Elementary School

In the elementary grades, the rhythm of the day is intentionally designed to meet the students’ natural development in each grade. This daily rhythm complements their academic learning and coincides with their evolving social and emotional awareness. The day begins with a song or mental math before the students settle into the Morning Lesson focused on particular topics such as measurement, Greek mythology, zoology, or poetry. Each three- or four-week block provides an in-depth study enriched through the arts. Students may recite, sculpt, or paint pieces related to the specific topic. The remainder of the weekly schedule is filled with movement, music, world languages, practical arts, and environmental studies, with attention given daily to reading, writing, and arithmetic. 

Students in each class are guided by a class teacher who comes to know them deeply and authentically. Subject teachers enhance the curriculum with their subject proficiency and by sharing their passion with the students, forming bonds, working in multiple modalities, challenging competencies, and revealing student talents each step of the way. The carefully planned curriculum evokes inspiration for each child at every age, and the teacher-student dynamic creates stability and promotes confidence.

We invite you to explore each grade’s curriculum highlights below.

1st grade - The Age of Discovery

Main Lesson Blocks

  • Fairy tales from around the world

  • Nature study

  • Whole numbers, Roman numerals, four operations, mental math

  • Letters through stories

  • Tongue twisters

  • Poetry

  • Speech
     

Skills Class

  • Language Arts

  • Math
     

Foreign Language

  • Spanish and Mandarin: oral learning through poetry, stories, songs, crafts, and games
     

Practical and Fine Arts

  • Form drawing

  • Beeswax modeling

  • Watercolor painting

  • Drama

  • Knitting

Music

  • Pentatonic songs and folk songs with movement

  • Experiencing high/low, fast/slow, steady beat

  • Interval and pentatonic flutes

  • Introduction to lyre

  • Music listening
     

Movement

  • Large muscle and midline activities through games and group movement

  • Folk dancing

  • Educational gymnastics

  • Hand clapping games, circle games, ball games, and pursuit games

  • Skills introduced through stories and imaginative games

2nd grade - The Age of DUALITY

Main Lesson Blocks

  • Fables, folklore, saints and hero stories

  • Nature study

  • Number patterns, four operations

  • Poetry

  • Speech

Skills Class

  • Language Arts

  • Math
     

Foreign Language

  • Spanish and Mandarin: oral learning through poetry, stories, songs, crafts, and games
     

Practical and Fine Arts

  • Form drawing

  • Beeswax modeling

  • Watercolor painting

  • Drama

  • Crochet

Music

  • Pentatonic and folk songs with movement

  • Game songs

  • Pentatonic flute

  • Naming high/low, fast/slow, steady beat

  • Introduction to unpitched percussion

  • Lyre

  • Music listening


Movement

  • Large muscle and midline activities

  • Developing directionality and spatial awareness

  • Folk dancing

  • Educational gymnastics

  • Hand clapping games, group and circle games, ball games 

  • Skills introduced through stories and imaginative games

3rd grade - The Age of AWAKENING

Main Lesson Blocks

  • Hebrew stories

  • Native tales

  • Nature studies

  • Reading

  • Grammar

  • Shelters

  • Gardening

  • Poetry

  • Speech

  • Four operations

  • Long division

  • Time

  • Measurement

  • Prime numbers

  • Carrying and borrowing

  • Cursive


Skills Class

  • Language Arts

  • Math
     

Foreign Language

  • Spanish: introduction to simple vocabulary
  • Mandarin

  • Exposure to Hebrew
     

Practical and Fine Arts

  • Form drawing

  • Beeswax modeling

  • Watercolor painting

  • Drama

  • Embroidery

  • Weaving

  • Spinning

​​​​Music

  • Singing with movement, games, and dances

  • Beginning steps to singing in rounds: ostinato, call and response, bordun, rounds

  • Reading music begins in pictorial form

  • Introduce long and short sounds as beginning of rhythmic reading

  • Soprano recorder

  • Orff instruments

  • Music listening
     

Strings

  • Violin, viola, or cello

  • Focus on form and technique

  • Ear and rhythm training

  • One-octave scales 

  • Unison melodies that may have a bass line

  • Simple rounds

  • Folk songs, traditional Hebrew songs, seasonal music
     

Movement

  • Developing hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness

  • Folk dancing

  • Educational gymnastics

  • Ball skills, group and pursuit games

  • Skills introduced through stories and imaginative games

4th grade - The Age of CONNECTION

Main Lesson Blocks

  • Tennessee history

  • Norse mythology

  • Tennessee geography

  • Mapmaking

  • Reading

  • Grammar

  • Zoology

  • Fractions

  • Prime numbers

  • Word problems

  • Averages

  • Factoring

  • Poetry
     

Skills Class

  • Language Arts

  • Math
     

Foreign Language

  • Spanish: simple grammar, reading and writing, dictations

  • Mandarin

  • Exposure to Norse runes
     

Practical and Fine Arts

  • Form drawing

  • Beeswax modeling

  • Watercolor painting

  • Drama

  • Cross-stitch

  • Woodwork

Music

  • Singing rounds and canons

  • Note reading continued

  • Learning note values in relation to fractions 

  • Orff instruments–learning full accompaniments for songs

  • Soprano recorder work continued

  • Music listening
     

Strings

  • Violin, viola, or cello
  • Continued focus on form and technique
  • Continued ear and rhythm training
  • One- and some two-octave scales
  • Learning expressive playing techniques and the use of dynamics
  • Introduction to composing a simple melody
  • Introduction to note reading and fingering 
  • Simple rounds and two- and three-part music
  • Folk songs, music with heroic themes, and seasonal music

Movement

  • Strengthening whole-body movement awareness and spatial awareness

  • Ball games, pursuit games emphasizing cooperation and sportsmanship, beginning focus on strategy

  • Folk dancing

  • Orienteering

5th grade - The Age of BALANCE

Main Lesson Blocks

  • Ancient civilizations

  • Greek mythology/history

  • North American geography

  • Botany

  • Decimals / metric system

Skills Class

  • Language Arts

  • Math
     

Foreign Language

  • Spanish: simple text, syntax, short conversations

  • Mandarin

  • Exposure to Sanskrit and Greek
     

Practical and Fine Arts

  • Geometric drawing

  • Watercolor painting

  • Drama

  • Knitting socks

  • Woodwork

  • Clay modeling

Music

  • Moving to simple two- and three-part singing

  • Learning about ancient modes in music along with major and minor scales

  • Orff instruments—creating own arrangements for songs

  • Soprano and alto recorder

  • Music listening
     

Strings

  • Violin, viola, or cello
  • Focus on note and rhythm reading proficiency

  • One- and two-octave scales

  • Continuation of learning expressive playing techniques and the use of dynamics 

  • Composing pentatonic and diatonic melodies

  • Introduction to conducting

  • Simple and advanced rounds and mostly three-part music of classical, folk, and seasonal genres
    ​​​​​​​

Movement

  • Greek sports building to a pentathlon (running, jumping, javelin, discus, wrestling)

  • Folk dancing

  • Ball games, net games, team games

  • Beginning focus on individual form and metrics