THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL In first grade, each letter of the alphabet is taught through images discovered in fables, and the quality of numbers is explored, as are counting patterns, with rhythms clapped and stepped. While kindling a lively interest in academic subjects, these multi-sensory methods deepen the child's comprehension and understanding, an insight they carry with them into adulthood. First graders fill their own readers with text and illustrations. By allotting time for such creative and confidence-building work, Waldorf teachers imbue each child with this important message: "What I do is beautiful and of great significance." The foundation of reading and writing is built upon in second grade. The children's sense of right and wrong, which lives so strongly in them at this age, is addressed within the paradigm of animal fables through which ethical dilemmas are explored and resolved. A third grader's endeavor to be self-reliant correlates to the study of shelters, gardening and farming, as well as to her learning to measure lengths, weights and time. Geography, fractions and the rules of grammar speak to the fourth graders' interest in understanding how parts make a whole, and the need to distinguish one's place as an individual in the world. Fifth graders, with their strong sense of order and beauty, along with their growing sense of independence, study the cultures of ancient India, Persia, Egypt and Greece, experiencing these civilizations in an intimate, personal way, while expanding their capacities for flexible thinking. Year five culminates with the enactment of a Greek Pentathlon where fifth grade students from regional Waldorf schools converge to exhibit individual athletic ability, grace and style.