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Form drawing: Waldorf-inspired blocks for Grade 1

Form drawing trains the hand and the eye before handwriting. A child walks a form on the ground, draws it in the air and on a partner's back, and only then draws it, large, in the main lesson book.

  • Level Grade 1 (Foundation Phase)
  • Blocks 1
  • Weeks of lessons 3
  • Outcomes 10

Form drawing usually opens Grade 1 and returns as a short practice through the year, so that the straight line, the curve, the spiral and the mirror form are in the hand by the time letters arrive.

The block

Grade 1, 3 weeks, 4 days a week, about 90 minutes a day

Form Drawing

Three weeks of form drawing for Grade 1: the straight and the curve, standing, lying and leaning lines, waves and zigzags, circles and spirals, the lemniscate and simple mirror forms. Each form is walked, drawn in the air and on a back before it goes on paper, and each grows from a story.

Why this block

  • Every letter is made of straight lines and curves. Three weeks of forms give the hand both movements well before writing asks for them.
  • A form that is walked, drawn in the air and drawn on a back before paper is learnt by the whole body, so the hand on the page already knows the way.
  • Running forms from left to right and mirror forms across a line build the sense of direction, and of left and right, that reading and writing need.
  • Stories from South African places give each form a picture to hold, from the beetle's straight road to the sunbird's path between two aloes.

At six and seven, children learn through movement and are ready to bring that movement onto paper. This block belongs early in Grade 1, before the first letters, and its forms carry on all year as a warm up before writing.

The weeks

  • Week 1: The beetle's road
  • Week 2: The river and the aloe
  • Week 3: The sunbird and the butterfly

What a morning looks like

A real day from Form Drawing: The straight and the curve.

  1. 10 minin-breath
    Opening: Candle and verse

    Light the candle. Stand facing each other and say Straight and Round slowly, with the movements. Say it twice, first with you leading, then together. Greet your child by name. Tell them, "For three weeks we will learn the shapes that are hidden in everything."

  2. 20 minout-breath
    Rhythmic work: Reed and sun

    Walk the rope heel to toe, arms out, as if it were a narrow bridge. Then walk a big circle round it. Play Reed and Sun: when you call "reed", your child stands tall and straight; when you call "sun", they curl round into a ball. Mix the calls, some quick, some slow. Finish with ten beanbag throws, counting together.

  3. 20 minout-breath
    The new story: Walk, air, back

    Walk the straight line again, slowly, as if carrying a full bowl of water. Then walk a curve like the edge of a bowl. Now draw both in the air with the whole arm: the straight from high above the head down to the toes, the curve from left to right. Do it once with eyes closed. Draw a straight line down your child's back and a curve across the shoulders, and ask which it was. Swap, and let them draw on yours.

  4. 25 minin-breath
    Main lesson book: First lines on paper

    Open the main lesson book to the first page. Let your child choose one crayon. Draw one straight line from the top of the page to the bottom, slowly, in one stroke. Then one curve beside it, like a bowl. Then another straight and another curve, across the page from left to right. Look for lines that do not stop halfway. If a line wobbles, say nothing; draw it in the air together and try once more. Use the sheet for a second try.

  5. 10 minin-breath
    The new story: Story: The Dung Beetle's Straight Road

    Sit close, with the candle still lit. Tell the story of Tshilidzi and the dung beetle in your own words. Slow down when the beetle climbs on its ball and turns round under the stars. End when Tshilidzi draws on her blanket. Do not ask questions; let the story rest until tomorrow.

  6. 5 minout-breath
    Closing: Closing

    Put the crayons back in their tin one by one. Close the book. Say the last two lines of Straight and Round together, and blow out the candle.

The evening before

  • Read Why Form Drawing Comes Before Writing. 10 minutes
  • Read The Dung Beetle's Straight Road twice and tell it aloud once to yourself. 15 minutes
  • Clear a long space on the floor and lay the rope in a straight line. 5 minutes
  • Set out the main lesson book, the block crayons and the candle. 5 minutes

The first two forms are walked, drawn in the air and on a back, and then drawn on paper. The dung beetle story is told at the end. The whole morning runs about 90 minutes.

Materials to have at hand

  • Main lesson book
  • Block crayons
  • A long rope or skipping rope
  • A beanbag
  • A candle and matches
  • Two chairs, pot plants or stones

What you will notice

The signs Selemo asks you to look for as the block goes on. Each one belongs to an outcome; when you see it, a sentence in the journal is enough.

Arts and handwork

  • Winds a spiral in to the middle and out again without the turns touching
  • Crosses through the same middle point on every turn
  • Keeps both loops about the same size
  • Points out a form in the garden or on a walk without being asked
  • Draws the form large in the air before drawing it on paper
  • Closes forms neatly
  • Matches a curve on the other side of the line

Movement and music

  • Walks a form in one flowing path without stopping
  • Names a form drawn on their back with eyes closed

Literacy

  • Starts running forms at the left edge of the page
  • Holds the crayon without pressing hard

Language and story

  • Tells beginning
  • middle and end
  • Uses words from the story
  • Speaks a whole verse alone
  • Asks about the story the next day

Where the timing differs from CAPS

Selemo meets most CAPS topics in its own order. These notes say where it comes earlier or later. They are written in Selemo's own words and are being checked against the Department of Basic Education's documents.

Draws the straight and the curve and forms built from them with flowing, even lines.

Form drawing of the straight and the curve prepares letter shapes in Selemo; CAPS goes more quickly to letter formation.

Completes mirror forms across a vertical line and running forms across the page.

Symmetry is lived through mirror forms throughout Grade 1 and 2 in Selemo, rather than in one term.

Draws circles and spirals that wind in and out, keeping an even space between the turns.

Form drawing of circles and spirals prepares the hand for writing over a whole block in Selemo; CAPS goes more quickly from writing patterns to letter formation.

Draws the lemniscate, the lying figure eight, with both loops the same size and a smooth crossing in the middle.

The lemniscate is a Selemo form drawing exercise that prepares the flowing movement of writing, well ahead of joined handwriting.

Draws the lemniscate, the lying figure eight, with both loops the same size and a smooth crossing in the middle.

Selemo children feel balance and symmetry in the two loops of the lemniscate early in Grade 1; CAPS names symmetry in the fourth term.

Finds the forms in the world around them (the spiral in an aloe, the wave in a river) and names them.

Selemo looks for living forms such as spirals and waves in nature; CAPS geometric patterns are mostly made with shapes and drawings.

Safety notes

  • Light and blow out the candle yourself, and keep it well away from paper and sleeves.
  • When walking forms outside, check the ground for thorns and broken glass first.

Teach it at home

Selemo plans these blocks into your year, prepares each evening with you, and keeps the record as you go.

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