Lower School (Preschool–Grade 4)

Where young children begin to make meaningful connections within the classroom and beyond.

Children are powerful thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers. They make meaning through their relationships with the people around them and through their interactions with the environment. 

In our Lower School, students explore developmentally appropriate concepts through the lens of the human experience across subject areas, including literacy, mathematics, science, social justice, movement and physical education, Spanish, art and woodshop, music, and library. They are also supported to learn about their own and others’ identities in age-appropriate ways.

Starting in our preschool (3/4s) and pre-K (4/5s) programs, children develop their sense of self with their families and within the social context of school. Through dramatic play, block building, and storytime, children discover the similarities and differences between each other and their families. Our curriculum also encourages children to approach foundational concepts in core subject areas like math and literacy through hands-on activities, such as cooking, art, and trips outside of the classroom that help build an understanding of the world around them. 

Children’s understanding of community develops further in kindergarten (5/6s) and first grade (6/7s). In these programs, children explore fairness and navigate the ups and downs of friendship—all while expanding their cognitive, physical, social-emotional, and academic skills. This is also when children’s academic skills enhance, with dedicated time for literacy and math starting in kindergarten. In second grade (7/8s), children begin to extend their thinking from the concrete “here and now” to the abstract “far away and long ago” with the Hudson River study.

As part of their social-emotional development, we help children form healthy identities. One example is from first (6/7s) through fourth grade (9/10s), when children participate in a unit at the end of each year focused on Racial Justice and Advocacy.

In third grade (8/9s) and fourth grade (9/10s), friendship takes on a more primary role in children’s lives. With support and guidance through our home-school partnership, students gain essential tools for navigating the joys and complexities of their social world. These years are marked by significant social-emotional growth and development as children learn to form meaningful connections with their peers and develop a stronger sense of community.

During this time, children also engage deeply with academic content, with projects at each grade level drawing on and building their development as readers, writers, and mathematicians. Students make powerful connections between events from distant places and times. The study of people through direct experiences is enriched through more primary and secondary resources, integrated with math, science, and art. Additionally, small-group work helps children further their academic and collaborative skills. By the end of the 9/10s, students are well-prepared for the rigorous Upper School curricula.