Fifth Grade
Developmentally, the children are reaching the pinnacle of childhood. It is as if they are standing on a tall mountain looking out on a large open space that they somehow know they must venture into and explore. They are experiencing the moment of peace and balance and the hopefully joyful memories of a childhood that has been full of sensory experiences that were colorful, rich, and meaningful. If that has not been the case, there will be a sad, nostalgic sense to this moment of ending childhood. Physically, they are usually balanced and move gracefully and elegantly. Their bodies and musculature are still light. This is a pivotal time when the children feel themselves bathed in beauty and excited at what is to come. With this balance within the body they practice discus, javelin, running, long jump, and wrestling and compete in a Pentathlon with local Waldorf schools. Students explore Botany, Ancient Civilizations, U.S. Geography, Geometry, and more!
Humanities:
- Botany Block including the classifications of plants
- Ancient Civilizations block: Greece, Egypt, Mesopantania, and India which concludes with a project and presentation to school community
- US Geography and History which conclude with a state presentation
- Personal Family History study
- Health and Sexuality
Language Arts:
- Research, independent writing, and paragraph structure practice
- Independent readers at appropriate reading levels
- Class play
Mathematics:
- Decimals and percentages introduce to fractions
- Geometry introduce in artistic manner
- Ratios and proportions
- Complex word problems
- U.S. measurement system and familiarity with metric system
Science:
- Botany, including classification of plants. "Big history" of the universe, the planet and how we know what we know, paleontology, what is history
- Physics introduction ~ hands-on simple machine projects
Spanish & World Language:
- Oral conversation practice - describing and asking questions
- Reading in spanish practice
- Practice with regular verb conjugation
- Introduction to irregular verb conjugation
Handwork:
- Learn three needle knitting. Project: pair of wool socks
Woodwork:
- Projects: combs, carved animals, bowls
Travel:
- We conclude the school year with a class trip to the Joshua Tree where children camp, backpack, rock climb, and learn about the amazing flora and fauna of Joshua Tree in relation to their botany block.