Dear Second-Grade Families,
The second grade began our first language arts lesson block with the story of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who deeply cared for the poor and the sick. Against her family's wishes, she carried a basket full of bread to the poor, and just before being caught in the act, it transformed into a basket of roses and lilies. The students first painted the basket of roses with watercolors. Together, we read a story summary from the board, which the students then copied into their main lesson books and added an illustration. From here, we continued with the story of Elizabeth of Constantinople, who cared so well for the sick that the emperor gave her a piece of land to build a hospital. This was very generous of him. However, there was one caveat: There was a dragon on her property that she had to subdue first! Stories such as these help meet our students developmentally and fill our second graders' need to see the greater good that people do in the world around them as they overcome various obstacles. The Waldorf philosophy teaches reading proficiency through writing. This school year, the students will experience choral reading and copywork from the board. Both activities help the students develop as both readers and writers. We will continue with more dragon stories in the next two weeks.
Ki Leah, our students' handwork teacher, shares the below with us:
In Handwork, the second graders settled into their first knitting project of the year: fingerless gloves. They were excited to learn that they will change yarn colors throughout this project and had fun picking their first and second colors. It was delightful to see the “lightbulb” moments for our returning students as they remembered the skills they learned last year. They soon settled into the rhythm and rhyme of knitting: “under the fence, grab a sheep, bring him under, and off he leaps.” Our new students paid close attention and were soon casting on their first 20 stitches and knitting their first rows as well!
Please remember to:
Dress in layers for the changing weather.
Send snacks, lunch, and two water bottles each day.
Use sunscreen and bug repellent.
Send practical, rubber-soled indoor shoes to keep at the school. Although we spend most of our time outdoors, good indoor shoes are essential. We do not want to track dirt into the building and at the same time, need shoes on our feet for safety while walking around inside.
Best,
Ki Gaby
