Our Lower School curriculum prepares students kindergarten through fourth grade to become proficient at reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and allow them to build confidence as they learn important skills and logic. By teaching classes like math and science in a very hands-on environment, we establish comprehension and problem-solving abilities.
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Our kindergarten and elementary education is designed to cultivate emotional intelligence, so students can develop the personal and social competency necessary to face successes, challenges and disappointments with courage and resilience. Developing a respectful and responsible character is a skill every child needs in order to thrive, find fulfillment, and be an influence for good in our society. Our program works on developing six pillars of character development: trustworthiness, respect, fairness, caring, responsibility, and citizenship.
All elementary students participate in music, art, PE, Spanish, and library time.
Our lower school educational experience applies a combination of self-discovery and guided practice in an enriching environment. The curriculum goes beyond state and national standards to ensure that all students are being challenged and given the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential.
Outdoor Education Program
Kindergarten is a stand-alone classroom focusing on exploration and discovery, and is designed to facilitate a smooth transition from the Reggio Emilia preschool to a traditional classroom setting. Play and the natural environment form the foundations of learning and social awareness, along with developmentally appropriate literacy and mathematical instruction.
First and second grade students’ cognitive, social, and emotional learning are nurtured, and their natural curiosity and passion to know “why” are encouraged. Students learn through individualized work activities designed to address a specific skill, topic, or theme. Literacy instruction incorporates guided reading, vocabulary, spelling, sequencing, grammar, listening, reading strategies, technology, etc. Students participate in writing workshops including handwriting, journal writing, research, story writing, narrative, and non- fiction. Our math program combines hands-on learning stations and technology and a learning lab where students can work with blocks, puzzles, building, and games. Science and social studies are thematic and have a cross-curricular approach comprised of reading, math, and writing.
Students in the third grade are given the opportunity to assume more individual responsibility for their learning while remaining in a self-contained classroom. Students in fourth grade enjoy opportunities to practice the skills of self-reliance and independence in a nurturing elementary environment. Students in grade four have the opportunity to begin the preparatory work to handle electives and extracurricular programs they will experience in middle school.
Curriculum Guide
