Math in Grade 1

First Grade mathematics begins with a Quality of Numbers Block, in which children experience a story, and explore activities surrounding each of the numbers from 1 to 10. This helps the child deepen their understanding of the meaning, feeling, themes, and archetypes of the number.

Spontaneous arithmetic lesson.

We practice embodied experiences of numbers through jumping and counting, songs and movement games, finger counting, and working with a physical number line the children can move forwards and backwards on to emulate a number line. We will practice counting from 1 to 100 forwards and backwards, skip counting, counting by 2’s, 3’s, 5’s, and 10’s.

The children will learn the number symbol alongside its “quantity” and record these images in their Main Lesson Book, along with pictures of examples of how the numbers present themselves in the stories and in the natural world. (“One is the Sun” “Two is Night and Day” for example.) A bag of stones or shells is presented to the children a bit later with reverence and the context of a story. Children will experience counting and the four processes (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division) through the use of these manipulatives. These experiences are later written out in their Main Lesson Books (Example, 6 = 2 X 3 .)

In Waldorf we are not just learning one thing at a time, but several things at a time. It is a kind of dance, touching upon multiple points in one experience. During Michaelmas the children practice a poem each morning during Circle time - 

Brave and True / Will I Be.
Each good deed / Sets me free.
Each kind word. / Makes me strong.
I will fight / for the right.
I will conquer / the wrong. 

In Music Class, the children build upon this experience of the poem by putting it to music. Later, I teach the children a rhythm game in Circle (Stomp!, Stomp!, Clap!) and we practice making the rhythm together in sync. Then I add words – words they already know. “Brave and True/Will I be…” The words follow the same rhythm as the game. Later, I count instead of using words…”One, Two, THREE! Four, Five, SIX! Seven, Eight, NINE!...” Then making the rhythm and only saying the third number… ”Stomp, Stomp, THREE! Stomp, Stomp, SIX!”

Do you begin to notice? This entire experience is not only of beautiful words, music, and rhythm. It is the experience of 3. A rhythm of 3 and counting by 3’s. “3, 6, 9…12, 15…” This of course will make working with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division more seamless and pleasing later on. Each lesson and experience feeds into another. This all happens before we begin to formally write the symbol of the numbers in our Main Lesson Book.