CLASS 1

In this year the children make the important transition from the Kindergarten to school, where they begin their formal learning. The children are led by their teachers to a first experience of the forms, sounds and sequencing of letters and number symbols by using pictures, rhymes and stories.

The children learn to recognise and memorise these with practice involving movement, verses, drawing and writing. During this first year the class acquires the good habits of classroom life and work, which will form the basis of their time together in the lower school and indeed for all subsequent learning at school. Cultivating reverence for nature, care for the environment, respect for others, interest in the world and a feeling of confidence in their teachers-these are the moral aims for Class 1 and the following classes. The teachers aim to lead the children into becoming a socially cohesive group who care for and listen to each other.

CLASS 2

The initial experiences of the first year are deepened and enhanced in Class 2. This time is used primarily for practicing and developing all the new skills from the previous year. Whereas in Class 1 a lot of energy goes into forming the class into a socially cohesive group where children are supported by the wholeness that they experience, in Class 2 a mood of contrast or polarisation often surfaces, which can be observed in the way children relate to each other. To help the children through this stage they are told stories where contrasting human qualities and characteristics are portrayed by holy people and saints in legends, and by animals in fables. This class needs strong leadership from the teachers through consistency of approach and through the power of imagination. The children derive direction and form from the images they are given.

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