Lower elementary
Ages 6 to 8
Class size: 14
Two guides and a Spanish guide share the room.
- Five days8:30 am to 3:00 pm · 5 daysOffered
- Three days8:30 am to 3:00 pm · 3 daysOffered
- Extended day3:00 pm to 5:30 pm · Added onOffered
The work
What children work on
The same areas run through all three rooms. What changes is how far a child takes them.
Language
Reading, writing, grammar and research, from a first sentence to a booklet for the room.
Math and geometry
Beads, boards and shapes to hold, then the same ideas on paper.
Geography and science
Maps, plants, rocks and weather, learned with stories and things to touch and make.
Spanish
A block every day with guides who speak Spanish: songs, stories and conversation first, then reading and writing.
Practical life
Cooking, caring for the room and the garden, running a meeting and planning a trip.
Art and making
Drawing, clay, cloth and wood, with a guide beside you when you need one.
The work cycle
Close to three hours to choose, practice and finish
Each morning, students pick work from the shelves, take a short lesson from a guide and carry on alone or with a partner. Nobody rings a bell in the middle of it.
The guides watch, keep a record of what each student has tried and decide what to offer next. A student who finishes early helps a younger one, and a student who is stuck asks a guide or a neighbor.
Mixed ages in every room
Lessons in small groups, one student at a time or with a partner
A guide's record of each student's work, shared at conferences
Rooms and days
Each room, by the days a family chooses
Every room follows the same school day. The columns show how many days a week a family can choose and when the extended day runs.
Middle elementary
Ages 8 to 10
Class size: 14Students start their own research here.
- Five days8:30 am to 3:00 pm · 5 daysOffered
- Three days8:30 am to 3:00 pm · 3 daysOffered
- Extended day3:00 pm to 5:30 pm · Added onOffered
Upper elementary
Ages 10 to 12
Class size: 14Long projects and the youngest students' library.
- Five days8:30 am to 3:00 pm · 5 daysOffered
- Extended day3:00 pm to 5:30 pm · Added onOffered
Fees and what each is for
- Application
- Covers reading the application and starting a student's file. Due when a family applies.
- Enrollment
- Holds a place after an offer is accepted, and counts toward tuition.
- Materials
- Art, science and garden supplies for the year, ordered by the school.
- Field trips
- A few outings in the year, billed when a family signs the permission slip.
- Extended day
- Care after dismissal, billed with tuition for the days a family chooses.
- Lunch
- Families pack lunch; the school does not sell meals.
Sample programs.
Come and look at the rooms
A visit day is a morning in whichever room fits your child's age.