Grade 3 in Waldorf Education

• Who is ready for grade 3? 9 or nearly 9.
• The content in each grade is designed when the time is right for that child. It feeds their soul. 
• They become aware of everything around them at this age. 
• The grade 3 student can do a lot more themselves. 
• Society thinks we hold the child back with aspects of Waldorf. We aren’t, we are saying “keep them where they need to be for a little bit longer and then walk with them.”
• Navigating the Content of Grade 3 

Farming 

Building Shelters 

Hebrew Stories 

Measurement 

Creation Stories 

Old Testament Stories 

Class 3

The year of Class Three is a remarkable time and I feel honored to be your teacher as we embark on this new school journey together.

The curriculum of the Class Three school year meets the children in their natural curiosity and their transforming capacities for discovery, thinking, judgment, practical work, and independent and collaborative learning. Children’s emergence of questioning the origins of things is met in a variety of ways that strive to engage their heart, hands, and head.

The school year’s journey is deeply immersed in the experiences of living on our beautiful Earth. Weeks are woven together with practical experiences as children learn to embrace the use of tools, measuring, building, food growing, baking, sewing, helping those around them, and so on.

Language Arts curriculum engages students in introductions to grammar, basics of writing, and continued encouragement towards confidence in independent reading. Ancient Hebrew stories of the Old Testament meet the children’s inner experiences while the meaningful explorations of practical work related to building, clothing, gardening, and cooking allow the children to build confidence and trust their own capacities. During Math Main Lesson Blocks, Children continue to work with the four arithmetic math operations using large numbers while learning to measure distance, capacity, weight, volume, money, and time; and practically applying their skills through various learning activities.

The curriculum of the third-grade year, carried on the streams of stories, poems, artistic work, and hands-on experiences, leads the child toward an inner experience and a budding understanding of the human being’s potential for skillful creativity, experiences of the beauty of living on Earth, joyous explorations, and courage and determination in learning and work.  

Main Themes of Grade 3

Language Arts: Intro grammar, Letter writing, The Hebrew year, Reading Practice

Mathematics: Extended skills with the use of four operations, Measurement, Carrying/Borrowing, Prime Numbers, Time & Money, introduction to vertical orientation when practicing multiplication 

Social Studies: Farming, Gardening, Shelters, Understanding occupations

And More: Form Drawing, Handwriting (cursive), Painting, Modeling, Drawing, Music, Handwork, Practical Work

Full video is available in our Candle access HERE.