Our elementary group is led by Ms. Kristen, who is a veteran public school teacher > nature school teacher convert! Read about Ms. Kristen here.

For the 2023 school year, our mixed-age school age group consisted of first and second graders. 

For the 2024 school year, those second graders became third graders, those first graders became second graders, and a couple of our kindergartners joined the group as first graders! 

For 2025, we will have 13 first through fourth graders on campus.

WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING ANY APPLICATIONS FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS. THIS ENDEAVOR IS ASSESSED ON A YEAR-BY-YEAR BASIS. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF JOINING OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GROUP WHEN YOU SIGN UP FOR PLAYSCHOOL OR KINDERGARTEN.

Here's an article about our elementary kiddos in the community: Laconia Daily Sun

We have preschool age, kindergarten and elementary students on campus. The trend has been that if you haven't been here since playschool, you don't make it off the list because those enrolled get first dibs on availability. Due to our limited capacity, we were unable to accept all of our interested kindergarten families who were interested in sticking around for first grade.

Because these are the usual questions, I'll drop these details here:

While our classes are taught by NH certified teachers, we have more of a balance. The elementary students spend a healthy chunk of the day outside. They are given clear expectations and autonomy so they can explore and have childhood experiences more like the ones we had. Our approach is referred to as "Lagom"... not too little, not too much. What it translates to is a healthy balance of academics where the children work hard and play even harder. Each child has their own plan and pace and we meet them where they're at. That could mean a second grader is reading with a first grader or a first grader is doing math with a third grader. 

Our elementary resources include, but are not limited to, the following: 

Mammoth Math is the primary resource for mathematics. Tang Math is a supplemental resource. Words Their Way, leveled sorts based on assessment is used for spelling and Scholastic Vocabulary is used for vocabulary. 180 Days of Writing is used for first and second grade and 6 + 1 Traits of Writing is used for third grade. Our reading is literacy-based with leveled readers and novels. Printable books and assessments from A-Z Reader support literacy-based reading. 180 Days of Science, Elementary Globe, Project Learning Tree, Project Wild, and Audobon Adventures are all resources for science. 180 Days of Social Studies and Scholastic are the primary resources for Social Studies. 

Our elementary age group participates in NWEA testing in the fall and again in the spring. We use these assessments to find the gaps or holes so we know where we need to strengthen their foundations. This is on a computer, which the students bring from home. We don't use much technology in the classroom, we're more pencil and paper people around here. There are two tablets equipped with IXL that can be used for assessments. The accounts can also be used at home; some do, some don't. 

Our elementary students have weekly specials including: cooking with our resident nutritionist-chef, music with a local music teacher, a "wilderness survival" adventure on campus, trips to the local library and Friday field trips which include a monthly ninja course, swimming adventures on half days, as well as hikes, trips to local farms and orchards, Squam Lakes Science Center, The Boston Museum of Science, The Capital Center of the Arts, Wildlife Encounters and other opportunities for adventure that pop up throughout the year! They load up into our 15-passenger Transit and off they go with teachers and parent chaperones.

We don't assign homework. After school is busy enough and with how hard these kids work and play all day, they don't need it. The NWEA scores reflect that to those who may question the what and how and why of our approach, but the well-rounded, filthy, exhausted kiddos are the best evidence.