First Grade

A Journey Begins

First Grade is a year of many firsts! Through creative, multi-sensory lessons that blend instruction, group work, games, stories, rhythmical movement, and art, First Graders build strong foundational skills in reading, writing, numeracy, and math, in addition to beginning their formal study of world languages (Spanish and Mandarin), applied arts, music, and movement. 

An important part of the First Grade year is learning to work within a classroom community: raising a hand to speak, listening to others, following instructions from the teacher, and taking responsibility for classroom materials, among many other skills. Students build social-emotional competency through class activities that emphasize teamwork, cooperation, and careful listening, such as reciting verses in unison, playing pentatonic flutes as an ensemble, and performing together in their first class play.

First graders at San Francisco Waldorf School learn:

• Math: Qualities of numbers; introduction to the four operations of arithmetic
• Literature & Grammar: Pictorial and phonetic introduction to letters; fairy tales from around the world; poetry recitation
• Science: Nature stories; nature walks and observations; gardening
• Gardening: Weekly gardening class in our school garden
• Music: Singing; pentatonic flute (develops finger coordination, concentration, breath control); songs based on seasonal themes
• Art: Form drawing; painting (emphasizing an experience of working with color rather than creating formed pictures); beeswax modeling; crayon illustrations
• World Languages: Spanish and Mandarin (introduced through plays, songs, rhythms, and games)
• Physical Education: Cooperative games and movement activities
• Eurythmy: Movement to music and poetry, introduction to sound
• Handwork: Knitting (promotes eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and pre-reading skills-sequencing, patience, perseverance, and self-esteem)
• History & Social Studies: Native Peoples and multicultural stories
• Theater: Annual class play based on main lesson story curriculum

Daily Schedule (Grades 1-3)

8:30am-2:30pm, Monday-Wednesday, Friday
8:30am-2pm, Thursday
The Grades After School program begins immediately following dismissal and runs until 5:30pm daily.