Lower Elementary—Grades 1 & 2

The Lower Elementary program at The Spring Hill School is designed to transition the child from the stage of a sensorial relationship with the environment to learning through intelligence and imagination. Primary children say, “Help me do it myself”, and elementary children say, “Help me think for myself.” They are interested in what is fair and just, and are becoming outgoing and social. Their need for organization and routine is replaced with a drive to learn more information.

The role of teachers is to ‘strike the imagination’ and guide discovery. Lessons are given to individuals, small groups, and the whole class. Spring Hill teachers are committed to the success of each child and individualize curricula to appropriately engage and challenge them. Because our school is small by design and our student-teacher ratio is low, social/emotional needs of children are addressed organically during school time as well as through specific components of the curriculum.

Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled twice a year, and parents also may consult with teachers at any time. We encourage families and caregivers to become involved and there are many ways to participate in our wonderful educational community. Assessments are done three times per year. Teachers work with students on academic and emotional skills for test taking that reduce anxiety and help them understand their role in their own learning.

Curriculum

Reading & Writing	History	Math & Science	Music, Art + Spanish	PE, Wellness + Social/Emotional Development
Phonics, reading strategies, fluency + comprehension, elements of a story	Land + water forms, mapping	Mathematical Mindset & growth mindset	Weekly music classes focus on voice, drumming, rhythm + composition; appreciation study of musicians such as: Mozart, Debussy, Vivaldi, Handel, Bach, Beethoven, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin	Daily physical education: Individual and team building activities that help students develop skills and confidence, sportsmanship, motor skills, coordination, and risk-taking through physical fitness
Literature circles, Reader's Theater, independent + reading, poetry recitation, music integration	Concepts of time	Mathematical Content Standards and Eight Mathematical Practice Standards	Weekly art classes and appreciation study of artists such as: Chagall, Calder, Picasso, Faith Ringold, Monet, Georgia O'Keefe	Frequent conferencing to ensure that each child feels safe and valued
The history of writing, handwriting (print + cursive)	Fundamental needs of people	Making sense of problems + persevere in solving them; use appropriate tools strategically	Daily Spanish classes focus on speaking, writing, vocabulary, and cultural study	Mindfulness classes
Grammar + word study	Early America	Addition, subtraction, place value, multiplication, measurement + geometry	“Sing & Speak” Spanish	Community meetings, conflict resolution
Handwriting, cursive + print	Study of remarkable people	Systems in physical, life, earth + space sciences, patterns of light + sound		Stewardship + care of environment
Journal writing, self-expression, verbal presentation of knowledge + ideas	Presidents	Living + nonliving things, classification, ecology, botany, zoology, interdependence of living things, research projects		Service learning
Types of writing: expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive writing	Civil rights	Design Thinking: creative problem solving using empathy, creativity, innovation + collaboration		Nutrition, cooking + gardening

Schedule

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
8:30–8:45	Gathering, Singing, Mindfulness				All-School Community Meeting
8:45–9:00	Work Period, Small-Group Math Lessons
9:00–9:30					Art/Makers
9:30–10:30	Science & Geography
10:30–11:00	Community Circle				Science Experiments
11:00–12:00	Spanish/PE	Music/Spanish	Extended Work Period	Spanish/PE
12:00–1:00	Lunch
1:00–2:00	Language Arts				Gardening, Cooking, Sewing, PE
2:00–2:30	Story + Dismissal
2:30–3:00	Language Arts/Class Jobs	Yoga, Drama, PE	Spanish/PE	Language Arts/Class Jobs	Class Job/Weekly Reflections

Upper Elementary—Grades 3 & 4

Students in Upper Elementary are hardworking, industrious, and curious. They are concerned with fairness and justice, global issues, and relationships. At this stage, young learners can concentrate on reading and thinking for long periods of time and enjoy logic and problem solving. To support this important stage of development, the Upper Elementary curriculum and classroom is dynamic, challenging, and engineered with purposeful work in order to help develop confident, caring, and global citizens. Students and teachers collaborate to develop academic and social emotional goals and, as a result, students in Upper El own their education!

Spring Hill teachers are committed to the success of each child and individualize curricula to appropriately engage and challenge students. Because our school is small by design and our student-teacher ratio is low, social/emotional needs of children are addressed organically during school time as well as through specific components of the curriculum.

Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled twice a year, and parents also may consult with teachers at any time. We encourage families and caregivers to become involved and there are many ways to participate in our wonderful educational community. Assessments are done three times per year. Teachers work with students on academic and emotional skills for test taking that reduce anxiety and help them understand their role in their own learning.

Curriculum

Humanities + Literacy	Science + Makers	Math	Social + Emotional Development	Signature Programs
Building a reading life, reading to learn, character studies, comprehension, accuracy, fluency, expanding vocabulary	NGSS Science Bundles, garden, integrated arts, research projects, data collection + analysis	Mathematical Mindset & growth mindset	Frequent conferencing to ensure that each child feels safe and valued	Daily Spanish classes, study of culture
Reading workshop, independent + shared reading, music integration	Science & Makers classes (inspired by Stanford d.school, Design Thinking & scientific inquiry)	Abstract + quantitative reasoning	Mindfulness classes	Weekly music classes focus on voice, drumming, rhythm and composition
Opinion, expository, poetry, narrative persuasive essays, historical fiction, journaling, thesis-based essays, research + citations	Evidence of patterns + systems in the natural and designed world	Attention to precision	Community meetings	Weekly art classes with comprehensive visual arts curriculum, creative expression, and art appreciation
Writers workshop, Reading without Tears, grammar + word study	Living things, traits of organisms, survival + habitat	Mathematical Content Standards and Eight Mathematical Practice Standards	Conflict resolution	Makers classes and projects integrate hands and mind with practical and vocational skills such as sewing, weaving, print making, pottery, cooking, metal arts, tinkering, coding, and model making
Speaking + listening, presentation of knowledge + ideas	Weather + climate, energy, forces + motion, aquaponics	Four operations, place value, fractions, introduction to decimals, measurement + geometry, statistics, data + probability	Stewardship + citizenship	Daily physical education: Individual and team building activities that help students develop skills and confidence, sportsmanship, motor skills, coordination, and risk-taking through physical fitness
Citizenship, government, California history + geography, local economies, Native Americans, immigration

Schedule

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
8:00–8:30	Indoor/Outdoor Play
8:30–9:00	Morning Meeting, Singing, Mindfulness				All-School Community Meeting
9:00–10:30	Language Arts/Math	Language Arts/Math	Language Arts/Math	Language Arts/Math	Language Arts/Social Studies
10:30–11:00					PE/Spanish
11:00–12:00		PE/Spanish	PE/Spanish
12:00–1:00	Lunch
1:00–2:00	PE/Spanish	STEM/Music	STEM/Art	PE/Spanish	STEM
2:00–3:00	Social Studies			Social Studies

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