Elementary School

List of 5 items.

• First Grade

  First grade is a joyful beginning to the grades, where children discover that learning can be both meaningful and magical. The biggest work of the year is collaborating to form as a class and collaborate to build a healthy classroom environment. Fairy tales, songs, movement, artistic activities, and hands-on experiences provide the foundation as students begin reading, writing, and mathematics.
  
  

  Throughout the year, first-grade students explore:

  • Stories & Social Studies: Fairy tales, folktales, myths, and classroom and body geography.
  • Language Arts: Letter formation, phonics, beginning reading, word families, sentence writing, oral recitation, and storytelling.
  • Mathematics: Number qualities, the four operations, number patterns, odd and even numbers, grouping, and estimation.
  • Science & Nature: Nature walks and seasonal observations that deepen children's connection to plants, animals, and the changing world around them.
  • World Languages: Spanish and Japanese through songs, stories, games, conversation, and cultural traditions.
  • Arts: Form drawing, watercolor painting, crayon drawing, beeswax modeling, music, movement, and seasonal crafts.
  • Practical Arts: Finger knitting, handwork, and introductory knitting through story and song.

• Second Grade

  Second grade is a year of growing confidence and expanding curiosity. As students become more independent readers, writers, and mathematicians, they continue to learn through stories, artistic work, movement, and direct experiences in nature. The curriculum invites children to explore both the playful and the noble sides of human nature through fables, legends, and stories of people whose lives exemplify courage, kindness, and compassion.
  
  

  Throughout the year, second-grade students explore:

  • Stories & Social Studies: Fables, legends, stories of helpers of humanity, local geography, landscapes, and ecosystems.
  • Language Arts: Reading and writing, sentence composition, phonics, dictation, punctuation, and spelling patterns.
  • Mathematics: Place value, the four operations, number patterns, geometric forms, and the multiplication tables.
  • Science & Nature: Nature walks, gardening, careful observation, and studies of the natural world and animals.
  • World Languages: Spanish and Japanese through songs, games, stories, conversation, and cultural traditions.
  • Arts: Form drawing, watercolor painting, beeswax modeling, handwork, music, movement, and seasonal crafts.
  • Practical Arts: Knitting, sewing, and long-term handwork projects that build patience, coordination, and perseverance.

• Third Grade

  Third grade is a year of growing independence and practical discovery. Around this age, children begin to experience the world in new ways, developing a stronger sense of themselves as individuals and a growing interest in how people live, work, and care for one another. Stories, farming, building, cooking, and craftsmanship help students meet this important stage with confidence, purpose, and a deeper connection to the world around them.
  
  

  Throughout the year, third-grade students explore:

  • Stories & Social Studies: Ancient civilizations, Old Testament stories, the origins of farming and shelter, geography, climates, and natural resources.
  • Language Arts: Cursive writing, reading, grammar, dictation, journaling, creative writing, oral recitation, and the parts of speech.
  • Mathematics: Multiplication and division, place value, money, time, measurement, geometric patterns, and problem solving.
  • Science & Nature: Farming, gardening, animal husbandry, and the relationship between people and the natural world.
  • World Languages: Spanish and Japanese through conversation, stories, songs, games, and themes such as home, food, gardening, transportation, and daily life.
  • Arts: Watercolor painting, drawing, music, movement, handwork, and artistic exploration of light, color, and form.
  • Practical Arts: Crochet, shaping techniques, cooking, and other hands-on projects that build skill, perseverance, and confidence.

• Fourth Grade

  Fourth grade is a year in which students’ growing confidence and strengthened skills begin to open the door to more independent learning. Having built a solid foundation in earlier grades, they are now ready to use those abilities to explore topics in greater depth, often through guided independent projects that encourage initiative and curiosity.
  
  As their awareness of themselves in relation to the world expands, they are especially drawn to questions of place and direction, making geography, mapmaking, and the study of the cardinal directions a central focus. Through Norse Mythology stories of courage and character, the exploration of local geography, and the rich study of the animal kingdom that builds on the fourth grader's natural love of animals, students continue to deepen both their academic skills and their understanding of the world around them.
  
  

  Throughout the year, fourth-grade students explore:

  • Stories & Social Studies: Norse mythology, Native American stories, Oregon history and geography, mapmaking, and community exploration.
  • Language Arts: Paragraph writing, grammar, spelling, descriptive and narrative composition, research, oral presentations, and reading fluency.
  • Mathematics: Fractions, long multiplication and division, measurement, factors, averages, and problem solving.
  • Science & Nature: Zoology, animal physiology, habitats, map and compass skills, and the diverse environments of the Pacific Northwest.
  • World Languages: Spanish and Japanese through reading, writing, conversation, stories, songs, and cultural traditions.
  • Arts: Watercolor painting, form drawing, clay modeling, colored pencil and oil pastel drawing, music, movement, and handwork.
  • Practical Arts: Embroidery and other textile arts that develop precision, creativity, and perseverance.

• Fifth Grade

  Fifth grade is often described as a time of balance and harmony in childhood. Having developed confidence in their academic skills and a growing sense of themselves, students are ready to explore the world with increasing independence while also appreciating the strengths and perspectives of those around them. The curriculum reflects this remarkable stage through the study of ancient civilizations, the beauty and order of botany, and the innate wisdom of geometry, inviting students to think deeply, work collaboratively, and discover connections across cultures and the natural world.
  
  

  Throughout the year, fifth-grade students explore:

  • Stories & Social Studies: Ancient India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and the political and physical geography of North America.
  • Language Arts: Creative and descriptive writing, style, research, oral presentations, and literary analysis.
  • Mathematics: Fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, number theory, greatest common factors, least common multiples, and problem solving.
  • Science & Nature: Botany, plant life cycles, trees, climates, and the geography of North America.
  • World Languages: Spanish and Japanese through conversation, reading, writing, grammar, stories, botany, and geography.
  • Arts: Freehand geometry, watercolor painting, multimedia art, music, movement, and handwork.
  • Practical Arts: Woodcarving, clay modeling, knitting in the round, and reading and writing knitting patterns.
  • Cyber Civics: Building healthy digital habits, understanding online privacy and safety, and learning the responsibilities of thoughtful digital citizenship.