At eight years old, children still carry with them much of the imaginative consciousness of early childhood. But they are also beginning to be more aware of themselves and others. They start to recognize that they have their own personalities and emotions, some of which are positive and others that are negative.

Honesty and deceit, trust and betrayal, kindness and cruelty—many traditional fables are introduced to show these positive and negative qualities in sharp contrast. The animals in the fables have little control over these qualities that they represent: the lion must be fierce, the wolf greedy, the fox cunning.

In a similar way, young children sometimes feel that they are helpless to control these strong impulses and emotions. In this context, the stories of the saints offer them a picture of the element of choice that separates us from the animals. Children see that they, like the characters in the fables, have desires, likes, dislikes, good qualities, and even some of the negative qualities that get those characters (and them) into trouble. The saints provide examples of what human beings can achieve when they dedicate themselves to a higher purpose.

Second-graders begin to see that there are choices to be made in life. They can follow their own desires, for which they see the consequences experienced by the animals in the fables; or, they can align themselves with a higher purpose, and gain control over their "animal" nature, just as Saint Francis was able to tame the fierce wolf.

Language

During the second grade, much attention is given to the development of writing skills. First reading experiences come through reading what they themselves have written in their main lesson books. This may be a short verse that helps them review a letter sound, or perhaps a simple retelling of one of the fables they have heard. In this way, children experience the way written language actually developed over the course of human history.

Math

Arithmetic concepts and skills continue to be learned in the second grade through stories and games. Children practice using the four arithmetical processes and explore the nature of place value. Rhythmical counting by ones, twos, threes, and so on provides the basis for learning the times tables.

Special Subjects

Instruction in foreign languages, music, gym, handwork and eurythmy continue to play an important role through special subject teachers.

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