First grade
With hands-on inquiry we empower children to express themselves, to actively think with their hands, body, and mind, to explore concepts in depth from multiple perspectives.
First Grade: Deepening Inquiry, Building Community
In first grade, children’s curiosity expands and so does the complexity of their thinking. Projects become longer-term and more interdisciplinary.
First grade is a year of big developmental leaps from August to May. Children are embrace more structured learning, and with that comes growth across all domains. At the same time, we remain deeply attuned to the varied pace of development in each child. By recognizing these differences, we help even out growth through consistent routines, reflective discussions, and skill-building embedded in play and purpose.
We integrate Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences into our teaching, ensuring each child can learn in a way that suits them, recognizing how preferences shape individual approaches to learning.
Explicit Instruction
Wilson Literacy Program, Dimensions Math, games, and Montressori materials continue to support academic growth with clear, explicit instruction. These lessons are then brought to life through the motivating project-based learning that ties academic content to real-world challenges while meeting the Tennessee Standards for Education.
Meaning and purpose
By blending structure with creativity, we help children find balance across their unique developmental paths.
Hands-on experiences support so much of a child’s development. Logical thinking, problem solving, manipulating a multitude of objects and money from the farmers market support academic mastery and executive functioning.
Our students take pride in their work with a growing sense of accomplishment from completing tasks, meeting goals, and learning new skills.
Motor skills
A hilly farm and animal husbandry offer a lot of opportunity to practice fine and large motor skills beyond the tools we already offer indoors.
Students show more control in running, jumping, balancing, and playing sports or organized games. We introduce sports in a collaborative atmosphere with a spirit of discovery rather than competition. The latter comes naturally so we work on social emotional regulation and team work!