Fifth grade in a Waldorf School is usually referred to as the golden year.  Generally students have achieved a skill level in basic academic work that allows them to meet new challenges with enthusiasm and energy.  Their capacities also reflect a facility and a confidence in working with various forms of artistic expression.  Physically, fifth graders move with balance, grace and agility.  Even in the social arena, fifth graders display a harmony and integration that will soon be challenged by the demands of adolescence.  The fifth-grade curriculum meets this golden age through a balance of academic, artistic and movement work.

The fifth-grade curricula in language arts and history are based upon the ancient civilizations of India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece.  In the spring our students participate in a five-event Greek Pentathlon with fifth-grade students from other Waldorf schools.  This competition involves the discus, javelin, wrestling, long jump and running, and it is held in the same spirit of truth and beauty as the inaugural ancient Greek competitions possessed.  Fifth grade marks an important transition from mythology to history.  Fifth graders learn the geography of the North American continent; in math, they study freehand geometry, factoring and decimals and in science they study botany, for the poetic qualities and beauty of the plant world.  In language arts, students continue to build on their skills in grammar, reading and writing.

Main Lessons:

North American geography, Greek mythology and history, ancient history, arithmetic introducing factoring, decimals and averages, freehand geometry, botany, language arts

Special Subjects:

Physical education, pentathlon, Spanish, choral music, orchestra, handwork, gardening, drawing, painting, modeling, Eurythmy, drama, recorder