Steiner referred to the fourth grade as the HEART OF CHILDHOOD. Children want to know more about the world
at this age; the differences and contrasts -personalities, good and evil.
They are aware that there is not just one authority in the world; they see teachers and parents with different opinions.
Into this falls fractions-the amazing world where ONE falls into pieces to be made whole again.
When you break one into 5 equal parts, each part is 1/5th. Children's feelings are addressed at the start. Later they will dispense with pictures to work with numerical concepts.
Fractions are introduced by cutting an apple or a loaf of bread and naming them, then slowly through pictures and later by working with numbers.
With each task and sum tackled the WILL of the child is reached, strengthened and grown.