Galileo

10:00am – 3:00pm Thursdays
Class Three, Age 8

Scroll down to view detailed class descriptions.

Students are invited to join us for a Waldorf-inspired schedule that includes: Handwork, Main Lesson, Creative Movement, Lunch, and Practical Science.

Main Lesson Teacher: Lauren Schneider

Handwork

Students will work with an experienced handwork teacher to cultivate patience, focus and perseverance all while strengthening their fine motor skills and self-confidence. Examples of handwork include hand sewing, weaving and finger knitting.

Main Lesson

Third grade focuses on helping children understand how people meet their basic needs and how communities function. This year often reflects the child’s growing curiosity about the practical world. Students strengthen reading, writing, spelling, and grammar while writing longer paragraphs and creative responses. In math, students explore multiplication, division, measurement, time, and practical problem solving.

Third Grade Blocks

• Farming & Gardening – how food is grown and harvested

• Shelters & Building – how people build homes and communities

• Practical Life Skills – cooking, crafting, and hands-on work

• Ancient Hebrew Stories – stories exploring perseverance and responsibility

• Measurement & Practical Math – real-world applications of mathematics

These blocks help students develop confidence and a deeper understanding of the world around them.

Additional activities may include:

• Artistic Projects- There will be a focus on artistic activities that encourage the child’s natural sense of beauty and color.

• Outdoor and Play Times- These activities will be incorporated into the day so that students have a natural balance of active play time and time to quietly focus.

• Sensory Garden- Spending time in our outdoor sensory garden will allow students to use and nourish all of their senses while connecting to nature.

• Class Play- A Waldorf class play provides a creative outlet for children to build confidence and a sense of interdependence within their class. Each week children will be utilizing storytelling, musical instruments, games, songs, and colorful scarves and costumes to tap into their imagination. This is a beautiful collaboration of the arts and a chance for children to explore their creative spirits.

CREATIVE MOVEMENT

Students will tap into their imagination and spontaneous nature using movement. Creative movement techniques help individuals channel energy into motion and engage their auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile senses. This class encourages body awareness, balance coordination, memory skills, and improved spatial awareness. Students will have fun learning to work individually or in groups while challenging their auditory and physical skills through activities such as rhythmic clapping exercises, echoing patterns, acting out stories through movement, using balls or other props to throw and catch to music, and much more!

Practical Science

This class introduces students to the fundamentals of physics and chemistry through hands-on, practical experiments. Students will explore concepts such as motion, forces, energy, reactions, and matter by actively building, testing, and observing real-world examples. Using simple materials and guided experiments, students will investigate how things work, from basic chemical reactions to mechanical systems like ramps, pulleys, and simple machines. The course emphasizes curiosity, experimentation, and learning through trial and error, helping students connect scientific ideas to everyday life. Through collaborative lab activities and group challenges, students will develop critical thinking skills, learn how to make observations, and draw conclusions based on evidence. This class creates an engaging and interactive environment where students gain confidence in exploring science through doing, not just reading.