First Grade
updated April 15, 2018
Morning Verse for Lower Grades
Waldorf Today Gallery of Main Lesson Book Pages - Elementary School
Beautiful and inspiring
Gallery of Chalkboard Drawings in the Waldorf Classroom grades 1 - 8
BLACKBOARD SKETCHING book
By
FREDERICK WHITNEY (1908) available online for free - with step by step directions and illustrations
How To Create, Tell, and Recall a Story
Main Lesson Book
pages shared by Christopherus Homeschool Resources
Waldorf Inspirations Gallery (grades 1-8)
browse through my collection of Pinterest Boards with samples of chalkboard drawings and main lesson book pages for many blocks
First Grade Readiness - Resources, Insights and Tools for Waldorf Educators
edited by Nancy Blanning
From Kindergarten into the Grades
*NEW* Waldorf Science Newsletter - issues available in PDF format for FREE
Summary of Math Skills for Grades 1 through 8 (PDF)
A Grades 1 through 8 Math Curriculum Overview (PDF)
written by Jamie York
Novalis Press blog post

What's Taught?
The Waldorf School Curriculum - Grade 1 by Eugene Schwartz
Block Rotations Grades 1 - 8 (PDF)
written by Jamie York
see also
- How to Bind a Main Lesson Book
- Movement for Childhood - WONDERFUL site!
- Basic Sculptural Modeling: Developing the Will By Working with Pure Forms in the First Three Grades
by Hella Loewe
available FREE as a download at the link above - courtesy of the Waldorf Online Library
- Misc. Additional Resources
- Grade 1 posts - Schooling from the Heart
- String Games by Arvind Gupta (PDF)
- *NEW* "The Four Seasons" Story, "Gingerbread Man" Song,
"Where Have All the Colors Gone?" Song, plus Autumn Crafts (PDF)
from Waldorf Publications
- Great Fairy Tales for First Grade - includes alphabet and quality of numbers
- Waiting Until the Change of Teeth - my personal experience
with my daughter, Leah
- Signs of First Grade Readiness
blog post from Switzerite, Rhoda's blog
*NEW* Signs of First Grade Readiness handout (PDF)
*NEW* First Grade Readiness - Resources, Insights and Tools for Waldorf Educators
edited by Nancy Blanning
available as a free download from the Online Waldorf Library website!
- Teaching Our Children to Read, Write, and Spell: A Developmental Approach Looking at the Relationship of Children's Foundational Neurological Pathways to their Higher Capacities for Learning article
- Fairy Tale Notes - a list of fairy tales to tell plus songs and puppetries to accompany them
- Four Ways to Connect with Storytelling - Simplicity Parenting blog post
- The Four Processes: Waldorf Math - article by Waldorf Essentials
- Form Drawing Resources - Switzerite blog post
- First Grade: Capital Letters
- FREE Resources - Arts & Handwork
Switzerite, Rhoda's blog
- how to clean block beeswax crayons blog post from Celebrate the Rhythm of Life
I use Sweet Orange essential oil and a soft cloth -- and children love this job!

Stockmar Beeswax Block Crayons - 8 Assorted Waldorf Colors in Tin

Aura Cacia Essential Oil, Brightening Sweet Orange - 2 fl. oz.
- Discover Waldorf Education: Writing and Reading, part 1 video by Eugene Schwartz
- Discover Waldorf Education: Writing and Reading, part 2 video by Eugene Schwartz
- Tongue Twisters!
My family is always finding little phrases that work as tongue twisters. It would be great to collect
these with your first grader and make a Family Book of Tongue Twisters.
"She sells seashells and says shall by the seashore."
"Six sick straight snakes."
Try this one: "Thai Chai Tea." Reverse it: "Chai Thai Tea." Which way is harder?
Of course, a great book for tongue twisters (and early readers) is Dr. Seuss's Fox in Socks.
 
- First Grade story notes from The Parenting Passageway
- The Four Temperaments
blog post - Switzerite

- There's also a wonderful -- and LONG -- description of each of the four temperaments and how to deal with them
in times of conflict in the Introduction to Games Children Play: How Games and Sport Help Children Develop
(highly recommended)
- Learning to Knit - journaling page by Waldorf Curriculum
- *NEW Picture Books featuring Knitting, Spinning, Weaving, Yarn
- Suggested Course of Study for First Grade by Waldorf Curriculum
- When Should My Child Begin Music Lessons? - article by Sarah Baldwin
- Books for First Grade from the Baldwin Project
- Find authentic fairy tales in the nonfiction section of your library -- check 398 in the Dewey Decimal System
- Rainbow Bridge ceremony for
homeschool families with children beginning First Grade
- ECOlogical Calendar - a wonderful resource for the Four Seasons block and/or for the schoolroom wall!
- Storytelling Resources from Suzanne Down
see seasonal stories from The Online Curriculum Project: Early Childhood, plus
- Samples from the First Grade Curriculum by Live Education!
- Extending Indigenous Cultures Throughout The American Waldorf Curriculum
- Waldorf Teacher Resources grade 1 - AMAZING collection of free lesson plans (called "gems")
-
Musical Instument:
to introduce the flute, read The Greatest Treasure by Demi
the Choroi pentatonic flute is available at A Child's Dream Come True, along
with many pentatonic songbooks
submitted by Rhoda
-
Fairy Tales:
The Red Bird by Astrid Lindgren
submitted by Rhoda
The Baldwin Project has the entire text of many classics in children's literature available online
for free including The Blue Fairy Book and The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang.
submitted by Tonya
-
Teaching the Alphabet:
P - parrot
The Horrendous Hullabaloo by Margaret Mahy
W - web (spider web)
Spiders Spin Webs by Yvonne Winer
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Be Nice to Spiders by Margaret Bloy Graham
Charlotte's Web by E.B White
etc.
- School Materials for First Grade:
Slate Board Set - from Rosie Hippo's
- Form Drawing:
Form Drawing in the Waldorf School - article by Rosemary Gebert
form drawing mirror examples from Raphael House
sample pages from Form Drawing for Beginners by Donna Simmons
- Learning to Knit:
Knitting is More Important than Homework article from Waldorf Today
The following is exclusive content:
- First Grade Lesson Notes:
-
First Grade Curriculum Overview
with 138 pages of notes and
background information on what and how to teach in first grade (my own personal compilation of notes and ideas).
- I also offer my thoughts on a First Grade Booklist: essential books which, combined with the Kindergarten Booklist, will give you everything you need to teach First Grade with confidence.
Is there a subject you're having a hard time finding resources for? Please
contact the Yahoo Group for suggestions from our members or consider
hiring a consultant.
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