Every Wednesday our members get to ask Waldorf teacher Diane Power questions about their homeschooling experience, Waldorf education and more. These Q & A sessions are posted on the member blog every week so you have access to all the past Q & A sessions. Become a member of Earthschooling to get your questions answered personally every week.
Question from Member JL: I’m looking for a set poems that would be good for grammar copy work for 3rd grade. Student has weak handwriting so they should be short or easy to break up. Also looking for suggestions on physical activities to learn multiplication. Ty!
Reply from Diane: Hi Jessica! There is a section on grammar in A Journey through Time in Verse and Rhyme (poems collected by Heather Thomas) that contains short verses for the parts of speech, punctuation, and the four types of sentences. Although the above reference is more appropriate for Grade 4, the book also has a section on Farming and Building, in addition to seasonal verses.I’d like to add that flute/recorder, handwork and modeling also help strengthen the hands for writing. Regarding movement for multiplication, I started with the weaving of the times tables…
We also “stepped” the rhythm of the times tables until we had learned 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 10s. We moved on to actually saying the times table with a specific movement. For example, check out this video from Shining Mountain School:
https://youtu.be/-h3Y4y3fk8w. I also did the times tables when we jumped rope and tossed beanbags. Multiplication facts are an ongoing part of review in my opinion. Once she’s solid with 6-10, even 11 and 12, you could add 15s, 20s.
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