5th Grade: The "Golden Year"

By Emma Zook

In a way, we can think of Grade 5 as a “Golden Year”. The children have achieved enough skills to meet new academic challenges with capability and creativity, yet they still have a lovely openness to the world. During this brief time, before the physical and emotional changes the onset of puberty brings, they are harmonious in themselves and in their environment, and they can enjoy a certain ease and grace intrinsic to the age. 

What more perfect a reflection of this balanced and beautiful age than in the historical period of Ancient Greece? The Ancient Greeks show us a perfect representation of the balance between physical skill and beauty, art and science, earthly life and spirituality. 

Right now we are immersed in the captivating and fascinating stories of Greek mythology. This year marks the important transition from myth to history, and we will go on to look at the differences between life in Athens and Sparta, the early Olympic games, the great philosophers Aristotle and Socrates and the Golden Age of Athens. We will end with the biography of Alexander the Great. Interestingly, Alexander will lead us back through all the other countries that we have studied this year - Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia, and India.

Making excellent use of their physical strength and grace, the students are also training for the Regional Waldorf Schools Greek Games, which is scheduled to take place at the end of April (we are aware that this may be cancelled). They will compete with students from other schools in javelin, discus, wrestling, long jump, and foot races. Not only will the fifth graders experience and discover their individual strengths and challenges, they will also compete in the same spirit of truth and beauty that the Greeks initiated.