Elementary Program
The primary goal of the Elementary program is to provide a stimulating, secure environment where students discover a love for learning, build a strong foundation of thinking skills and develop a positive self-image.
Exploration, critical thinking, inquiry and problem solving are employed with the understanding that children learn best by doing. Basic skills are taught within the context of an integrated curriculum in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and health by a credentialed classroom teacher.
Students have enrichment classes with specialty teachers in the subjects of:
- Spanish
- Dance
- Physical Education
- Music
- Art
- Science Lab
- Martial Arts
- Library Science and
- Computer Science.
Our Performing Arts program builds confidence, public speaking skills and familiarity with creative expression as students perform for audiences three times per year. (More about Performing Arts)
Field trips expand the program beyond the classroom environment and grades 3 through 5 have a few overnight trips to science camps and Sacramento that are built into the course curriculum. (More about field trips)
Optional after school participation in athletics begins in grades 4 and 5.
Another important aspect of our program centers on our school's location on 355 acres: our ecoliteracy and outdoor learning program.
Ecoliteracy and Outdoor Learning Program
“Take your mind for a walk.”
Our Lower School students interact daily with Mount Madonna’s natural environment. Our students’ “outdoor classroom” provides opportunities for exploration, observation, imagination and reflection inspired by the natural environment of the redwood forests, oak trees, life lab gardens, ponds, meadows and rocks. Whether grinding sandstone rocks at recess, hiking with big buddies to the newt and duck ponds or simply watching the various migratory birds that visit our lake area bus stop, students’ daily life and classroom lessons help us achieve important eco-literate citizenship goals.
Primary Goals of the Ecoliteracy and Outdoor Learning Program include the development of:
- Stewardship for our environment, creating sustainable communities.
- A personal relationship with nature
- Character building qualities such as perseverance, creativity, teambuilding, integrity
- Physical Health to increase stamina, provide stress reduction and fitness
- Knowledge of the life/earth sciences, ecology of life, habitats, local plants and animals
- Nature-inspired creative expression
- Life skills and wilderness safety
- Agricultural awareness of food sources, issues in farming, local/global economy.
