Our Curriculum
Honoring the Whole Child
Project Work
Our projects evolve from an emergent curriculum; it grows from the questions, ideas, and interests of our students. Rather than pre-planned units, our projects take shape in response to what students are wondering about, whether it’s bridges, bees, or communities. Teachers guide this inquiry to ensure it remains rich, rigorous, and aligned with grade-level standards.
Projects may be small and personal, driven by one child’s curiosity, or they may be large and collaborative, involving the whole class. In either case, students engage in meaningful learning across content areas, such as reading, writing, math, science, art, and social studies often woven together. Documentation and reflection are key parts of the process, helping students engage with their learning experience.
Mathematics
Throughout our elementary grades, we use the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum because it supports our core belief of learning through exploration, collaboration, and meaningful experiences. Bridges is an inquiry-based, hands-on program that encourages students to build in-depth understanding of mathematical concepts through problem solving, visual models, and real-world connections.Rather than focusing on rote procedures, students engage in discussions, games, and investigations that nurture curiosity and confidence in math.
Foundational Literacy
Our school is proud to offer a unique, teacher-created phonics program developed by one of our own educators with over 25 years of experience and deep expertise in the Science of Reading. This systematic, research-based approach is grounded in decades of cognitive and linguistic research about how children learn to read. It emphasizes the importance of explicit, structured instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
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What makes our program special is the way it brings these evidence-based practices to life through the lens of the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Children engage in hands-on, meaningful activities that connect phonics to their everyday world. This might look like building words with natural materials, exploring sounds through movement and song, and collaborating with peers in group learning. The program is carefully sequenced to support all students while fostering a genuine love of language.
Writing
Our writing instruction is grounded in the belief that every child is an author with stories worth telling. Through a workshop approach, students are encouraged to explore a variety of genres including narrative, informational, and opinion writing while developing the foundational skills of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure.
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Writing is often connected to class projects and personal experiences, making it meaningful and relevant. Children write with real audiences in mind, creating books, letters, signs, and stories that emerge from their lives and interests. This purposeful, process-based approach allows students to grow confident in their expression through writing while meeting or exceeding state standards.
Science
Our science program invites students to explore the natural world with curiosity, care, and a sense of wonder. Science learning is hands-on and inquiry-based. Whether a child is fascinated by the life cycle of a butterfly, the force of magnets, or the phases of the moon, we create margin for exploration through observation, experimentation, research, and reflection.
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While our investigations often emerge from students’ questions and interests, our program remains aligned with the North Carolina state science standards. This ensures that students gain a strong understanding of key scientific concepts in physical, life, and earth sciences, as well as important skills in scientific thinking such as asking questions, making predictions, collecting data, and communicating discoveries.
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Some studies are whole-class projects, while others evolve from individual interests, allowing every child to take ownership of their learning. Throughout, we nurture not just knowledge, but the habits of thinking that help children view themselves as scientists.
Social Studies
Our approach to social studies is rooted in storytelling, exploration, and connection. We believe children learn best when they can see themselves in the stories of the past and make meaningful connections to their own communities and lives today. Through intentional, hands-on experiences such as role play, map-making, artifact study, and oral histories, students explore topics like family traditions, local history, cultures around the world, and the foundations of democracy.
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Our curriculum is developed alongside the North Carolina standards, ensuring students develop a strong understanding of history, geography, economics, and civics. Within that framework, we allow space for emergent inquiry. If a group of students becomes interested in pioneers, civil rights leaders, or world cultures, we create margin for that curiosity to unfold into learning opportunities.
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Project-based work is often central, encouraging students to research, collaborate, and present their understanding in creative and meaningful ways. Whether learning about historical figures, current events, or their own family heritage, children are encouraged to think critically, ask questions, and understand their roles as respectful, compassionate citizens of the world.
Creative Arts
Our Creative Arts program is a rich and essential part of our curriculum, inviting students to express themselves, develop fine motor skills, and explore their ideas through a wide variety of artistic forms. Rooted in the Reggio Emilia belief that children have “100 languages,” we honor each child’s unique voice and creativity through diverse and meaningful experiences in the arts.
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Students engage in handwork such as sewing, knitting, weaving, and embroidery, activities that build patience, coordination, and pride in their work. In our carpentry area, children use real tools and materials to design and construct, learning persistence, safety, and spatial awareness along the way.
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Our theater and music experiences encourage collaboration, storytelling, rhythm, and confidence. Students explore movement, sound, and performance in ways that connect to their interests and classroom projects. In the visual arts, students work with a wide range of materials and techniques from drawing and painting to sculpture and collage.
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Rather than isolated "specials," the creative arts merge into our daily rhythm, giving students a genuine opportunity to create, express, and grow.
Cooking & Horticulture
Our cooking and horticulture class encourages responsibility and value for the world around us.
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In the garden, students plant, tend, and harvest a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Through this process, they learn about life cycles, ecosystems, seasons, and sustainable practices, watching science and math come alive in real time. Gardening also fosters patience, teamwork, and a sense of stewardship.
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In our kitchen, children explore healthy cooking and food preparation, practicing essential life skills while engaging all their senses. From measuring and mixing to tasting and sharing, cooking projects connect the classroom with everyday life.
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Together, gardening and cooking nurture confidence, independence, and a holistic understanding of where food comes from, helping children build healthy habits and find joy in their environment.
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