Class 3 News

The Developmental Profile of Class 3 children 

From the Australian Steiner Curriculum Framework - Separation from the Earlier Sense of Unity. 

A sense of separation from the world and people around them brings doubt and confusion. Individuality emerges out of this sense of alienation and a sense of self comes as a response to questions such as Who am I?, Where am I? How do I live?

With Self and World now separating questions of origins emerge great literary traditions provide imaginative expressions of ancient conceptions of beginnings which are valuable learning experiences for this age. There follow the stories of the historical development of Traditions in society and historical stages of Authority and Rulership that preceded the emergence of individual consciousness and individual rights. This journey is met with practical connection to the world around the child in respect to their homes and farm life. Through the work together on building and farming the sense of separation from the world is replaced by a sense of connection to the environment and community and a feeling of responsibility and confidence.

Engagement through the practical and feeling life 

The child feels less at one with the world. Last traces of personal identification with the objects of the world dwindle and the child’s experience divides into subjective inner experience and objective outer reality. There is a growing sense of the world outside the home and family

Cognitive Development 

The corpus collosum is now developed and integration of right and left hemispheres is possible. Reading longer books of real life on the farm or in a village with all the trades is now recommended. In terms of lesson work the children can experience an understanding of much of the practical science and geographical understanding underlying farming and building e.g. balance, measurement, making butter, growth of grains, features of a landscape that allow transport and agricultural use, supply of building materials. History, Geography, Economics, Measurement and Science come together in study of farm life and practical occupations.

Rhythm and Memory 

Rhythmic review of work continues in a 3-fold rhythm which utilises the sleep time in which memory is imprinted through into the conscious awareness, habits and physical skills.

Artistic Multi-modal Learning

Knowledge, understanding and skills are more deeply integrated into the body when they are done in many different modalities. In Class Three the lessons are often practical and engage the senses through farming, cooking and gardening. Duration also become important as experience of building or farming happens over time.

Physical Development 

The child develops a firmer gait, speech sounds are formed in the middle of the mouth, the heart increases in size and the breath/pulse ratio of 1:4 is established. Longer periods of sustained concentration in literacy and numeracy settings are possible. The physical work of Farming and Building is able to be taken on.