs:
Childhood Magic She just took her blog down.
Little Wonders' Days Montessori based preschool/Kindergarten themes
Umatji This will take you to her Steiner education posts. Great ideas for things to do with preschoolers.
Counting Coconuts Neat Montessori based blog but lots of discovery learning ideas.
My posts about our Kindergarten and preschool days. Please remember that I regret introducing schoolwork too early.
Kindergarten Posts
Preschool Posts
1st Grade
Phonics:
Spell to Write and Read Phonograms
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Waldorf Alphabet book
I taught the phonograms and their sounds using Waldorf style pictures, key words, physical movements and Grimm's Fairy Tales.
Math:
Rod and Staff Math 1 units 2-5
Gnomes and Gnumbers a Mathematical Tale
I used to stories to introduce concepts, then we alternated working through the math workbooks.
Other Resources:
Grade 1 posts At times, we worked closely with Waldorf, at others we were more classical or textbook.
Grimm's Fairy Tales sorted by concept
Waldorf Handwork First grade handwork
Teaching Handwork First grade work
A Waldorf Curriculum has the first grader learning:
form drawing to introduce writing
phonics and penmanship through story and fairy tales
numbers and the four operations through stories and using objects such as sticks, nuts, "gems," gnomes, etc.
and they have circle time with verses and games that enhance what they are learning
knitting to strengthen the hands and help with tracking
wet on wet water coloring
simple songs
introduction to the recorder
