When you enter the glass doors of Redwood Day, an immediate sense of community surrounds you. The front office and gallery are busy with activity—parents dropping off forms, bringing food, talking and laughing with each other. Students are gathering for an early morning field trip to a local food bank. Skipping kindergarteners carry their “big kid” backpacks, with lunch the sole content. They might stop to give you a big hug and with it the leftovers of a sticky breakfast. But then they’re off and running, discovery in their walk, in their eyes, in their laughter.
It’s 8:15 and you’ll know it by the “good mornings” and chatter of third, fourth and fifth graders bounding up the stairs. It’s the energy of young minds eager to share, eager to take a risk, eager to take on the day. At any time of day, you will see students engaged in their scholarly pursuits and you will feel the excitement and joy in their learning.
Our Lower School curriculum balances teacher-directed activities and projects that incorporate critical thinking, creativity, and cutting-edge, brain-based methodologies. Students might investigate the concept of “area” by computing the amount of carpet used in their school building, connect personally with a historical figure by writing to a character in a fiction book, master a weekly spelling test to assure development in word study, or walk to Sausal Creek to explore native and non-native plants and the current PH balance of the water. Reading and math assessments are given regularly to determine the progress of each child.
