Grade 4, Week 13 ~ A New Month, A New Block

(Okay, so the new month starts tomorrow; our blocks are following calendar months plus or minus a day or two here and there.)

We are feeling refreshed after a week off; it was long enough that the boys felt the freedom of the break without breaking down at the change in rhythm. Today they met the morning with enthusiasm and a total lack of complaint.

Our main lesson block this month is Local Geography. Measurement is in the sleep phase and we are reawakening division with remainders and Roman Numerals. Parts of speech have moved into continuing practice for mastery.

We began our block with drawing the compass rose. Reading maps is part of local geography and the compass rose can be a beautiful thing. As a plus, we finally used our (drafting) compasses to make circles; J-Baby has been wanting to know how they work for a couple of months now.

One thing I am enjoying about following the Waldorf curriculum is approaching subjects at a time when they make the most sense for the child. My boys love maps and have made their own for quite some time now. We never seem to come to a subject completely cold; the boys are eager for focused learning on subjects that they already have experience with.