The Joy of Experience: Learning in Our Lower School

January 17, 2025
Children are naturally curious, investigative, and playful. They are questioners, tinkerers, and doers with brains that are instinctively wired to acquire knowledge and skills. Here at Parker, we believe it is imperative that a child’s early school experiences naturally extend and enrich their belief that learning is joyful and fun. This is the foundation of our philosophy for early childhood education.
Parker’s Lower School is rooted in the John Dewey tradition of educating the whole child. Through active experiences that prioritize hands-on learning through project work, Parker students engage deeply in academic pursuits that develop their intellectual, emotional, social, and physical skills. This emphasis on the full scope of each child’s developmental needs helps us to ensure that every child reaches their full potential.

Parker’s safe and welcoming environment also nurtures students by providing close relationships with dedicated teachers, who observe and interact with intention to ensure that each student is well-known and feels secure and represented in our community. Mixed-age classrooms in our 1st-2nd and 3rd-4th grades also strengthen our students’ experience of community, expanding friendships across grade levels and. Older students gain by sharing leadership and experience, while our younger students benefit from the strengths, insights, and examples set by peers.
Parker’s Lower School curriculum is grounded in a program of rigorous academics that supports our students in their development of powers of observation, analysis, critical thinking, self-evaluation, and collaboration. All academics meet or exceed New York state grade-level standards. Our Language Arts curriculums focus on developing core skills in reading, writing, analysis, speaking, grammar, handwriting, research, peer review, and publishing. We use a research-based phonics program called Fundations. Math work emphasizes an in-depth understanding of concepts, mastery of facts, and the application of math in the real world. We use Singapore Math as the base for daily math instruction and standards by grade level in Kindergarten through 4th grade.
Teachers organize the school year around two or three major themes. Lessons incorporate those themes into language arts, social studies, science, math, and the arts, and academics are pursued through a method called Project-Based Learning. Using this approach, students gain knowledge and skills by investigating and responding to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge. In so doing, children construct an understanding of the world around them, learning how to ask questions and solve problems. This gives them a sense of connection and responsibility, making their education relevant, vital, and interesting.
As our 3rd & 4th grade teacher Rose Nolan explains, “Parker students collaborate on authentic and meaningful projects that connect with their lives and the world they are a part of. An important component of that work is then sharing their achievements with the larger community. This instills them with a sense that the work they are doing has meaning. It encourages global citizenship, community outreach, and the sense that they have agency in our world.”
Parker’s Lower School experience is rounded out by a twice-weekly rotation of specials that includes science, art, music, and PE. Students receive immersive Spanish instruction weekly with an instructor that pushes into the classroom. Kindergarten through 4th graders visit our library once a week for a lesson that enriches and supports their classroom studies. They are also always delighted to check out books! Finally, all Lower School students are given dedicated time in their schedule to receive direct weekly instruction in Social and Emotional Learning. 
Finally, Parker’s campus plays a vital role in the lives of our Lower School students, and cultivating a connection with nature is organically rooted in our practices and values. Our teachers are thoughtful about developing curriculum and experiences that capitalize on our students’ natural inclinations to be outdoors. Lower School students spend at least one hour outside every day. Nature serves as a catalyst for their joy and discovery. Their deep connection and partnership with nature is formative to their growing brains, bodies, and relationships. There is room for everyone in nature, and nature gives with no expectations. Our critical thinkers are comfortable taking risks, articulating ideas, and working together to try new things thanks to the safe, non-judgmental, and inspiring environment our campus provides.