Special Subjects Third Grade

Eurythmy

Children in grade three are beginning to feel more separated from their surroundings. They therefore learn to be more independent and to become their own creator, as they discover sound and tone in eurythmical gestures and then develop their own gestures for a poem or music piece. We work on rhythmical movements in the spoken word and in music, on recognition of vowels and consonants and on concentration exercises. We experience the interval of the third, both major and minor.

Movement – Warmth

The third grade curriculum brings a strong theme of spiritual and familial warmth through the study of different communities, particularly those of the Hebrew people, and of the different types of shelter people build as homes. In the realm of movement the children are ready to be challenged further and to create their own physical warmth. They enjoy round play games with a center and a theme, which helps them meet the 9 year change. A good example is “The Tower”. They also enjoy practical work activities, such as preparing and putting away equipment for class, going on short scavenger hunts and using their own limbs to measure. They work on skills of throwing, catching and kicking a ball and continue developing their running, skipping, swinging and climbing abilities. Games using bases and teamwork are introduced. Tumbling as well as free play on apparatus further develops strength and balance and encourages the children to have a “quiet head” that will bring clarity to movement and thinking. The Horizontal Plane exercise is introduced.

Gardening

The experiences gained in gardening classes are directly related to the grade three curriculum themes of gardening, farming and practical work in the world. The children are eager to learn by doing and to create things of substance.

We begin in the autumn by building a compost pile from all that is left of the year’s growth. In the compost are the endings and beginnings of the garden. It is, perhaps, the best example we can show the children of recycling, and it is the basis of healthy soil. The children also harvest, clean and package seeds to sell at the Holiday Faire as well as to save for the coming year. Following harvest they prepare the soil and plant the cool season grains – wheat, oats, barley and rye. In the spring they plant the warm season grains – corn, rice and millet. Together these grains represent the seven major cereal crops of the world. In the autumn of fourth grade we will harvest and hand process these grains into food and breads, which we then bake in our wood-fired oven.

During the rainy season, we learn to spin wool using drop spindles. Each child makes a small woven cloth using some of his/her own yarn as well as yarn dyed from plants the children collect in the garden. This project shows that all we need for food, shelter and clothing comes from the garden.

Handwork

In grade three we learn to crochet. The children are very excited to learn something new and work hard until they master the process. In support of their main lesson theme of learning to live on the Earth, the students make practical items that are useful in life. Our first project is a colored crocheted hot pad and the second is the multi-colored eurythmy shoe bag. The children must be very careful not to skip or miss stitches so that the beginning of the bag will match the end. Our extra class project for the year is the star mat - a wonderful project that starts with a spiral and then turns into a five-pointed star. With this project the children learn to count stitches and do corners.

Spanish

The third grade child will experience the second language mostly orally but from time to time will write a short sentence. We use gestures, mime, songs, poems, rhymes, games and drama to learn new vocabulary and to continue training the ears to the sounds of the Spanish language. Children at this age began to feel separate from the world, and gesture acquires a new importance; it will not come out of pure imitation as in previous years. The children need educational challenges to be motivated.

The three-part rhythmical organization of the Spanish lesson continues: first an opening verse, riddle and song, usually with movement, then a middle portion requiring more concentration, such as games that require listening and interaction. The lesson ends with a story, song or poem. At the beginning of the year the children review the material from previous years, then start new material: numbers 1 to 1000, time, date, foods, plants, the farm, the garden, likes and preferences, sports, professions, etc. They also learn by heart a variety of poems, songs and riddles.