This year, the children are introduced to history and geography as one experience. The subjects appear as stories about their own place in the world. They began by mapping their desks, their classroom, their school, their town, and finally their Island. A sense of security about the future is communicated, embedded in stories about the past of this place. The waking and individualization of the 9-year change can be disorienting and scary: Now that I see myself as a separate person, how do I understand my destiny? Maps and stories of one’s own place and community are easy to understand and connect to, and they enforce the children’s feeling of belonging and positivity: I can make sense of where I am in a world with its own story.

In Class Four the children encounter their first science blocks, too. Children’s natural love and admiration of animals is used to begin a journey of inquiry about the natural world. Through artistic, appreciative profiles of different animals, space is made for the discovery of their amazing capabilities and specializations. The child may also get a feeling for humans, by contrast, as generalists. We don’t have the speed, power, or pretty much any other capacity of our animal fellows on the planet… so what is it that we do have??

- This article was written by a Sunrise Waldorf School parent for the Daybreak Monthly Newsletter which can be viewed online at www.sunrisewaldorfschool.org

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