Handwork in First Grade

For the last few weeks, the first graders have been learning how to finger knit. This is an essential milestone for the children before they learn to knit with two needles. During their first grade year, the children will felt wool with soap and water, finger knit, make their very own knitting needles, and create some simple knitted projects like a washcloth and a cat.

Here are two links that provide an overview of Handwork through the grades!

http://www.waldorfsandiego.org/our_programs/grades/Handwork.aspx

http://mnwaldorf.org/handwork/

Presenting..... Your First Grade Artists!

                                                   Finger Painting in Spanish!
                 

Wet-On-Wet Watercolor Painting

When we have painting class in first grade, we always start off using only one color. The children are given the opportunity to really experience that color. I ask them, "What does yellow feel like?" Different children are attracted to different colors and painting can be a very calming and therapeutic experience for them. After we experience the three primary colors, we will begin to combine them on the paper to create orange, green and purple. 

The Importance of Imagination

Hello everyone! I am sure that your child has shared at least one of the stories they have heard over the last few weeks with you. If not, ask them to! They may also have told you, that I usually do not show pictures while reading books. I am purposely choosing to do this so that they can work on developing their imagination and visualization skills. With the abundance of images in their everyday lives, children these days have to work especially hard to develop their imaginations. With imagination and pretend play comes critical thinking skills, improvement of reading, writing and speaking skills, and creativity. I would like to share two articles with you on the subject:

https://www.nationalserviceresources.org/literacy-storytelling

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703344704574610002061841322.html


Ask your child to share the stories that they are hearing at school with you before bedtime! This is also important for improving their memory and retrieval skills.

Check out Bella Luna Toys for imaginative play! Silks, butterfly wings, doctor kits, furniture, play tents and canopies.

http://www.bellalunatoys.com/waldorf-toys-imaginative-play.html

Thank you everyone.

Shadow Tracing Without the Sun

After living in Colorado for three weeks or so, I have found that I can almost always count on the sun. Friday was not one of those days. I had planned on the students investigating shadows for outdoor education, both their own shadows and the shadows of other things on the playground, such as a tree or the picnic table. As soon as we stepped outside, I heard the students say, "Where is my shadow? I can't find it!" I knew that the sun was not there to aid us in our lesson. So we decided to trace each other with chalk instead. Students were in pairs and took turns. Dahfna and Gwenyth even wanted to
trace my feet!