Waldorf - First Grade

For the past six weeks before school ends, every Waldorf class is in review mode - where the students review their work for the past year. Sounds boring? IT'S NOT!! Nothing in Waldorf is boring or meaningless. It is truly an intentional education based on human development.


Okay, now back to the review. They review their year from the very first day of class and they record it in their main lesson books. Here are some of D's:

The first day of school, she met her 8th grader who has been like a big sister to her. The 8th graders look forward to taking their 1st grader under their wings. They've been waiting since like...2nd grade. As this is what I am seeing in D now. She can't wait until she gets to 8th grade and can meet her 1st grader.

Then they learned about Saint Michael, a symbol of inner strength in the autumnal equinox.

What is amazing about this process is that the first graders realize that at the beginning of the year...they were not able to write all of this in their main lesson books! That's right, they entered first grade without having learned their alphabet or numbers and look how far they've come. Imagine that inner sense of confidence that is achieved in this very simple of actions - a review of the year. Waldorf education absolutely makes the learning enjoyable for the children. There is always a sense of wonder and curiosity. Each student sees the fruits of his/her labor and every bit of knowledge is gained strictly from one's own inner being and thoughts.