Lower Elementary (Grades 1-3)

• Students attain a strong sense of morality and fairness through teacher modeling and facilitated discussions.
• Students develop conflict resolution skills and learn to use active listening and “I” statements to come to mutually respectful and acceptable agreements with peers. 
• Students work through strategies to increase self-control andmindfulness while working and interacting with their peers. 
• Individual academic, social and emotional aspects of a child’s development are inseparable and hold equal importance in their growth and learning. 

• Confidence in speaking before an audience grows naturally and gradually in our students by having many opportunities to share their thoughts and feelings in a variety of formats.
• Speaking opportunities progress from informal sharing during class meetings to formal presentations of their own work in front of a large audience.

• Day trips at the Lower Elementary level make it possible for children to directly experience concepts presented in class. 
• Trips to locations like the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, Museum Village, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Great Swamp Nature Preserve, the Turtle Back Zoo, the Newark Museum Planetarium, and NJPAC are visited over the three-year cycle of the Lower Elementary Program.

• Presentations from people in the community- holidays such as Ramadan, Passover, Diwali, Lunar New Year as well as professional experiences.
• Author talks that correspond with classroom author studies (most recently, Peter Brown).
• International Day to celebrate diversity is an extension of classroom cultural curriculum.
• Firefighter visits.
• Fun annual specials days such as 100th day, Read across America, the Village School Thankful Feast, and Fun Day.

• Students develop an awareness of the needs of others in their community through engagement in service activities.
• LE classrooms run the annual Baby Basics Program students collect and organize the donated items for Children’s Aid and Family Services.

Reading

• Students are exposed to different literary genres and become involved in author studies, where particular styles of story writing are explored.

Writing

• Writing is integrated throughout the curriculum; the cultural and science curriculum provide the spark for students to express and share what they have learned in short reports. 

Research

• The classroom and school libraries contain wide selections of books at different reading levels to support student-led research. 

Grammar and Vocabulary

• With the Montessori grammar materials, students progress from learning about the parts of speech to analyzing simple sentences.

• Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are explored, beginning with concrete or hands-on materials. Gradually, students move to abstraction, or mental computation. 
• Understanding takes precedence over memorization.
• Our three-year curriculum includes practice with word problems, fractions, time, measurement, money, estimation, graphing positive and negative integers, mixed numbers, squares and cubes of numbers, order of operations, and perimeter and area studies.

Geometry

• Geometrical concepts are explored through the use of engaging materials. 
• Lower Elementary students delve into the study of lines, angles, basic shapes, plane figures, solids, polygons and quadrilaterals.

Cultural

• Our study of the fundamental needs of humans and the interdependence among all human beings is at the core of Maria Montessori’s peace curriculum.

Geography

• Students develop an understanding of the climatic impact upon the plants, animals and people living within each region. 
• Mapping skills, familiarity with landforms, the composition of the Earth, and the effects of wind and water also form an integral part of the cultural studies curriculum.

History

• History is taught through impressionistic stories, intended to inspire and spark imagination.
• The history of mankind’s accomplishments, such as the histories of writing, math and measurement are studied using a timeline approach.
• Through narrative presentations, hands on demonstrations, use of models and pictures, students explore the history of the Earth. 

Biology

• Students learn the external parts of plants and the five vertebrate classes. 
• The bodily functions of animals and plants are explored, creating an understanding of how an organism sustains life. 
• Students record observations of class pets.

Physical Sciences

• Students are introduced to the solar system, weather, food chains, geology, sound, light, magnetism and chemistry.
• Students learn about the scientific method through observations and conducting simple experiments.

• Students prepare food for the school-wide thankful feast including peeling, cutting and mashing potatoes!
• By following the clean-up procedure during lunch and snack, students learn to care for their environment.
• Recycling, composting and other sustainable life habits are reinforced through direct lessons and daily practice.

• Interactive activities include recognizing Spanish vocabulary words and the Spanish alphabet.
• Games aimed at helping students recognize and practically apply their extensive vocabulary. 
• Exploration of historical figures, such as Frida Kahlo, and their importance to Spanish-speaking culture. 
• Cultural focuses including holidays like Day of the Dead (El Dia de Los Muertos), Hispanic heritage month, and literature connect everything through songs, games and interactive activities.

• While exploring the garden, students study the full cycle of gardening. 
• Classes focus on learning each step from planting a seed, caring for the plant, harvesting, plant waste and decay to soil and new planting. 
• The human body is introduced to students as they have an overview of the different organ systems.

Classes reach deeper into body organs and systems and our responsibility to them. We speak about making healthy choices, and learning how to say "No" to unhealthy choices. In the garden the students have the opportunity to observe, make decisions on what can be planted, employ planting techniques, use natural pigments, and grow and harvest herbs.

• Classes work on refining basic locomotor skills, such as running, jumping, hopping, landing, and skipping.
• Ball handling skills such as tossing, catching, throwing, rolling, soccer dribbling and kicking are practiced;  both individually and with partners and groups.
• There is a focus on movement concepts, such as pathways, speed, force and direction.
• Teamwork and sportsmanship, and awareness of others in a shared space is valued. 
• The P.E. curriculum includes cooperative, large group games, as well as fitness skills, stretching, balancing and locomotor work.

• In music classes, Solfege syllables are used to introduce music notation.
• Music selections enhance and support current Lower Elementary curriculum.
• Students participate in singing performances for International Festival and Thanksgiving feast. 
• International dances and movement activities help students feel the beat!
• Percussion instruments are used to accompany song or dance activities.

• The importance of developing responsible digital citizens and internet safety is our priority. 
• Students work on the basics of on logging on and off of the school network and using the google platform. 
• Students practice creating and customizing google docs, slides, and sheets.
• The Typetastic program is used to reinforce proper typing skills. 

• The integrated Art curriculum is based on projects that link current Lower Elementary studies and artistic concepts. 
• Projects build fine-motor hand skills such as folding, scissor work and tracing. 

Enrichment Programs are offered at an additional cost and are held during students recess, free periods or after school.  Some standing programs offered to LE students are:

• Makerspace
• Chorus
• Orchestra
• Percussion Ensemble
• Private Music Instruction

In addition we have some programs that rotate based on interest and instructor availability.  Some programs that have been offered in the past are: 

• Art: Intro to the Greats
• Chess
• Wood Working
• Storybook Engineering
• Hand Sewing
• Beginner STEM
• Yoga