Elementary

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The elementary program is typically divided into  lower elementary (grades 1-3) and upper elementary (grades 4-6).

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The Environment

An intimate and supportive environment, where students know they are respected and valued as individuals, encourages self-expression, exploration and progressive thinking. Multi-age grouping encourages cooperation over competition and allows children to advance to higher levels without the hindrance of relating grade level to academics. Small group or individual lessons allows the teacher to guide each student and maximize their potential.

The Curriculum

An integrated curriculum of broad and fascinating knowledge in science, history and geography is revisited in greater and more challenging depth each year. Intellectually stimulating, the program also provides opportunities for students to gain valuable life skills such as organization, self-direction, personal responsibility and interpersonal cooperation. High academic standards require students to truly master a subject before moving on. Computers and technology support all areas of the curriculum.

Beyond the Classroom

An emphasis is placed on community service and helping others. Working with the gardens complements the science curriculum. Additionally, our school believes in the importance of learning through dynamic real-world experiences. Therefore, annual class trips to places such as the Catalina Island Marine Institute and Astrocamp enhance the curriculum.

students learning about ecosystems with Montessori nature study materials a child carefully arranging flowers, developing fine motor control a child focused on Montessori pink tower blocks, learning size relationships a child working with Montessori metal insets, preparing for writing skills students involved in a collaborative peace education project, fostering cooperation students collaborating on a project using Montessori math materials students working on sound discrimination activities with Montessori bells children exploring outdoor activities, promoting gross motor skills

A Typical Day

By Emma, Grade 1 (Spanish Immersion)

8:15 AM: Journal. I like to write about my puppy. Morning greeting- From you I receive, to you I give, together we share from this we live. Morning has come. Night is away. Rise with the sun to welcome the day.
9:15 AM: Reading group with Ms. Nina. I learn about grammar. My favorite books are Dr. Seuss books that we read in Spanish. We read a lot of books. I get to create really fun book reports.
10:00 AM: Spanish group is where we learn Spanish. We write our stories in Spanish. Our teacher speaks to us in Spanish and we respond with Spanish answers.
10:30 AM: Math group. My favorite lessons are the ones on subtraction but right now I’m learning about fractions. Math groups are small so I can work with my teacher more.
12:00 Lunch. Sometimes I eat outside with friends. I can choose to sit with different friends each day if I want to.
12:30 PM: Recess. I like to play with my friends. My favorite place to play is in the amphitheater.
2:30 PM: Music. We are learning South American songs. My favorite instrument to play is the drum.
4:00 PM: Jump Rope Club. I love to learn jump rope tricks!

By Sam, Grade 2

8:15 AM: Come to class. I come into class, shake my teachers’ hands, and then begin my daily journal. I like to write about my daily life because lots of good stuff happens.
8:30 AM: History lesson. On Mondays we have history lessons. The colonists have been really interesting to learn about this year. They made such a brave journey to North America and became friends with the Wampanoags.
9:30: AM: I like the math. I like to start my work time with math. Right now I am on stamp game division. I love giving myself a challenge, and division is my favorite!
10:15 AM: My language lesson. After I’ve finished my math goals, I usually go to language. I’ve recently been working on adverbs and alphabetizing. My favorite language lesson is when Ms. Maija writes sentences about us and we have to analyze them. I like finding the subject and predicates when it’s about us!
11:00 AM: Tweaks. I might work on some of my history assignments, research animals or states, practice cursive, or work on typing tutor.
11:30 AM: Clean-up for lunch. Read a chapter book.

11:45 AM: Lunch time. My favorite sandwich is peanut butter. I like eating with my best friend.

1:00 PM: We have Writer’s Workshop. It is one of my favorite times of the day. I love free choice writing and thinking of new ideas for my stories.

2:00 PM: Reading Groups. I enjoy books with humor and have discussions about what we read.

4:00 PM: I have drumming every Monday. I love everything about it!

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