With an emphasis on experiential learning, the Lower School teaches basic skills in reading, writing, science, and mathematics and forms the intellectual habits that provide the foundation for all future academic work. To promote positive attitudes toward school and lifelong learning, the program is carefully crafted to encourage an interest in, and a confidence for, independent work. Read More
From Mary Jane Milner, Lower School Division Head
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April 16, 2008
Three of the most notable naturalists and environmentalists of our times, Rachel Carson, Edward O. Wilson and Aldo Leopald, all speak of this phenomena—that, indeed, it is throughout childhood that one connects most powerfully and wonderfully with nature. Rachel Carson in A Sense of Wonder exhorts adults to walk hand in hand with a child through the woods, along beaches and at water's edge, in order to become reconnected to the beauty and wonder of nature for, asserts Carson, it is the child's sense of awe, their ability to stop and stare and ponder the meaning, that has the power to wake up we adults who have become so familiar with our surroundings that we tend to stop noticing that which to a child is still magical.
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Lower School News
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Orff Schulwerk
Key School's internationally recognized Orff Schulwerk music program begins in grade one and continues through grade eight. Named for German composer Carl Orff, and developed at the Key School since the early 1970s, this unique approach to music education involves the students in a daily study of creative movement, dance, speech, instrument playing, singing, drama, and improvisation.
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The Lower School's Life Skills Program Overview
The Life Skills curriculum seeks to develop and promote the wellness of each student. The curriculum guides and supports students in their unique personal development and in their efforts to mature socially, emotionally and ethically. The interweaving of the life skills and academic programs ensures a safe and respectful school environment in which rich learning can flourish.
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French Program
In accord with The Key School’s belief that learning is best achieved through an engaging experiential process, teaching French within the
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Manse Library Program
Read MoreThe beautifully renovated Manse Library welcomes children, teachers and parents. Each -
Physical Education Program
The Lower School Physical Education program at Key encourages the development of each student’s physical well-being. We hope to provide a foundation whereupon students can construct a lifelong healthy relationship with their bodies as they explore their natural talents and limitations within a safe community of friends. Our Key students are well-challenged academically, and with a focus on developing the whole child, the School places equal emphasis on the social, emotional and physical domains. As our students find themselves living in increasingly complex and often stressful times, an early foundation of healthy lifestyle habits will serve them well.
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