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Lower School Curriculum
Click on links below to view descriptions of the departments.
Country Day offers outstanding programs in visual art, music, and theater. Lower school
children take two periods of art and music each week. The lower school music curriculum is based on the Orff-Schulwerk philosophy that builds music concepts and skills while involving children in movement, speech, rhythm, singing, playing instruments, and improvisation. We offer a full program of choral and instrumental music, including Little Group, band, orchestra, and Orff ensemble.
Students are introduced to basic visual art principles, elements, vocabulary, and art history through an approach that allows them to become confident about their creativity. |
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 | Our lower school students are introduced to the experience of foreign languages starting in kindergarten. In the first three years, the children learn Spanish. Their experience is based in an aural/oral tradition, first learning the sights and sounds of the language just as they learned English. In third grade, the students switch to French and are introduced to their second foreign language. The same style of instruction is used in these three years through fifth grade. The foreign language curriculum is designed to stimulate the ear and excite the mind. Beyond the regular class times, the foreign language teachers seek to immerse the children throughout the year by engaging the children in the songs, stories, and festivals that make both languages come alive. |
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Country Day is strongly committed to producing enthusiastic, critical, and lifelong readers. In the early years, your child will read in small groups with a teacher, exploring a variety of literature – poetry, novels, short stories, and nonfiction books. Teachers read aloud to students at all levels and provide time for sustained silent reading. A multisensory teaching approach is used to build strong phonemic awareness and phonics skills.
Children are considered as writers starting in kindergarten, where they learn to write by actually writing. Each child expresses ideas and feelings through drafts, revision, and editing. When writing, kindergartners are encouraged to use inventive spelling, which permits words to be written as they are heard, and frees the child to express a rich oral vocabulary, without feeling limited by spelling skills. Beginning in first grade, students learn to correct their spelling through the editing process. Spelling, handwriting, grammar, and syntax are reinforced through compositions and exercises. As knowledge of phonics expands, your child incorporates it into writing.
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Our mathematics program has three main goals:
• to instill an appreciation of mathematics as a logical, orderly system,
• to provide fundamental skills for computation and problem-solving,
• to encourage children to think for themselves.
Students gain an understanding of basic math concepts and an ability to compute accurately. Younger students kinesthetically visualize math concepts and number equation relationships using many different manipulative materials. Fifth graders use math writing journals and group problem solving to achieve the same goal.
Teachers stress an understanding of the relationship between math and real-life experiences. For instance, the third/fourth grade multi-age groups have designed weight-bearing bridges from original drawings. In a budget-based economy, each bridge was assessed based on cost-effectiveness of design. This kind of activity familiarizes students with real world problem solving across the curriculum. |
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| The lower school music curriculum is based on the Orff-Schulwerk philosophy that builds music concepts and skills while involving children in movement, speech, rhythm, singing, playing instruments, and improvisation. We offer a full program of choral and instrumental music, including Little Group, band, orchestra, and Orff ensemble. |
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| In kindergarten through second grade, students develop spatial awareness and confidence with various equipment. Third and fourth grade students transform movement into specific skills and lead-up games, and in fifth grade they learn to apply skills and rules to games. Daily exercise is emphasized. Each child's physical fitness is assessed twice during the school year. |
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The science curriculum promotes learning through a hands-on, thought-provoking
environment. Children are taught to observe, classify, understand time/space relationships, measure, communicate, predict, infer, and experiment. Life science includes the human body, its systems and senses, personal hygiene, health and safety, and nutrition. Other topics include animals, insects, and plant development. In earth science, students study environmental matters, energy sources and uses, and geology.
In physical science, students study water, air, heat, magnets, and electricity. They explore atoms, molecules, and physical and chemical changes. Starting in 5th grade, innovative methods in a lab setting such as rocketry demonstrations or visits to our unique portable Starlab planetarium, help develop curious, well-rounded students who are interested in science and its impact on their daily lives. |
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