Welcome to the Lower School

The intellectual work of learning to pose questions is central to the science classroom. Children of all ages have a natural desire to ask questions, investigate the world around them, and seek solutions to problems. The lower school science program aims to nurture these dispositions by creating an environment that provides students with opportunities to actively explore and understand the natural world. The curriculum maintains a focus on inquiry, design, and investigations. Students use scientific tools to gather evidence, rely on data to formulate conclusions, and develop an understanding of scientific concepts through experiential learning. They examine the world, their interconnectedness with it, and explore how to create a more sustainable future.

Lower school students, from the first to the fourth grades, create art in the Lower School Art Studio, and 4s and kindergarten students work with the art teacher in their classrooms. Our young artists explore the basic materials of paint, clay, papier-mâché, and collage, and they draw, print, sew, weave, and build three-dimensionally to develop their skills in making and building. Initial big questions are about materials, such as “How do I make orange?” and “How can my clay animal have stronger legs?” And from there they move to representational thinking, with questions such as “How can I draw myself, and my family? Throughout the years, children reflect on their artwork, discussing their goals and the challenges they face. 

Students participate in the woodworking program beginning in first grade. They develop creativity, self-confidence, problem-solving skills, planning skills, and safety skills. A range of fine motor skills is created through the use of wood, fabric, glue, saws, hammers, tools, and other hardware. Woodshop projects are often coordinated with classroom curricula. At other times, projects reflect experiences that exercise imagination and support motor development, such as carving, hammering, and sanding.

All lower school students study Spanish. Students learn essential vocabulary through songs, games, and the arts. As they move into the upper grades, students begin to read and write basic vocabulary through a variety of activities. Classes are taught primarily in Spanish. 

LREI’s physical education program is designed to help children improve their movement skills and develop healthy bodies while encouraging creative collaboration and fair play. In addition to focusing on the skills that support sports readiness, the program provides children with the opportunity to express themselves physically and discover the joy that only play can bring. 

In Early Childhood Movement & Dance, children explore the concepts of space, time, energy, and relationships through creative movement, developing personal expression, self-confidence, and critical thinking. Students build their young choreographic and artistic voices. The curriculum provides opportunities for students to engage with dances from multiple cultures, styles, and genres in developmentally and culturally appropriate experiences. In creative dance, children learn to work collaboratively and respectfully with others, as well as to challenge themselves.

LREI’s library collection contains a large selection of engaging fiction and non-fiction texts for all reading levels. Spanning two spaces, one for our youngest students and another for the older lower school students, our library program supports our growing readers and researchers, taking seriously our charge to create lifelong readers. 

Lower Schoolers regularly come together as a division, and quite often join the middle school and high school for all-LREI gatherings. Every month, the 4s through fourth graders participate in a Lower School Gathering during which different grades share around a specific theme, such as gratitude, families, Black History, and Earth Day. Gatherings are hosted by a small group of fourth graders who meet with the lower school principal throughout the prior week to plan the assembly. Students are also paired with buddies in upper grades. They come together with buddies for all school events such as our school-wide field day, winter gathering, and in-class activities. Fourth graders are also buddies to kindergartners. These students read together, play math games, and complete activities such as making Valentines for the Visiting Neighbors organization. 

At LREI, we don’t take field trips; we conduct fieldwork. Our students carry their classroom learning and prior experiences with them as they leave the school building. They observe, question, discuss, refine their ideas, and discover new ways to engage with their community. 

It was the vision of Elisabeth Irwin that students leave the school building each week to learn beyond the classroom walls. And though students may not leave the building every week, we certainly come close!  Trips can include a short walk to the fire station in first grade, a bus ride to the Apple Farm in kindergarten, sixteen home visits in small groups in the 4s, trips all over New York City in second grade, a trip to Inwood Hill Park to imagine what New York City looked and felt like long ago in third grade, and memorable overnight trips to the farm in fourth grade. 

Each Lower Schooler has had the opportunity to gather information through experiences outside the classroom, developing interviewing and data analysis skills with real-world applications.
 

LREI's approach to technology is differentiated to support the developmental needs of our lower school students. Students in the early childhood grades make minimal use of technology, as we believe that direct experience with the world, unmediated by technology, is essential for their development. Designing with open-ended materials challenges students to develop crucial skills, including trial and error, experimentation, and persistence, that lead to creative and innovative work with technology, such as designing and coding robots, in later grades and beyond. 

Beginning in second grade, teachers make more explicit use of our classroom technology, modeling and supporting students' initial explorations into how technology can support and enrich their learning. Over the course of their lower school experience, students learn with a variety of devices (laptops, tablets, robots) and software tools that they use for media creation, productivity, computational thinking, coding, design, presentation, collaboration, and the development of research skills. Students also learn how to manage their own Google Drive spaces and share work, as well as collaborate with others. Through these experiences, students come to understand not only what responsible use and digital citizenship mean, but also actively practice them as extensions of our mission.

The early childhood music program is based on the Orff approach to learning, which integrates singing, movement, instrumental play, body percussion, speech, poetry, and drama. The children play in ensembles of specially designed pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments, such as xylophones, glockenspiels, claves, and drums. Within a context of enjoyable and nurturing experiences, each lesson is designed to teach musical concepts and skills. The lessons build from a simple theme or element into larger forms. The structure of each lesson allows for improvisation and individual expression. Children learn a repertoire of age-appropriate songs that might relate directly to their classroom curriculum or to the larger community of LREI.

At LREI, sixth through twelfth graders are paired as Big Buddies with the 4s through fifth graders. Several times a year, Big and Little Buddies get together to cook, read books, attend an assembly, create arts and crafts projects, or participate in community service. LREI students cherish these special relationships. As Big and Little Buddies pass each other in the halls, hugs and waves are often exchanged, and bonds have been established that span the years children grow through the Lower School.

At LREI, lunch is more than just a meal; it's a time and place for continued learning and reinforcement of core LREI values. Lunch is a time to explore new foods, to find comfort in old favorites, and to connect with others over a shared meal. Students in the early childhood classes eat lunch in their classrooms and practice the skills of setting up for meals, sharing with others, "taking a brave taste", and cleaning up at the end of the meal. Students in grades 2 through 8 eat family-style in the cafeteria. This shared social experience builds upon the early childhood experiences and skills, allowing for greater independence as students grow older.