Fourth Grade

The third grade learns to crochet in handwork, making useful items. They continue their study of Spanish, gardening, games and eurythmy. Each year the children perform a play that comes from their curriculum.

Fourth Grade

To understand the fourth grade curriculum and why it is so suited to the nine and ten-year old, one must first look back to the preceding years of schooling, especially the curriculum of the third grade. There, the children, who until now have lived in a certain harmonious relationship to the world, were cast out of paradise. They were no longer allowed to dwell in the fairytale realm of the first grade or even fluctuate back and forth between heaven and earth as in second grade when the stories of saints and fables were told to accompany this duality.

Just as the people in the Old Testament were challenged by their as they learned to survive, make shelters, work the land, so did the third graders learn the rudiments of survival by studying farming, house-building, the making of clothes, and the preparation of food. All along, the stories of great men and women of the Hebrew nation and other cultures are told. A feeling of wisdom and justice prevailed. Still wrapped in this blanket of trust, the third grader felt protected from the cunning of the world.

In the fourth grade, that mantle of trust has been tossed aside and the child feels very separate from the security and comforts that previously were supportive. This is a time to look around and see how one stands in relationship to that which is near, and to find security and uprightness through that relationship. The number four is a sign of stability, strength and balance. Therein lays a sense of steadiness and completion. It is this sense of four in the midst of separation and defiance that is at the very heart of the fourth grade curriculum.

Throughout the year the children hear and read stories of heroes from Norse mythology,the Finnish legend of the Kalevala and other mythologies from different cultures. In all of them the hero emerges as someone to look up to, emulate, laugh at, or respect. There may still be the miraculous feats, and yet the human qualities; the emotions, the struggles, and the confrontations are emphasized.

The studies of local geography (Marin County, the Bay area, and California), beginning mapmaking, and early California history give the children a strong sense for the specific character of the place in which they live.

A comparative consideration of the human being and animal is studied. Understanding of oneself and one's own relationship to the world grows as one understands the different animals, 34

their unique qualities and characteristics, and the way they are connected to their particular environment.

In language arts, the students' skills in reading, writing, and spelling are practiced and developed. Grammar is more formally introduced with parts of speech and punctuation as a focus. Students begin to write book reports and share their reading experiences with their classmates. They begin to research and create reports on various aspects of the curriculum. Composition, narration, and self-expression in writing are furthered and letter-writing skills are introduced. Children begin to write with a pen and library skills are developed.

In math, the processes of long division and multi-digit multiplication are practiced until consistent. Then, the fourth grade plunges into the study of fractions, a further reflection of the separation or fragmentation that they are experiencing. They are introduced with physical objects to demonstrate truths before meeting abstract mental concepts. After the groundwork has been laid, then fractions are practiced through all the four processes.

As in the Kalevala, where the very world is sung into being, singing is a daily creative activity. In addition to unison singing and rounds from previous years, we now add two-part songs. The children’s newly strengthened individuality now gives them the ability to hold their own in this part-singing as they could not have done successfully before: canons and rounds form a natural bridge to this exciting new skill. They show their first real delight in harmony, and the minor key answers a deep-felt need leading inward in self-discovery. Now, standing as individuals they try to work harmoniously together.

The fourth grader is given a violin, something delicate and yet powerful that will not oblige shortcuts to success. With practice and dedication, a harmony of sound begins to emerge and a new orchestral community is forged.

The fourth grader is at odds with the world. Questions take on a personal twist, “How do you know?” Many opportunities are given to meet these oppositions in quite unexpected ways, ways in which the child can have the experience of crossing, while at the same time being led, towards a wholesome resolution. In handwork, original designs are made that produce a colorful design executed in tiny cross-stitches. The result is a beautiful wholeness from many little crossings.

Celtic knots in form drawings are challenging tangles of skill and beauty. The sense of separation serves to provide objectivity, otherwise, one might get lost in the complexity of crossing lines, some hidden beneath, others crossing above, creating depth on a flat surface.

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Watercolor painting, modeling, and drawing continue to support the various topics of study. Spanish, games, handwork (embroidery), and eurythmy are also a part of the weekly fourth grade schedule.

The curriculum is supported and strengthened by various field trips throughout the year. These often include an overnight on Indian beach and a trip to the Miwok village, a journey into Gold Country, a visit to the missions, to Monterey Bay Aquarium, and to the elephant seal colony at Año Nuevo.

Morning Verse – Grades 5 and up

I look into the world In which the sun is shining, In which the stars are sparkling, In which the stones repose; The living plants are growing, The feeling beasts are living, And human beings, ensouled, Give dwelling to the spirit.

I look into the soul, That lives within my being. God's spirit lives and weaves In sunlight and in soul-light, In heights of worlds without, In depths of soul within.

To Thee, O Spirit of God, I turn in earnest seeking To ask that strength and grace For learning and for work In me may live and grow*

Rudolf Steiner (translated by Helen Lubin)

*There are small variations in each class due to different translations

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