Primary: Grades K-5
During this phase, children enter a stage of developmental integration in which they are organizing and combining various skills to accomplish increasingly complex tasks and understand concepts. Children develop more fully into unique individuals who comprehend and formulate questions and ideas about their immediate world. They learn to think logically, anticipate outcomes, classify objects and solve problems. They enjoy being challenged and encouraged and love to take on big projects and show the world what they have discovered.
Completing tasks, projects and other demonstrations of their learning help children at Blue School build self-confidence as well as a sense of responsibility in the community. Within a supportive environment they explore, play, and take small and big risks. With the tools and skills they need, children are given access to a grand exploration of the world, and a way to think through complex problems resulting in creative solutions. Through project work, children actively investigate their interests, discover new ideas and develop their own theories. In keeping with Blue School's mission and values, teachers in our Primary Program bring an intrinsic belief in the power and beauty of children's unique process of learning.
Children respond to learning and understanding in a variety of ways, but each child understands that both are acts of concentrated effort, filled with imaginative flights, flexible thought, and reflective summation. The product is no more valuable than the process, but is lasting and unique, a finely tuned combination of rigor and whimsy worthy of reflection and pride. Creative, activist, and innovative response is cultivated through the rich integration of the arts at Blue School. In response to learning, children create artifacts and produce musical and dramatic representations. Children also curate displays and spaces, enhancing their aesthetic sensibilities, while developing independence and collaborative habits. The result may be a 3-D representation of old New York City, a thoughtfully framed painting of a historical figure, a new systemic solution for recycling, or a reinterpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The outcome is always a unique response to the understanding gathered during an inquiry or project. This is what distinguishes Blue School's integrated curriculum from every other.