Fourth Grade

In fourth grade, the children are beginning the early stages of the transition from childhood to puberty. The children are confident in their new way of seeing the world and are eager to learn about it in a more concrete manner. The children are finding new relationships with their parents, teacher, classmates, and to their schoolwork, while forming a sense of where they are in relationship to their environment, both in a social sense and in a geographical sense.

The teacher must establish a new relationship with the children, one that helps them with the new rules and parameters that coincide with this period of development. Parameters and consequences need to be clear, presented with a sense of humor.

Language Arts

The focus in historic studies in this grade is presented in imaginative narration. Norse Mythology and the lives of the Vikings are heard and experienced. The various Norse gods provide ample content so that the children can relate to and explore the personalities of the characters: Loki with his cleverness, Thor with his hammer and active personality, and Odin and his wisdom. Historical events and legends illustrating the development of New Hampshire and Maine up to the present, with field trips to local sites, enable the children to intimately experience and relate to the changes that have occurred since earliest times.

Local geography is an important aspect of environmental studies. It gives knowledge about the immediate world and can give a sense of belonging, from both a social and spatial point of view. The immediate surroundings of the school, the city, and the state are studied in their geographical/spatial and historic/temporal development right up to the present. Observation of the rising and setting motions of the sun helps to recognize the four compass directions. Drawing a bird's eye view of the school and the children's houses, the surrounding landscape, and different routes to the school, is often done to teach mapping skills.

Writing

The study of language usually focuses on the parts of speech, verb tenses, and continuation of work with punctuation. Reading groups of some sort are generally continued into fourth grade to help solidify the skills that have been worked on since first grade. Class reading often supports the content of the main lessons, with readers such as The Children of Odin and The King and the Green Angelica. Spelling practice continues on a regular basis. Students begin to do more independent writing, whether for the main lesson books, reports on animals, or other descriptive writing based on experience.

Mathematics

Fractions are introduced in this grade. The process of taking the whole to the parts and back again to the whole is examined. The abilities to expand and contract fractions, understand the difference between the numerator and denominator, convert improper fractions into mixed numbers and vice versa, are cultivated. Mental math with mixed processes becomes increasingly more complex. Students cultivate the ability to read and understand numbers up to six digits, strive to learn the multiplication tables up to 12 out of sequence, perform long multiplication, factoring, identifying prime numbers, long division with remainders, and estimation.

Sciences

The study of animals in relation to the human being is the focus of a main lesson block. The polarity of the human head and limbs, with the mediating aspects of the trunk, is studied in relationship to characteristics of animals such as the cow, mouse, lion, cuttlefish, and eagle. One primary focus of this main lesson is the unique quality of the human being, which is to a large extent free from instinctual behavior. While man's physical body lacks specialized features, specialization allows animals to live instinctively in their environment. The observation of the human hand, the uprightness of our bodies, the relationship of the foot, femur and spinal column, can lead to an understanding of the uniqueness of the human being.

SPECIALTY SUBJECTS

Movement

Students have multiple recesses throughout the day, in almost all weather, to energize their bodies, let their academic studies rest, and activate their minds through social play, group dynamics, and exploration of the physical environment.  Students have access to a large playing field, woods and a stream, natural climbing structures and digging spots, all which encourage them to engage them in unstructured and imaginative play.

Physical Education is specifically taught by the Movement and Games teacher and fourth graders see more advanced physical games and movement skills.  In the winter, students participate in cross country skiing/snowshoeing and travel to a local ice rink for our Learn to Skate program.

World Languages

Students in fourth grade continue their studies of German and Spanish, which each meet twice per week throughout the school year.  In Grade Four begins the introduction to writing, reading and vocabulary in the language.

These languages are taught mostly in the native tongue to familiarize students with the sound and cadence of the particular language and use games, stories, guided drawings, songs, and movement to engage students with the language.  It is not until the older grades when writing and grammar are explored.

Handwork

Coordinated movement of the hands and limbs is essential to the development of the intellect and academic capacities, as well as physical integration of the child’s maturing body.  For this reason, Handwork is taught in all grades, beginning even in Early Childhood. Handwork teaches children to complete challenging tasks and to appreciate each other’s work. Mathematical concepts such as parallelism, mirror-imaging, progression and geometric forms are experienced through this tactile learning experience.  The aesthetic experience of creating something beautiful also nourishes and refines the child’s emotional well-being. Fourth graders learn cross stitch which teaches them sequences, patterns, symmetry and direction.

Art

Art is part of every class, every day and the aesthetic focus of all subjects is a hallmark of Waldorf education. Painting is now linked to nature studies, trees, simple landscapes, animals and figurative themes from the history or geography blocks, and generalized shapes of buildings such as castles, churches, temples, and houses and barns, still using the wet-on-wet painting technique. Children create celtic knot illustrations as well.

Music

Music, like art, is a part of almost every class, every day.  Singing and musical games are an excellent learning tool for students, both in their Main Lesson studies, as well as in special subject classes. Children continue to hone their skills in reading and writing music by learning modern music notation and reading sheet music and continue to hone their skill in their stringed instrument. In chorus singing and playing in rounds and part music is emphasized.