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First Grade

First Grade Parent Notes, December 9

Presented here as an example of work the children were doing in December.

Advent Greetings to you all!

The first week of advent brought candle light and the “angel letters” (vowels) to the first grade. They are a refreshing break from the numbers for both myself and the class. Near to the end of block, I noticed the children could simply not stop counting things. The numbers truly came alive, as they were finding them in all things. Though the numbers will rest until the New Year, I have no doubt that the children will easily and confidently be marching their feet into the times tables when we begin the four process in the next math block.

The vowels are a completely different experience. It is reflected in our (quieter) circle, the advent wreath and the lighted candle which is carefully and reverently passed from patient hand to patient hand in the mornings, painting the story images rather than drawing them as we did with the consonants and the telling of peaceful, angelic and light-filled stories.

Steiner believed speech was rooted in human feeling and that the vowels were the soul and singing quality of the language. He examined the origin of the link between the sounds and what they signify. “Everything in the world makes an impression on the feelings of the individual.” The vowels are linked with emotional expressions. AHH is associated with wonder, reverence and admiration. EE is associated with two emotions: the squealing joy of a child and the shriek of resistance and fear, O with surprise, U (oo) astonishment and amazement.

The vowels are thought to be the soul quality of the language. I gave the children a rather concrete, visual image of the consonants and vowels, (as seems to be my tendency and as I feel this class is also ready for). It went something like this…The angel letters are the windows of the house. The house needs the shining light that the windows provide. During the daytime when you walk by a home the windows look one way and when you look in at night they look different with the curtains drawn and the fire flickering. Just like the light in the house, sometimes the angel letters, too, sing different songs. So with this image in mind, the first week of December they learned about the angel letters A and E…the angel sister who sings ahh (autumn) and her angel brother who sings ae (advent) and the angel sibling who sing ee (feet) and eh (feather).

The consonants were introduced mostly with the Grimm’s fairy tales, form drawing and the numbers with the beloved adventures of Christopher and Camille. The vowels are being introduced by stories I have written which extract the essence of the world’s festivals that arise from the winter solstice and the coming of the light. The stories have bits of advent, the origin of the Christmas tree, Hanukah, the Hindu festival of Divali and Kwanzaa. These stories, I feel, are creating a reverential feeling in the children involving the gift of light at this time of year and within them. The stories are filled with angels that sing the sound of the vowels.

The characters in the stories sound these emotional expressions, which the children are learning with vowel verses I have written into the stories. ‘Ahh... whispered the children; the star from afar shines in the advent apple.’ ‘Eee, said the baby. I see the tree. Eee, said the mother, in the winter breeze, I thought I would freeze. But eh, I see, I feel, I greet the tree and the earth beneath my feet.’

I have chosen to have the children paint the vowel stories because the experience of painting is similar to that of the vowels. The wet on wet water color is the experience of emotion through color, and the flowing colors are like the breath of the vowels when spoken. We are, however, writing more than we ever have before. The writing road to reading continues to expand with the children writing simple sentences, now combing the angel letters with the consonants they learned during the first block (as well as some new sounds we have to look forward to).

For the vowel A

We painted a star which, in some form, resembles the letter A…
We wrote: THE STAR SHINES IN THE ADVENT APPLE.

Tokolosi

In the rare chance you haven’t heard this name uttered from your child’s lip, Tokolosi is the Lesotho equivalent of the Irish Leprechaun or the Native American coyote. He’s a little troll-like fellow who’s always up to mischievous. In the first grade classroom, he takes the form of a little red gnome, who I hide daily for the children to find. I have few reasons for bringing Tokolosi into the class…Yes, the children love discovering him in his hiding place and he brings joy and mystery to us. But it’s also an exercise in concentration and memory (where he was hiding yesterday and the day before, etc…). This also helps them in developing the art of confidentiality. (I found this developing quality extremely helpful with the mental math. Counting on one’s fingers and keeping the answer to oneself, rather than blurting it out; this way everyone had the opportunity to come to their own answer- whether it be right or wrong, it was there own.) And lastly the art of description…they are learning to describe something without seeing it, as they whisper with great detail Tokolosi’s location into my ear at the end of the day.

A Note about Eurythmy

Kristi has a few copies of a book on eurythmy and for those of you who haven’t had a chance to see it…here are a few words about eurythmy and the vowels. The following is written by the folks at The Spring Valley School of Eurythmy.

Movement is life's signature, its own language. Every moment we breathe is filled with pulse...rhythm. It permeates the substance we are made of. Physical form is built out of movement come to rest. So too our feelings, thoughts and inspirations have gestures that are matched in the forms we find in the world. It is one of the great mysteries that inner experience and outer form come from the same source.

Recognition of this connection sits just beyond our conscious awareness. Yet, we depend on it to make our way through life. We learn to read the world and other people through the language of movement... alongside the language of sound. Form - movement - language, all "sound" the essential nature of the world in different ways. Eurythmy is a movement art that brings all three together. It gives expression to the whole voice of the human being and the world language, through movement, color and form. When this integration takes place through eurythmy, the spiritual nature behind each living thing begins to have a clear voice - a visible reality. The living mysteries that form our body, our soul, the stars and the seas speak their names in the gestures of language and life. Eurythmy brings these gestures into a rich, expressive art form.

The pride of a teacher

The (small) class gave an outstanding presentation of their number poem at the Thanksgiving potluck. Daily, I am astounded with their growth and how they integrate their lessons. I was also amazed with their careful and quiet walking in the advent spiral. They looked so small and precious as they slowly walked in the dark with their little lights. (I sometimes forget that they are still so tiny and young.) They are such an amazing group of children. I am fortunate to have them as my class (and their parents too). During her visit, my mother, commented on their joyfulness and love for one another.