This August, Under the Canopy School will officially open its doors! We will be serving students from PreK through 3rd grade in this first year, opening grade 4 in the 2026-2027 school year and grade 5 in the 2027-2028 school year.
The curriculum will harmonize an arts-infused academic foundation with outdoor exploration, extending beyond the four walls of the school building and engaging students in activities such as gardening, nature walks, and hands-on environmental projects.
By blending the arts, academic excellence, and experiential learning, Under the Canopy will cultivate a sense of deep wonder, inspiring a lifelong love of learning and a profound appreciation for the natural world in the heads, hearts, and hands of every member of its community.
Below, we offer a glimpse into each grade level at Under the Canopy School.
Grade 1 at Under the Canopy
First grade is a bridge between Kindergarten and grade school. The students are now ready to begin to work imaginatively in new, more focused and explicit ways with the mind.
The first grade curriculum is designed to meet the children at their particular developmental level. First graders learn and live through imagination, feeling, and movement. Therefore, first grade academics foster and utilize these elements to support strong academics, cultivate a love of learning, and develop curiosity about the world around us.
Grade 1 Core Curriculum Components:
Math: qualities of numbers; identify patterns; count and write numerals up to 100; introduction of the four operations in math
Language Arts: phonemic awareness; introduction to upper and lowercase letters; reading; build strong comprehension skills; writing; fairy tales from around the world; singing; poetry recitation
Science: habits of scientists; cause and effect; patterns; nature stories; nature walks; observations
History & Social Studies: symbols representing our country; government structure; our nation’s natural wonders; tools of geography; events and people of the past; how a market economy works
Specials Curriculum Components:
Music: sing melodies; pentatonic flute
Handwork: knitting (fine motor skills, concentration, sense of form)
Visual & Performing Arts: form drawing; painting; beeswax modeling; crayon illustrations; drama
Movement/Physical Education/Games: circle games; imaginative games; movement combined with music and singing; throwing and catching; rhythmic stepping; balancing; jump rope
Nature/Garden: connection to the outdoors; using all senses and building comfort and wonder
Grade 2 at Under the Canopy
The Waldorf curriculum has an intentional rhythm that enhances balanced learning. Each day follows a familiar cadence - the morning includes a ninety-minute main lesson block where students take time to record their insights through art, words, and other creative elements, followed by a chance to relax, play, and continue to process through recess. During the remainder of the morning, students dive into special subjects such as music and art, while the afternoon brings math and language arts skills blocks, more opportunities for physical activity and practical arts.
In grade 2, the curriculum focuses on nature studies and includes fables and hero biographies from around the world. As students in grade 2 mature, the duality and contradiction between the trickster characters in the fables and the courageous biographies allow students to explore their moral compass and deepen their sense of what is right.
Grade 2 Core Curriculum Components
Math: continue with four operations of math; story problems; counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s; beginning multiplication tables
Language Arts: elements of grammar (naming, describing words); beginning cursive; animal fables and legends from around the world; decoding and sight word recognition; building fluency through regular practice (oral and silent reading); comprehension through story recall
Science: properties of and changes in matter; plants; changes in landscapes; gardening and nature studies; weather; day and night
History & Social Studies: tall tales; fables, hero studies; Native American stories; cardinal directions; geography; American government
Specials Curriculum Components
Music: Play and sing pentatonic melodies; folksongs; rhythm
Handwork: Knitting patterns of knit and purl (pattern recognition and perpetuation, concentration, fine motor skill development)
Visual & Performing Arts: more complex form drawing; wet on wet watercolor painting; beeswax modeling; drama
Movement/Physical Education/Games: circle games; imaginative games; fine and gross motor activities; activities with props (balls, hoops, etc.) and exploration of the dynamics of objects
Nature/Garden Class: mindfulness in the outdoors; NE Oklahoma through the seasons; animals in winter; camouflage; signs of spring
Grade 3 at Under the Canopy
As the children in the third grade enter their ninth year, they start to see the world differently; they become aware that they are growing up, separating from their parents, and becoming part of the outer world. This can be a time of loneliness and insecurity for a child as well as a time for new self-confidence.
The grade 3 curriculum meets a child’s new interest and concerns by providing the opportunity to learn the three essential requirements for all humankind: how we work with nature to provide ourselves with food, clothing, and shelter.
Grade 3 Core Curriculum Components
Math: practical applications of mathematics; division; measurement; money and time; multiplication; problem solving; estimating; mental math; word problems
Language Arts: building reading fluency; elements of grammar (nouns, verbs, adjectives); continuing cursive; punctuation; spelling; compositions; multicultural stories, myths, and legends; decoding and sight word recognition; comprehension through story recall
Science: motion and stability; molecules to organisms; ecosystems; heredity; biological unity and diversity; earth systems
History & Social Studies: study of practical life (farming, housing, clothing); Oklahoma government and tribal government; geography of Oklahoma; Oklahoma history
Specials Curriculum Components
Music: singing in C-major scale; play recorder; folk dancing and rhythmic activities; introduction to reading music
Handwork: crocheting a hat; knitting an animal
Visual & Performing Arts: form drawing; watercolor painting; exploring light polarity; beeswax and clay modeling
Movement/Physical Education/Games: balance; running and chasing games; song and movement
Nature/Garden Class: seasonal shelter building; animal tracking
Grade 4 at Under the Canopy
The grade 4 curriculum addresses a child in possession of greater certainty and confidence. At this grade level, the child is more assured of their place in the world and is able to assert more individual needs and wants. Children at this age possess a zest for life, strive to learn new things, and have an intense desire to socialize. The story elements of the curriculum provide examples of conflict, separation, and confrontation, indicating paths for resolving problems and providing justice.
Grade 4 Core Curriculum Components
Math: advanced multiplication; long division; place value to millions; simple graphs; averaging; perimeter, area and volume; factoring; estimating; rounding; word problems; mental math and fractions
Language Arts: Native American and Norse people’s myths and legends; elements of grammar; parts of speech; writing in cursive; punctuation; writing well structured paragraphs; book reports; expository writing, creative writing, narratives; class play; spelling and vocabulary development
Science: zoology (study of animals and humans); continuation of garden and nature studies
History & Social Studies: deepen understanding of citizenship and government; map reading; how to use a compass; regions of the US
Specials Curriculum Components
Music: play recorder; sing with rhythm instruments; read music
Handwork: embroidery with a hoop; show mastery of several common stitches; macrame; introduction to sewing.
Visual & Performing Arts: develop animal forms and landscapes using wet-on-wet watercolor painting; braiding and knots; model with clay; begin scale drawings
Movement/Physical Education/Games: field games; balance; games involving strategy; games exploring movement of animals
Nature/Garden Class: parts of the ecosystem; map skills; watershed studies
Grade 5 at Under the Canopy
Grade 5 is a year of balance and harmony. Fifth grade is often referred to as the golden age of childhood because the child’s body is in close to perfect proportion before the exaggerated and occasionally awkward growth of the early teen years begins. In grade 5, children’s imaginative and carefree state begins to blend with the increasing sense of independence, critical thinking, and self-awareness. The curriculum not only continues to build on and integrate established foundations, but introduces new elements to prepare the child for the next step forward into middle school and beyond.
Grade 5 Core Curriculum Components
Math: decimals; fractions; percentages; metric system; negative numbers; introduction to geometry
Language Arts: reading and writing about ancient civilizations; elements of grammar; spelling; punctuation; compositions; editing; letter writing; dictation
Science: botany; introduction to inductive method; earth’s relationship to the sun; earth systems; analyzing and interpreting data; developing and using models
History & Social Studies: geography of North America; ancient civilizations
Specials Curriculum Components
Music: participate in a musical ensemble; read and interpret key signatures; sight-read basic melodies and harmonies; singing; basic music theory; experience culture and historical moods through music
Handwork: read and follow a knitting pattern; design socks; hand-sew a gusseted animal
Visual & Performing Arts: calligraphy; painting; clay modeling; woodworking; drama
Movement/Physical Education/Games: games exploring strength and strategy; games with team goals
Nature/Garden Class: local fungus; tree ID; winter plant adaptations; spring ephemerals; wild edibles
Enrollment is open now for the 2025-2026 school year. Visit our enrollment page for more information.
Questions? Email us at amber.gates@underthecanopy.org
Special thanks to the awesome team at 1Architecture for creating all of the renderings featured here.
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