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Curriculum

Below you will find an overview of the curriculum, sample main lesson block plans for each grade, and an example of a daily schedule for that grade.

Kindergarten:

The kindergarten curriculum is rooted in creative play, painting, beeswax modeling, storytelling, puppetry, baking, handwork and nature crafts. The curriculum is designed to enhance the young child’s physical development, including motor skills, language development, and sensory development. This prepares the child for a more structured academic curriculum in the grades.
Grades 1-8 Overview:

Language arts, science, math, and history are taught in main lesson blocks of three to five weeks during the morning main lesson hours. Special subjects such as handwork, violin, German, painting, movement, and woodworking are taught in the afternoon.

Primary Grades 1-3 Overview:

Children are introduced to the alphabet pictorially. Writing, reading, spelling, poetry, and drama are taught using folk and fairy tales, fables, legends, and stories from diverse cultures. Numbers and the basic mathematical processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are taught throughout. Nature stories, gardening, handwork, art, and recorder complete the early grades’ curriculum.

Grade 1:

  • Language Arts: Phonemic awareness, writing to read
  • Mathematics: introduction to four operations
  • Social Studies: Overview of humanity through archetypes in fairy tales
  • Science: Observation skills developed through nature study
  • P.E./Movement with cooperative games involving group as a whole

 

Grade 2:

  • Language Arts: Reading groups, cursive writing, grammar
  • Mathematics: Continued work with four operations, place value
  • Social Studies: Multi-cultural legends and life stories
  • Science: Study of nature through stories
  • P.E./Movement with games that involve two or more groups

 

Grade 3:

  • Language Arts: reading, writing, composition, punctuation, grammar, spelling
  • Mathematics: linear measurement, weight, money, time
  • Social Studies: Hebrew history through stories; practical living skills: cultivating food,
  • fiber arts, building a shelter
  • Science: observation of plants through gardening, animal husbandry
  • P.E./Movement: games involving trades; tag games, leaping and climbing through
  • obstacles

 

Middle Grades 4-6 Overiew:

Writing, reading, spelling, grammar, poetry, and drama are taught using Norse and Greek myths, and stories from ancient history. Students review the four basic mathematical processes, and learn about fractions, percentage, and geometry. Local and world geography, comparative zoology, botany, and elementary physics comprise the science curriculum.

Grade 4:

  • Language Arts: book reports, spelling and grammar, letter writing, research writing and
  • oral presentation
  • Mathematics: fractions, long division
  • Social Studies: Norse mythology, Scandinavian sagas, Alaska history and geography,
  • cartography
  • Science: zoology
  • P.E./Movement: tumbling; tag games with role reversal, reflex games, Danish rounders

 

Grade 5:

  • Language Arts: class readers, composition, mechanics and editing, synthesizing, creative
  • writing
  • Mathematics: decimals, fractional conversions, geometric drawing
  • Social Studies: ancient histories: Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, India, Greece; U.S.
  • geography, cartography
  • Science: botany
  • P.E./Movement: Greek pentathlon

 

Grade 6:

  • Language Arts: book discussion/reports, research, peer editing, expository writing
  • Mathematics: geometry, ratio and proportion, metric system, percentage, business
  • math/bookkeeping
  • Social Studies: Roman and medieval history, European and South American geography
  • Science: geology; physics: acoustics, optics, electricity, magnetism, and heat
  • P.E./Movement: Bothmer gymnastics, team games, medieval games, circus arts

 

Upper Grades 7-8 Overview:

Language arts skills are refined through continued study of creative writing, reading, spelling, grammar, poetry, and drama. Students study medieval history, the Renaissance, world exploration, American history, and biography. Mathematics study includes geometry and algebra. Science is explored through geography, physics, basic chemistry, astronomy, and physiology.

Grade 7:

  • Language Arts: oral book reports, biographical research, expository writing, note-taking, poetry, self-editing
  • Mathematics: pre-algebra, graphs, geometry
  • Social Studies: Reformation/Renaissance; Age of Discovery; global geography and
  • landforms
  • Science: physiology, health and nutrition, physics, astronomy, inorganic chemistry
  • P.E./Movement: space ball, gymnastics, trust exercises, some team sports

Grade 8:

  • Language Arts: independent research projects, biographies, self-editing, research presentations
  • Mathematics: algebra and geometry
  • Social Studies: Industrial Revolution, modern history, social world geography and
  • economics
  • Science: physics: mechanics; anatomy; organic chemistry; meteorology
  • P.E./Movement: gymnastics, volleyball, some competitive games/sports