1st Grade Hearth Circle
Building on Kindergarten foundations with more participation, longer stories, and beginning literacy connections.
🕯️ First Grade Hearth Circle
In 1st Grade, Hearth Circle expands to include more child-led elements, beginning letter/number work, and longer read-alouds. Children take on responsibilities like leading songs and recording the weather.
Duration: 20-25 minutes. First graders can sustain attention longer and enjoy more complex stories and discussions.
📋 Daily Structure
1. Gathering & Breathing (2 min)
- • Ring the bell and come to circle
- • Three deep breaths with counting
- • Simple stretches or yoga pose
2. Candle Lighting & Opening Verse (3 min)
- • Child lights the candle (with supervision)
- • Recite the seasonal verse together
- • Add hand movements to verses
3. Calendar & Weather (5 min)
- • What day is it? What month? What season?
- • Child writes the date (practice letters/numbers)
- • Weather observation and recording
- • Count days until next Sabbat
4. Gratitude & Sharing (3 min)
- • Share gratitudes using complete sentences
- • "I am grateful for ___ because ___"
- • Practice listening and responding
5. Song & Movement (4 min)
- • Seasonal song with actions
- • Movement break: dancing, marching, stretching
- • Child can choose or lead the song
6. Story Time (6 min)
- • Read-aloud from unit book list
- • Fairy tales and folk tales featured
- • Brief discussion: "What happened? How did they feel?"
7. Closing (2 min)
- • Closing verse or blessing
- • Blow out candle together
- • Ring bell to transition to lessons
🌿 1st Grade Seasonal Verses
🌾 Lammas
"From tiny seed to golden grain,
Through sunshine, wind, and gentle rain,
The Earth has worked to feed us all,
We give our thanks before the fall."
🍂 Mabon
"The leaves are turning red and gold,
The harvest stories now are told,
Day and night stand side by side,
In balance, peace, and autumn's tide."
🎃 Samhain
"When shadows lengthen, nights grow long,
We remember those now gone,
Their love still lives within our hearts,
Though from this world they did depart."
❄️ Yule
"The longest night has come at last,
The darkest days will soon be past,
We light our candles, one by one,
To welcome back the newborn sun."
🕯️ Imbolc
"Brigid's fire burns so bright,
Chasing away the winter night,
Seeds are stirring, lambs are born,
Spring is coming with the morn."
🥚 Ostara
"Equal day and equal night,
The world awakens to the light,
Eggs and flowers, birds that sing,
Welcome, welcome, lovely spring!"
🌸 Beltane
"The May Queen dances through the land,
With flowers blooming close at hand,
We weave our ribbons, bright and gay,
And celebrate this Beltane day!"
☀️ Litha
"The sun stands high, the day is long,
We raise our voices, sing our song,
Midsummer magic fills the air,
With joy and wonder everywhere!"
💡 1st Grade Tips
- • Add writing - Let children write the date, weather words, or gratitudes
- • Longer stories - First graders can handle chapter books read over several days
- • Child leadership - Rotate who lights candle, rings bell, leads song
- • Nature journals - Quick sketch of something observed outside
- • Connect to lessons - Preview what you'll learn today
- • Memory verses - Work on memorizing seasonal poems