Theatre of ancient Greece
The ancient Greek drama was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and military power during this period, was its center, where it was institutionalised as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honored the god Dionysus. Tragedy (late 500 BC), comedy (490 BC), and the satyr play were the three dramatic genres to emerge there. Athens exported the festival to its numerous colonies.
The word τραγῳδία ('tragodia'), from which the word "tragedy" is derived, is a compound of two Greek words: τράγος (tragos) or "goat" and ᾠδή (ode) meaning "song", from ἀείδειν (aeidein), "to sing". This etymology indicates a link with the practices of the ancient Dionysian cults. It is impossible, however, to know with certainty how these fertility rituals became the basis for tragedy and comedy.
The classical Greek valued the power of spoken word, and it was their main method of communication and storytelling. Bahn and Bahn write, "To Greeks the spoken word was a living thing and infinitely preferable to the dead symbols of a written language." Socrates himself believed that once something has been written down, it lost its ability for change and growth. For these reasons, among many others, oral storytelling flourished in Greece.
Greek tragedy as we know it was created in Athens around the time of 532 BC, when Thespis was the earliest recorded actor. Being a winner of the first theatrical contest held in Athens, he was the exarchon, or leader, of the dithyrambs performed in and around Attica, especially at the rural Dionysia. By Thespis' time, the dithyramb had evolved far away from its cult roots. Under the influence of heroic epic, Doric choral lyric and the innovations of the poet Arion, it had become a narrative, ballad-like genre. Because of these, Thespis is often called the "Father of Tragedy"; however, his importance is disputed, and Thespis is sometimes listed as late as 16th in the chronological order of Greek tragedians; the statesman Solon, for example, is credited with creating poems in which characters speak with their own voice, and spoken performances of Homer's epics by rhapsodes were popular in festivals prior to 534 BC. Thus, Thespis's true contribution to drama is unclear at best, but his name has been given a longer life, in English, as a common term for performer — i.e., a "thespian."
The dramatic performances were important to the Athenians – this is made clear by the creation of a tragedy competition and festival in the City Dionysia. This was organized possibly to foster loyalty among the tribes of Attica (recently created by Cleisthenes). The festival was created roughly around 508 BC. While no drama texts exist from the sixth century BC, we do know the names of three competitors besides Thespis: Choerilus, Pratinas, and Phrynichus. Each is credited with different innovations in the field.
Some is known about Phrynichus. He won his first competition between 511 BC and 508 BC. He produced tragedies on themes and subjects later exploited in the golden age such as the Danaids, Phoenician Women and Alcestis. He was the first poet we know of to use a historical subject – his Fall of Miletus, produced in 493-2, chronicled the fate of the town of Miletus after it was conquered by the Persians. Herodotus reports that "the Athenians made clear their deep grief for the taking of Miletus in many ways, but especially in this: when Phrynichus wrote a play entitled "The Fall of Miletus" and produced it, the whole theatre fell to weeping; they fined Phrynichus a thousand drachmas for bringing to mind a calamity that affected them so personally and forbade the performance of that play forever." He is also thought to be the first to use female characters (though not female performers).
Until the Hellenistic period, all tragedies were unique pieces written in honour of Dionysus and played only once, so that today we primarily have the pieces that were still remembered well enough to have been repeated when the repetition of old tragedies became fashionable (the accidents of survival, as well as the subjective tastes of the Hellenistic librarians later in Greek history, also played a role in what survived from this period).
New inventions during the classical period
After the Great Destruction of Athens by the Persian Empire in 480 BCE, the town and acropolis were rebuilt, and theatre became formalized and an even greater part of Athenian culture and civic pride. This century is normally regarded as the Golden Age of Greek drama. The centre-piece of the annual Dionysia, which took place once in winter and once in spring, was a competition between three tragic playwrights at the Theatre of Dionysus. Each submitted three tragedies, plus a satyr play (a comic, burlesque version of a mythological subject). Beginning in a first competition in 486 BC each playwright submitted a comedy. Aristotle claimed that Aeschylus added the second actor (deuteragonist), and that Sophocles introduced the third (tritagonist). Apparently the Greek playwrights never used more than three actors based on what is known about Greek theatre.
Tragedy and comedy were viewed as completely separate genres, and no plays ever merged aspects of the two. Satyr plays dealt with the mythological subject matter of the tragedies, but in a purely comedic manner.
The power of Athens declined following its defeat in the Peloponnesian War against the Spartans. From that time on, the theatre started performing old tragedies again. Although its theatrical traditions seem to have lost their vitality, Greek theatre continued into the Hellenistic period (the period following Alexander the Great's conquests in the fourth century BCE). However, the primary Hellenistic theatrical form was not tragedy but 'New Comedy', comic episodes about the lives of ordinary citizens. The only extant playwright from the period is Menander. One of New Comedy's most important contributions was its influence on Roman comedy, an influence that can be seen in the surviving works of Plautus and Terence.
Characteristics of the buildings
The plays had a chorus from 12 to 15 people, who performed the plays in verse accompanied by music, beginning in the morning and lasting until the evening. The performance space was a simple circular space, the orchestra, where the chorus danced and sang. The orchestra, which had an average diameter of 78 feet, was situated on a flattened terrace at the foot of a hill, the slope of which produced a natural theatron, literally "seeing place". Later, the term "theatre" came to be applied to the whole area of theatron, orchestra, and skené. The coryphaeus was the head chorus member who could enter the story as a character able to interact with the characters of a play.
The theatres were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people on stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, up to fourteen thousand. Mathematics played a large role in the construction of these theatres, as their designers had to be able to create acoustics in them such that the actors' voices could be heard throughout the theatre, including the very top row of seats. The Greek's understanding of acoustics compares very favourably with the current state of the art. The first seats in Greek theatres (other than just sitting on the ground) were wooden, but around 499 BCE the practice of inlaying stone blocks into the side of the hill to create permanent, stable seating became more common. They were called the "prohedria" and reserved for priests and a few most respected citizens.
In 465 BCE, the playwrights began using a backdrop or scenic wall, which hung or stood behind the orchestra, which also served as an area where actors could change their costumes. It was known as the skênê (from which the word "scene" derives). The death of a character was always heard behind the skênê, for it was considered inappropriate to show a killing in view of the audience. Conversely, there are scholarly arguments that death in Greek tragedy was portrayed off stage primarily because of dramatic considerations, and not prudishness or sensitivity of the audience. In 425 BC a stone scene wall, called a paraskenia, became a common supplement to skênê in the theatres. A paraskenia was a long wall with projecting sides, which may have had doorways for entrances and exits. Just behind the paraskenia was the proskenion. The proskenion ("in front of the scene") was beautiful, and was similar to the modern day proscenium.
Greek theatres also had tall arched entrances called parodoi or eisodoi, through which actors and chorus members entered and exited the orchestra. By the end of the 5th century BC, around the time of the Peloponnesian War, the skênê, the back wall, was two stories high. The upper story was called the episkenion. Some theatres also had a raised speaking place on the orchestra called the logeion.
There were several scenic elements commonly used in Greek theatre:
- mechane, a crane that gave the impression of a flying actor (thus, deus ex machina)
- ekkyklêma, a wheeled platform often used to bring dead characters into view for the audience
- pinakes, pictures hung to create scenery
- thyromata, more complex pictures built into the second-level scene (3rd level from ground)
- phallic props were used for satyr plays, symbolizing fertility in honour of Dionysus.
The Ancient Greek term for a mask is prosopon (lit., "face"), and was a significant element in the worship of Dionysus at Athens, likely used in ceremonial rites and celebrations. Most of the evidence comes from only a few vase paintings of the 5th century BC, such as one showing a mask of the god suspended from a tree with decorated robe hanging below it and dancing and the Pronomos vase, which depicts actors preparing for a Satyr play. No physical evidence remains available to us, as the masks were made of organic materials and not considered permanent objects, ultimately being dedicated at the altar of Dionysus after performances. Nevertheless, the mask is known to have been used since the time of Aeschylus and considered to be one of the iconic conventions of classical Greek theatre.
Masks were also made for members of the chorus, who play some part in the action and provide a commentary on the events in which they are caught up. Although there are twelve or fifteen members of the tragic chorus they all wear the same mask because they are considered to be representing one character.
Illustrations of theatrical masks from 5th century display helmet-like masks, covering the entire face and head, with holes for the eyes and a small aperture for the mouth, as well as an integrated wig. These paintings never show actual masks on the actors in performance; they are most often shown being handled by the actors before or after a performance, that liminal space between the audience and the stage, between myth and reality. Effectively, the mask transformed the actor as much as memorization of the text. Therefore, performance in ancient Greece did not distinguish the masked actor from the theatrical character.
The mask-makers were called skeuopoios or "maker of the properties," thus suggesting that their role encompassed multiple duties and tasks. The masks were most likely made out of light weight, organic materials like stiffened linen, leather, wood, or cork, with the wig consisting of human or animal hair. Due to the visual restrictions imposed by these masks, it was imperative that the actors hear in order to orient and balance themselves. Thus, it is believed that the ears were covered by substantial amounts of hair and not the helmet-mask itself. The mouth opening was relatively small, preventing the mouth to be seen during performances. Vervain and Wiles posit that this small size discourages the idea that the mask functioned as a megaphone, as originally presented in the 1960s. Greek mask-maker, Thanos Vovolis, suggests that the mask serves as a resonator for the head, thus enhancing vocal acoustics and altering its quality. This leads to increased energy and presence, allowing for the more complete metamorphosis of the actor into his character.
In a large open-air theatre, like the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, the classical masks were able to create a sense of dread in the audience creating large scale panic, especially since they had intensely exaggerated facial features and expressions. They enabled an actor to appear and reappear in several different roles, thus preventing the audience from identifying the actor to one specific character. Their variations help the audience to distinguish sex, age, and social status, in addition to revealing a change in a particular character's appearance, e.g. Oedipus after blinding himself. Unique masks were also created for specific characters and events in a play, such as The Furies in Aeschylus' Eumenides and Pentheus and Cadmus in Euripides' The Bacchae. Worn by the chorus, the masks created a sense of unity and uniformity, while representing a multi-voiced persona or single organism and simultaneously encouraged interdependency and a heightened sensitivity between each individual of the group. Only 2-3 actors were allowed on the stage at one time, and masks permitted quick transitions from one character to another. There were only male actors, but masks allowed them to play female characters.
Other costume details
The actors in these plays that had tragic roles wore boots called cothurni that elevated them above the other actors. The actors with comedic roles only wore a thin soled shoe called a sock. For this reason, dramatic art is sometimes alluded to as "Sock and Buskin."
Melpomene is the muse of tragedy and is often depicted holding the tragic mask and wearing cothurni. Thalia is the muse of comedy and is similarly associated with the mask of comedy and the comedic "socks".
Male actors playing female roles would wear a wooden structure on their chests (posterneda) to imitate the look of breasts and another structure on their stomachs (progastreda) to make them appear softer and more lady like. They would also wear white body stockings under their costumes to make their skin appear fairer.
Most costuming detail comes from pottery paintings from that time as costumes and masks were fabricated out of disposable material, so there are little to no remains of any costume from that time. The biggest source of information is the Pronomos Vase where actors are painted at a show's after party.
Costuming would give off a sense of character, as in gender, age, social status, and class. For example, characters of higher class would be dressed in nicer clothing, although everyone was dressed fairly nicely. Contrary to popular belief, they did not dress in only rags and sandals, as they wanted to impress. Some examples of Greek theatre costuming include long robes called the chiton that reached the floor for actors playing gods, heroes, and old men. Actors playing Goddesses and women characters that held a lot of power wore purples and golds. Actors playing Queens and Princesses wore long cloaks that dragged on the ground and were decorated with gold stars and other jewels, and warriors were dressed in a variety of armor and wore helmets adorned with plumes. Costumes were supposed to be colourful and obvious to be easily seen by every seat in the audience.
- List of ancient Greek playwrights
- List of ancient Greek theatres
- History of theatre
- Representation of women in Athenian tragedy
- Ancient Greek comedy
- Chorus of the elderly in classical Greek drama
- Deus ex machina
- Dionysia festivals
- Onomastì komodèin
- Phlyax play
- Satyr play
- Thalia (Muse)
- Theatre of ancient Rome
- Theatre of Dionysus
- Theoric fund
- List of films based on Greek drama
- Merriam-Webster definition of tragedy
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- Kuritz, Paul (1988). The Making of Theatre History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780135478615.
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|Library resources about |
Theatre of ancient Greece
- Ancient Greek theatre history and articles
- Drama lesson 1: The ancient Greek theatre
- Ancient Greek Theatre
- The Ancient Theatre Archive, Greek and Roman theatre architecture – Dr. Thomas G. Hines, Department of Theatre, Whitman College
- Greek and Roman theatre glossary
- Illustrated Greek Theater – Dr. Janice Siegel, Department of Classics, Hampden–Sydney College, Virginia
- Searchable database of monologues for actors from Ancient Greek Theatre
- Logeion: A Journal of Ancient Theatre with free access which publishes original scholarly articles including its reception in modern theatre, literature, cinema and the other art forms and media, as well as its relation to the theatre of other periods and geographical regions.


Recognizing when you get stuck in a negative mindset may be the first step toward changing your thought patterns for the happier.
Every child has a dominant learning style, a way that he best absorbs and processes information, explains Kristin Redington Bennett, Ph.D., assistant professor of education at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Some kids may fit obviously into one learning style; others may straddle a few different styles. One of the great perks of homeschooling is that once you identify how your child learns best, you can tailor your lesson plans to your child’s strengths—a strategy that can reduce stress and boost happiness in your homeschool.
Kinesthetic Learners (a.k.a. Body Smart learners)
Kinesthetic learners need to move to learn. Kids who are kinesthetic learners concentrate better and retain information better when they are moving around.
Signs your child may be a kinesthetic learner
- You joke that your child has a permanent case of the wiggles because she’s always squirming in her seat, bouncing up and down, crossing and uncrossing her legs, or tapping her feet.
- He has a great sense of balance and co- ordination. He’s also good at activities like sports and dance.
- She talks with her hands, using lots of gestures and moving around when she’s telling you a story.
How to teach your kinesthetic learner
- Push back the chair, and encourage your child to stand up or balance on an exercise ball when he’s working.
- Take regular 15-minute breaks to toss a ball, build with Legos, or practice your Just Dance routine.
- Teach your child to make letter shapes with her body, and let her practice spelling words with movement instead of on paper. Grab the abacus when you’re solving math problems together so she can move the beads as she’s counting.
Visual learners (a.k.a. Image Smart learners)
Visual learners absorb information best when they can see information, usually in the form of pictures, charts, or diagrams.
Signs your child may be a visual learner
- He loves doing puzzles and solving mazes.
- She’s good at following directions for things like playing a game or putting together Lego structures.
- He’s very particular about how his space is arranged. He needs to have everything set out just the way he wants it before he’ll start an art project or a game.
How to teach your visual learner
- Buy lots of different colored highlighters, markers, and pencils for your child to use for schoolwork.
- Encourage him to draw things out, whether it’s a series of pictures for a creative writing assignment or groups of shapes for math problems.
- Send her out with a camera to take photographs of different colors, shapes, plants, or other objects.
Logical Learners (a.k.a. Number Smart learners)
Logical learners are natural mathematicians, but they also use pattern-recognition and mental organization skills to approach other subjects.
Signs your child may be a logical learner
- He solves math problems in his head faster than he can write them out.
- She frequently comes up with ideas for science experiments and enjoys conducting them.
- He likes drawing patterns and playing strategy games.
How to teach your logical learner
- Look for puzzles and computer games to help her reinforce skills like spelling and computation
- Start with big picture issues (“What do you think this book is about?” or “Tell me what the solar system is”) before drilling down to details (“Tell me the characters,” or “Name the planets”)
- Help your child learn to organize his thoughts using outlines or lists.
Auditory Learners (a.k.a. Word Smart learners)
Auditory learners have a knack for memorizing things because they tend to think in words.
Signs your child may be an auditory learner
- He loves rhymes and word play.
- She has no trouble repeating back some- thing you told her several days ago and can tell you what’s coming up next in a book you’ve read before.
- He’s really good at trivia games.
- She frequently comes to you to tell you about what she’s doing when she’s work- ing or playing on her own.
How to teach your auditory learner
- Encourage her to make up songs with tricky information to make it easier for her to remember.
- Focus on the people and stories in subjects like science and history.
- Make up stories about math problems to help your child figure out how to solve them.
- Read out loud to your child to help her cement information in her memory.
Your mission this week: Observe your child, and pay attention to how he absorbs and retains information. Try a few new teaching or play strategies to see how he responds.
Part of this post is reprinted from the HSL Toolkit.
Mothers are the only workers who never get time off, said Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and that’s doubly true for homeschooling mothers, who cheerfully derail dinner prep to look up a particularly strange beetle in the bug guide and listen to impromptu poetry recitations while they’re in the bathroom. (Maybe that’s just me?) But time off every now and then is essential to maintaining your homeschooling mojo. While your books may be neatly shelved and your plans for the coming year ready to go, your homeschool soul could use a little nurturing. Whether you can spare a whole weekend or just a long afternoon, it’s worth the effort to make time for a homeschool retreat.
Retreats may seem like an old-fashioned notion, but the concept of reconnecting with yourself as a person and as a homeschooling parent is practically radical in these days of plugged-in, logged-on, non-stop presence. But homeschoolers are nothing if not radical (in both the original and now-dated modern sense of the word), and a retreat may be an inspiring way to bring fresh energy, insight, and life to your homeschool.
There are as many ways to plan a retreat as there are to homeschool, so we’ve put together a few suggestions that might work for your retreat or that might just serve as inspiration for your own retreat ideas.
Make your plans
If you’re like me, you have a never-ending list of books you’d like to read and lectures you’d like to hear. Whip out that list and start narrowing down the options. Are you starting to freak out about the prospect of putting together transcripts for college? Maybe it’s time to download that mp3 on homeschooling high school. Do you need help with setting a rhythm for your days? A Waldorf book about parenting young children could be a good bet. Try to focus on a mix of practical information—you want to change up your science curriculum or you need help getting inspired to teach writing next year—and strictly inspirational stuff. (We’ve included some great books and lectures below.) And go ahead and throw in all those awesome curriculum catalogs you’ve been hoarding so you can finally flip through them at your leisure. Try to add a mix of media: You won’t want to spend the whole day listening to mp3s or staring at your computer screen.
Choose a location
If you’re an introvert like me, the thought of a weekend of pure alone time probably seems blissful. But if you’re a social animal, you may get more from your weekend retreat if you invite a friend or two to join you. Either way, try to get away from the everyday—it’s going to be hard to give yourself over to recharging your batteries if you’re staring down a pile of laundry or constantly jumping up to refill someone’s cup of juice. If you can, splurge on a location that inspires you to relax, whether that’s a fancy hotel with room service and plush robes or a cozy cabin surrounded by hiking trails. Even an easy-on-the-budget, no-frills hotel room can make a comfortable setting for your retreat if you bring your electric tea kettle and a few candles. If money’s an issue, consider swapping baby-sitting with another homeschooling mom and set up your retreat in a spot with free wi-fi, like the library or a coffee shop.
Whether it’s your first year homeschooling or your fifteenth, you’re your own best inspiration. Start your retreat by making a list of all the things you’ve done right: great trips you’ve taken, fun art or science activities you’ve done, parenting moments where you got it just right. If you’ve been homeschooling, use this time to write down what’s really worked for you in the past, whether it’s starting the morning with yoga, doing narrations with Story of the World, or making Monday your baking day. Not only will making this list of homeschool successes remind you that you’re already doing a great job homeschooling, it will also help guide your choices for the coming year and may remind you of fun stuff that’s worth incorporating in your homeschool plans.
Define your homeschool’s mission
What’s the purpose of your homeschool? Ideally, you have an answer to that question that sums up your homeschool’s philosophy: “To grow curious, engaged children who believe they can learn anything and do anything if they are willing to do the work” or “Our homeschool teaches our children how to find, evaluate, and use information so that they can achieve whatever goals they set for themselves” are both examples of the kinds of big-picture goals your homeschool might have. Not so much of a mission statement writer? Make a homeschool vision board instead, putting together quotes, images, and other items that represent your ideas of what you want your homeschool to be like in the coming months.
Set your goals
In addition to setting academic goals for your students, consider setting some goals for yourself. Whether you’d like to be better informed about chemistry before you tackle the subject next year or you’re longing to be less stressed about unfinished assignments, take a few minutes to think about what you’d like to accomplish personally this year. Homeschooling can be an all-consuming activity, and it’s easy to be so absorbed in guiding your kids that you lose track of your own needs and wants. Use this opportunity to focus on yourself and to make a map of where you’d like to be this time next year as a teacher, a parent, and a person.
Make a little you-time
The purpose of your retreat is to recharge your homeschooling batteries, so build in some time to just relax. Giving your brain free reign inspires new ideas and connections that you don’t get when you’re dealing with the daily grind. You know what gets your creative energy flowing: Maybe it’s a hike up a waterfall, a session with a massage therapist, or an hour of uninterrupted knitting. Treat yourself to your favorite leisure activity, and you’ll be surprised by how it improves your mental clarity.
Write your bad day mantra
Bad days happen, and when you’re doing double duty as teacher and parent, it’s easy to take them personally. Right now, while you’re feeling energized and excited about the coming year, write a message to yourself to read when you’re having a bad day. Think about the words you need to hear when a math lesson ends in tears or you snap at your toddler for making a mess of the science center, and write them down in your best handwriting. Keep this message to yourself close, and pull it out when you need to as a much-needed reminder that you’re doing the right thing even when things don’t go just right.
Ideally, you should leave your retreat with a clear vision of what you want the coming year to look like (and the confidence to change your mind about that vision any time), a handful of new ideas, and a renewed sense of enthusiasm for the homeschooling fun ahead. But even if you just come away with some good questions, you can consider a retreat time well spent.
Tips for making your homeschool retreat a success:
- Make a schedule to keep focused
- Turn off your phone, log out of Facebook, and don’t check your email
- Set aside time for just relaxing as well as time for being productive.
Food for Thought
- Susan Wise Bauer: Homeschooling the Real (Distractable, Impatient, Argumentative, Unenthusiastic, Non-Book-Loving, Inattentive, Poky, Vague) Child
- The Homeschool Scholar: A Homeschool Parents Guide to Grades, Credits and Transcripts
- Pam Sorooshian: Unschooling and Math
- Donna Simmons: Talking Pictorially and Living Actively with your Young Child
- Rafe Esquith: Lighting Their Fires: How Parents and Teachers Can Raise Extraordinary Kids in a Mixed-up, Muddled-up, Shook-up World
- James W. Loewen: Teaching What Really Happened: How To Avoid The Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History
- Sharifa Oppenheimer: Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children
- David Mulroy: The War Against Grammar
- Lori Pickert: Project-Based Homeschooling
- Grace Llewellyn: The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education
Your challenge this week: Figure out a game plan for your homeschool retreat, and write an official retreat date on your calendar.
There are volumes of scientific research on how to increase your happiness, but one little thing can have a surprisingly positive impact on your life’s everyday joy factor: going out to eat. And—bonus!—that little joy booster also makes a great homeschool project.
Here’s one way it might work: Spend a little time researching international cuisine options in your part of the world. (You may be surprised to discover there are more of them than you thought!) Sit down with your kids and start a list of places you’d like to check out, then hit the library to find books set in the countries whose food you’ll be exploring. (For instance, you might read Anila’s Journey in the weeks leading up to a meal at an Indian restaurant, or check out What Elephants Know to get ready for a Nepalese feast.) At the restaurant, be brave and order a variety of dishes—ask your waiter for recommendations, and encourage everyone to try a little of everything. Follow up your dinner out with another trip to the library—this time to the cookbooks section, where you can check out a book to help you recreate some of your favorite flavors from your dinner out back at home. This combo gives you maximum joy: You get the fun of going out to dinner, plus the pleasure of anticipation and the opportunity to savor it when it’s over.
Your challenge this week: Do a little recon to find a restaurant near you that will allow you to sample an unfamiliar cuisine, and start getting everyone excited about planning a lunch or dinner excursion by finding a great readaloud set in the cuisine’s country.
You know how your children can get totally absorbed in what they’re doing so that the hours pass like minutes? Whether it’s making complex Lego creations or writing fan fiction or putting together cosplay ensembles or drawing pictures, they’re purely—and happily absorbed—in their work. You can borrow a little of that happiness-boosting power for yourself by remembering the obsessive activities of your own childhood.
Did you spend hours writing stories? Or exploring the woods? Or taking photographs? It’s probably not hard to think of the things that fueled your passions during childhood—you know, the things that you put aside for a sensible, career-focused college major or the more practical work of adulthood? So often, we lose track of the things we really love because the rest of life gets in the way, but going back to those joyful basics can be a key to opening up a happier now.
Take some time this week to think about what you really loved as a kid, whether it was designing fabulous fashion doll outfits, or reading every mythology book on your library’s shelves, or stargazing at night—focus on the thing that you could do for hours without even noticing the time passing, and start looking for ways to get that back in your life. My friend Liz loved photography and reignited her passion by committing to posting one photo on Instagram every day for a year. If you loved writing, start a blog or write down the bedtime stories your kids are always asking you to make up. If you loved fashion, take a sewing class or learn how to knit. If you loved building, buy your own set of Legos. Don’t worry about how these things will translate into anything else—avoid worrying about what’s useful or practical or a priority in your homeschool life, and just concentrate on how to do what you really love a couple of times a week. Chances are, your newfound passion will inspire your homeschool in ways you couldn’t have imagined, but whether it affects your homeschool or not, it will boost your personal happiness to make something you love part of your life. And trust me, a happier you means a happier homeschool for all.
Your challenge this week: Revisit your childhood to explore the things you loved to do as a kid. You may know instantly, or you may need to spend some time thumbing through old pictures and journals to remember what inspired your childhood. Once you’ve identified a childhood passion, look for ways to add it to your weekly routine—ideally, you’ll find an hour once or twice a week to focus entirely on your passion project as well as small ways to add it to your daily routine.
One of the biggest indicators of professional happiness may be how important your position really is, according to the Harvard Business Review. Lynchpin employees—employees whose work is essential to their organization’s success—felt their work was more meaningful, felt more committed to their work, and were less likely to experience burnout than their peers in less essential jobs. Even with the downsides that come with being essential—a heavy workload and tough decision making—lynchpin employees are just plain happier.
So what does this have to do with homeschooling? Well, homeschool parents are lynchpins, though we often fail to recognize that fact. Not convinced? Here are three criteria for determining whether your work is “lynchpin work:”
- The work produced by lynchpin workers is essential to the organizational mission. (Whatever your reasons for homeschooling, you became a lynchpin worker the minute you opted into homeschooling.)
- Lynchpin workers cannot be replaced or substituted easily. (Any homeschool mom who’s ever tried to take a day off can attest to how hard it can be to find someone else to cover your homeschool to-do list.)
- The work of an organization would pretty much cease immediately if a lynchpin worker stops working. (Even classes that you outsource might slow down or stop if you weren’t around to run car service and homework support.)
I think most of us would have a hard time trying to argue that we don’t fit that criteria—so why is it so hard for homeschool parents to recognize how important we really are? It’s so much easier to hone in on the things we’re not doing well, the places where we miss the mark, our weaknesses, than to accept our basic essential-ness. And the more we fail to acknowledge how important we really are, the more we miss out on a major opportunity to be really happy in our homeschool lives.
Your challenge this week: Don’t be modest! Grab a journal, and jot down a list of all the things you do for your homeschool that no one else could do. Read through it slowly, pausing to remind yourself “yes, I do this, and it matters” for every item on your list.
Who knew that blue skies could actually make you happier? People who spent time exposed to the color blue reported higher confidence, reduced stress, and greater overall happiness than those who didn’t soak up the blues in a University of Sussex study. It’s not clear why blue hues are such a mood booster for people—some researchers have theorized that it harks back to humanity’s early days when evening meant food, rest, and a little peace—but it’s clear that the literal blues can be a good way to shake off the figurative blues.
A sky-gazing project is the perfect way to incorporate a little everyday blue time into your homeschool routine this summer: Keep a cloud chart to record the different kinds of clouds or sky colors you see each day, do sky square paintings, knit a sky scarf, make a point of tracking the cycles of the moon, or just look for interesting cloud shapes while you’re nature journaling. Choose a simple activity that will be easy to do whatever else you have going on this summer, and embrace the happiness-boosting power of the color blue.
Your challenge this week: Choose a way to incorporate some sky-gazing into your daily routine.
I love Facebook as much as the next mom—my friend Stephanie’s feed makes me smile pretty much every time I look at it—but if you’re feeling burned out, incompetent, or unhappy in your homeschool life, logging off social media may be just what you need.
The sunny selfies and highlights reels of other people’s lives can make us feel worse about own lives, especially when we’re in a bumpy patch. According to a study in the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, spending just one hour on social media sites like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter correlates to lower life satisfaction. It’s not hard to see why: When your kitchen’s a mess, your kid has spent a whole year studying multiplication without managing to learn a single fact, and you’re just plain exhausted, those beautifully staged pictures of clean and happy children reading in clean and sun-drenched rooms can make you feel like a complete failure.
The solution: Take a social media break. Sure, it’s hard to cut the connection when you’ve gotten into the habit of logging on every day, so start by checking in once a day and giving yourself a time limit—say, 20 minutes. Spend that 20 minutes catching up with people you care about, leaving a quick comment instead of just clicking “like,” and speed scrolling through your feed. Gradually reduce the time you’re spending on social media until you’re on a full social media break—ideally, one that lasts at least three weeks. As you detox from social media, focus on finding joy in the moments of your everyday life without the pressure to capture them on camera or with the perfect quippy caption. Be in the moment with yourself and with your kids.
After your social media break, ease back into online life with the knowledge that you’ve gained. Most of us aren’t going to want to cut the cord completely, and that’s fine—but maybe there are people whose posts we probably shouldn’t follow so closely or limits it makes sense to make on how much we’re consuming other people’s lives. The idea is to make social media something that boosts your happiness—that connects you meaningfully to the people and things you care about—and not something that makes you feel less than.
Your mission this week: Pay attention to how much time you spend on social media and how it makes you feel to be on different sites—and how you feel afterward. (It may help to keep a log—most of us spend more time on social media than we realize.) Set a specific goal to spend less time on social media in the next week—you might want to limit the number of visits or give yourself a time limit. Be sure to set a goal you can live with—there’s no “right amount” of social media consumption, just an amount that’s right for you.
What’s the purpose of your homeschool? Believe it or not, figuring out the answer to that question can make your homeschool a happier place.
Research suggests that people who set goals are happier than people who don’t—and really happy people set big, overarching goals as well as smaller, measurable, day-to day goals. This summer is the perfect time to focus in on your goals for your homeschool or to revisit the goals that you imagined back when you first started homeschooling to make sure they still reflect the homeschool you want to build.
If you’re not sure where to start, think about what you want your homeschool to accomplish: Do you want to cultivate a spirit of curiosity and engagement and raise children who believe they can learn or do anything they’re willing to put hard work into? Or teach your children how to find, use, and evaluate information so that they can achieve the goals they set for themselves? Imagine that you’ve successfully homeschooled your children through high school: What kind of education have they had? How do they feel about learning? What are they ready to do now? If you’re having trouble articulating your mission statement, make a homeschool vision board instead, putting together quotes, images, and other items that represent your ideas of what you want your homeschool to be like in the coming months. It’s possible that your mission statement might change over time (which is why it can be helpful to revisit it regularly), but having a clear idea of what you want to accomplish gives you something to strive toward—which boosts your everyday happiness quotient.
But don’t stop with the big picture. Working toward smaller, measurable goals reduces negativity and frustration, so come up with a few goals you want to tackle in the coming year. Your goals may be for you—don’t jump in and rescue projects at the last minute, spend more time outside—or for your student—really catch up in math, write a research paper—but whatever they are, they should be simple, direct goals that you can easily measure your progress toward. The simpler and clearer your goals are, the stronger their happiness-increasing power.
Your mission this week: Block out some time to think about your homeschool’s immediate and long-term goals. Write your homeschool mission statement, and come up with a short list of specific, measurable goals for the coming year.
Even if you’re a year-round homeschooler, late spring marks the end of lots of regular activities and is a great time to throw an end-of-the-year celebration for your homeschool. Celebrating milestones like the end of the school year can be an important part of keeping joy alive in your homeschool, so pause to appreciate that you’ve made it through the year together. Here are a few of our favorite ways to mark the end of the academic year:
Make a time capsule. Add a few items that sum up the year: a favorite book, a CD with your in-regular-rotation tunes on it, pictures of fun science or history projects, and a favorite artwork or two. Ask your student to write a letter about her year, and add a letter of your own highlighting some of your favorite memories from the year. (Not that you have to think this far ahead, but you could open these boxes together to celebrate your student’s last day of high school.)
Take a camping trip. Unplug literally by heading to the nearest campground and spending the night in the great outdoors. (If you’ve never camped before, many state parks have special newbie camper programs that set you up with gear and on-site assistance. Finishing up your last official readaloud by the campfire and toasting your year’s highlights while star-gazing is definitely a memorable way to celebrate finishing another grade.
Have an end-of-the-year scavenger hunt. Bonus points if you can tie some of your clues to the year’s highlights: Find a plant mentioned in a Robert Frost poem, find a substance with a pH level of 7.0 or higher, find a historical marker that refers to the Civil War, etc. Do a little advance planning to choose your site and clues.
Make the world a better place. Helping others can be a great way to celebrate—consider spending your last month of school collected canned goods for a food kitchen or dog food for an animal shelter and making your donation together on your last day of school. If you’re taking a summer break, consider signing up for a recurring volunteer opportunity during the summer—for example, kids can ride along on Meals on Wheels deliveries or participate with you in park clean-up days.
Freshen up your homeschool space. By the end of the year, half the pencils are stubby, the bookshelves are sloppy, and everything’s just kind of a mess. Celebrate the end of the year by making your space beautiful again: Clean it from top to bottom, consider brushing on a fresh coat of paint, and update chair cushions or throw pillows to make everything feel new and shiny again.
Host a lawn games party. Break out the classics: badminton, croquet, cornhole, water balloons, and bocce ball, and spend the day competing in old-fashioned outdoor games. If you want, keep score and award paper medals to the people who do the best in each category. A day like this is a fun way to officially welcome summer to your homeschool.
Go out for afternoon tea. Something about a classic high tea feels so special, which is what makes it such a lovely way to celebrate the end of another year. Check high-end hotels and tea rooms in your area to find a place that serves high tea, make reservations, and wear your fancy best to nibble and sip your way through the afternoon.
Have a pajama party. Spending the day in your pajamas is the epitome of homeschool life, right? Cozy up in your PJs with a movie marathon (rent the Harry Potter flicks or all the Studio Ghibli films), eat pancakes or waffles for dinner, and enjoy your well-earned day of rest.
Your mission this week: Plan an end-of-the-academic-year celebration with your homeschoolers.
Here’s something you might not know: When it comes to your homeschool life, dealing with big problems is much easier than dealing with smaller ones.
The truth is that little irritations—a particularly stubborn attitude toward a math lesson or a kid who totally slacks on his history work—can take a bigger toll on our happiness than big crises. That’s because big challenges encourage us to rise to the occasion and often come with built-in social support—your kid gets diagnosed with dyslexia or needs surgery? You’ve got this, and your community rallies around you. Dealing with a kid who refuses to work on his handwriting or who always grumbles his way through math? You’re going in with less patience and likely to garner less sympathy from people when you try to discuss it.
So how do you deal? Acknowledge that little frustrations take a big toll and figure out coping mechanisms to help you deal with them as they pop up. Think about the things that tend to irritate you in your homeschool life—and don’t be embarrassed if they’re small things that you know you shouldn’t really let yourself be annoyed by. Part of the reason small things can grate so sharply is that we try to convince ourselves we shouldn’t be affected by them. Make a short list of small gripes—when your kid interrupts your readaloud so many times that you read the same sentence over and over or your child’s dramatic sighs that accompany every writing assignment, for instance—and come up with a mantra or action to combat them. Maybe you tell yourself: “I’m lucky to have a curious kid, so I’m going to close this book right now and let him follow some rabbit trails” or you’ll head to the kitchen to start lunch prep when you give your writing-averse student a writing assignment. You know better than anyone what is likely to defuse your frustration, so take the time to think it through. And when you’ve got your plan, write it down—research suggests that writing things down is one of the most effective ways to make a change in your habits.


Lower School Curriculum
Overview: Grades One Through Five
We strive to create a learning environment that is joyful, engaging, challenging, and multi-faceted. It is a place where students grow in confidence and independence within a broad program where they feel safe to take intellectual risks and grow. With basic academic skills built upon responsibility, creativity, problem-solving, and hands-on learning, we endeavor to teach the “whole” child. Co-curricular teachers tap into the various interests and talents of the students as they work closely with the homeroom teacher to meet the needs of the class and grade. Being a part of a community of learners where students work together and respect differences is a critical element to the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade experiences.
- Fine and Performing Arts
- Global Languages
- Physical Education
- Social Studies
- Speaking and Listening
- Study Skills
Art: First and Second Grades
Artistic expression and art fundamentals are critical aspects of the first and second grade art curricula. At these stages, students are exposed to techniques, specifics artists, and great works of art, as well as key elements of art including: line, shape, form, space, texture, value, and color. Students often study important works of art and then practice the techniques unique to creating a similar piece of art. Key aspects of the experience include: developing a sense of aesthetic judgment and color theory, understanding how visual arts relate to history and culture, and showing appreciation of the creative works of self and others. SMART Board and iPad technology are used in the classroom to enrich understandings and to offer a unique form of multi-media art-based experiences.
Art: Third Grade
Critiquing each other’s work, investigating the full range of mediums, understanding the relationship between culture and art as well as exploring color theory and aesthetic education, are combined to create a vibrant studio art program. This class meets twice a week in the art studio. Through these experiences and with two and three-dimensional work displayed throughout the school, students come to appreciate each other’s work and enjoy the creative process and how it connects to other disciplines in their school and to world cultures.
Art: Fourth Grade
Through art history and self-expression, students will create works using a variety of mediums. In particular, at this grade, level students will learn about the Elements of Color and be able to communicate their ideas using them; understand the visual arts in relation to history and culture; reflect upon and critique the merits of their own work and the work of others; and make connections between the visual arts and other disciplines. Art meets twice a week in the art studio.
Art: Fifth Grade
This is a studio art course in which art history provides an introduction to each art project, and an inspiration for the students. Drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture, as well as mixed media, are central to each student’s experience. While art history and the exposure to various mediums of expression are at the center of the students’ work; art theories regarding color and design are also integrated into their projects. Student artwork is continually displayed throughout the school. The annual All School Student Art Show at Stony Brook University and the Young Illustrators Challenge, in which student art work from around the region is judged, are two centerpieces for our year as well. Students have one block period for art and one class period each week.
Music: First and Second Grades
Students attend music class twice a week and participate in both our choral and instrumental programs. Chorus is an important aspect of our music curriculum, as it fosters a sense of community, responsibility, and teamwork. Students perform in the winter and spring concert each year and develop skills such as following a conductor, pitch-matching, and concert etiquette.
First and second grade students also participate in our recorder program. It is designed to challenge and stimulate a developing sense of multitasking and coordination skills. Through a differentiated approach, each student progresses through the program at his or her own rate, allowing for an individualized experience tailored to each student.
Music: Third Grade
Music class centers on music theory, music history, vocal skills and instrument skills. By listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, reading music and learning about the history and culture of music, students build an appreciation, if not, a passion for this area of study. There are two major performances each year and music class meets twice a week in the music room.
Music: Fourth Grade
Music class centers on music history, music theory and performance. By listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, reading music and learning about the history of music student build an appreciation, if not, a passion for this area of study. Reading notes on the treble clef, identifying notes above and below the music staff, rhythms, time signature are included in the fourth grade curriculum. Students have two major performances every year and each will start (or continue with) a band instrument. Music meets twice a week in the music room.
Music: Fifth Grade
Music class centers on music history, music theory and performance. By listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, reading music and learning about the history of music student build an appreciation, if not, a passion for this area of study. Reading notes on the treble clef, identifying notes above and below the music staff, rhythms, time signature are included in the fifth grade curriculum. Students have two major performances every year and each will start (or continue with) a band instrument. Music meets twice a week in the music room.
First Grade Through Fifth Grade
At the end of the lower school years, students should have familiarity with basic vocabulary and rudimentary styles of conversation. In order to encourage global citizenship, special attention is paid to culturally authentic materials and activities such as: art crafts, foods, greetings, etiquette and customs of the countries studied.
First Grade through Fifth Grade
This is a multi-faceted class where students broaden their background and exposure to a range of types of literature, library resources and technology while becoming more independent in how to negotiate the resources in the library. Students read independently, take out books for outside reading, are read to, and learn about how best to use the atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus. Students listen to various stories, authors and genres, learn about multiple print resources, and understand and use the Internet catalog system as they take books out on a regular basis. Students visit the library for their regular library period, and visits to the library happen throughout the year as needed for research.
In first grade, students reinforce the skills learned in kindergarten but also begin working with fractions, place value, and data interpretation.
By second grade, students review all that has come before in grade one and then move into certain areas more deeply. They study place value, addition, subtraction, and begin multiplication and division. Problem solving is a major focus in every unit.
Confidence in mathematics grows as each concept is introduced, understood, practiced, and mastered. In third grade students solidify their knowledge of number facts, numerals through 100,000, place value and money. Basic number operations of addition and subtraction with re-grouping and understanding multiplication and division concepts are also major elements in third grade. Reading is fundamental here as well with word problems incorporated into the class.
The fourth grade mathematics program’s goals focus on understanding the theory behind the numbers, computation skills and, most importantly, having students build confidence and an interest in learning math. Whole number operations, place value, fractions, decimals, geometry, data analysis, measurement, probability, time, measurement and problem solving are part of the fourth grade curriculum. We also focus on problem solving and using math vocabulary to explain the meaning behind the math computation.
Harbor fifth graders learn to reason mathematically and use mathematics to solve problems in authentic contexts. Students learn about numeration, operations, patterns and functions, geometry, measurement and data through exploratory activities. Supplemental materials are used to extend and enrich student experiences and ideas. Lessons, assignments, and homework are differentiated in order to meet the needs of each student. Teaching is responsive to the individuals and is consistently monitored to make sure the level of enrichment and reinforcement is appropriate.
First Grade through Fifth GradeLower school students participate in Physical Education (PE) in our gymnasium or on the athletic fields, depending on the weather. We build a physical education program as a life skill class where responsible behavior, good health, teamwork and knowledge of and exposure to athletic games and physical movement all play a role. Competency in motor skills, using a wide range of age-appropriate athletic equipment, physical fitness, cooperation in team play, nutrition and competition are a part of the curriculum.
First graders are developing the skills needed to improve independent reading and are beginning to read to learn. As decoding gives way to fluency, a first grader’s reading comprehension improves. Focusing on high frequency words helps improve fluency. The first grader begins to fall in love with characters in stories, becomes familiar with folktales, and use illustrations to support comprehension. First graders begin developing understandings of letter patterns known as blends and diagraphs. Nuances of word patterns, such as the concepts of plurals, contractions, compound words, and synonyms/antonyms, greatly expand reading skills. In writing, students learn to add details to stories, to write sentences, and to vary their sentence structure. They practice writing stories with a beginning, middle, and ending.
Second Grade is a time where reading fundamentals are becoming established and students are now reading to learn new things or to make connections to what they already know. By second grade, non-fiction reading becomes more important as students do more research and learn to organize their ideas. In writing, emphasis is placed on writing descriptive sentences, compare/contrast, writing “how-to’s” and relying on themes as a backdrop for writing. Writing is often based on content related to cultures. Students are also trying their hand at scientific writing such as with making predictions. The Teachers' College Reading & Writing Project is used at this grade level to support biographical writing, informational writing and research papers.
Students in third grade have a wide range of interests in the types of books they read and in the level at which they read. Our goal in third grade is to create an environment throughout the day and year, where students build on their love for words, books and reading. Exposing them to a range of genres provides the right context for this to happen with fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
This is an exciting time in their lives as they turn from solidifying reading skills – depending on the reading level of each child – to using reading to learn about the world around them. The third grade teacher takes the time to learn about, through a variety of means, what authors and literature will continue to ignite a child’s love for reading. Decoding, using context clues to improve comprehension, understanding the structure of a story including details about the characters, setting and plot, predicting, summarizing and, importantly, making personal connections to the reading are all skills developed at this level.
Students also develop fluency through guided practice and repeated readings with appropriate expression and phrasing. Engaging our students in regular repeated readings will improve their word recognition, reading rate, comprehension, and overall reading proficiency.
Reading is one of the keys to success in school and life. The homeroom teacher focuses on the reading level of each student to build a reading program that will challenge them appropriately and excite them to become life-long readers. We use a variety of means to learn what kinds of books will interest each child and at what level is just right. Through both conversation and the choices students make in their free reading to regular assessments around fluency, expression and comprehension will help us fine-tune the kinds of literature that will stretch each child’s mind. Students are exposed to fiction, non-fiction and poetry and a range of genres and authors. In addition, we teach the basic academic skills about character, setting and plot. Improving comprehension, learning how to summarize, inferring meaning, decoding unfamiliar words and making personal, global and text connections help to create a firm base for future growth and development of each child’s reading foundation.
The fifth grade reading program focuses on building essential comprehension skills while keeping students engaged in a variety of texts. Students read a range of literature, both as a class, in small groups and independently. We utilize the Reader's Workshop method, which blends whole group mini-lessons, small needs-based groups, and individual conferring to guide students through the application of seven basic comprehension strategies.
Instruction is designed to meet students at their skill levels and to raise their abilities and confidence as readers. There is a focus on developing critical-thinking skills, such as drawing conclusions from a text and making predictions. In addition, students are taught and encouraged to make connections to their reading in a variety of ways, which helps them to internalize the deeper meaning of the text. Independent reading is a critical component to being a successful reader, and this is heavily emphasized. As students progress through the fifth grade program, they become comfortable and adept at thinking, speaking and writing about what they read.
Students in first grade learn about insects and spiders, cold and warm blooded animals, and use measurement to make scientific observations. Field trips to go apple picking with kindergarteners and a trip to the local grocery store, to study nutrition, take place during the school year. The scientific method is introduced.
Second grade science is a time for exploration and creativity. Students study innovation; they create their own inventions and they assemble and program robots. Robotics features strongly in the second grade science curriculum. Within the biological sciences, second grade students raise Monarch butterflies in early spring.
Third grade science is a hands-on lab science where students investigate, explore and learn about the three branches of science. This course examines life, physical and earth science. Through observation, data recording and experiments, the central themes to the year are living things in our environment, understanding the earth’s surface and how we can protect its resources, understanding matter and mixtures and how they change and, finally, energy.
Fourth grade science is a hands-on lab science where students investigate, explore and learn about the natural world. This course examines earth, life and physical sciences. Through observation, data recording and experiments, the central themes to the year include watersheds – a critical catalyst to life on our planet electricity - natural resources and marine life of Long Island and electricity.
In fifth grade, we unite theory with practical applications through field trips to natural outdoor settings on our nearby coastline and Long Island’s regional science centers. The scientific process forms the backbone for our laboratory work, and lab reports are the culmination of the students’ research and hands-on studies. Basic academic skills, such as note-taking, proper lab report writing, discussion and collaboration, are reinforced throughout the year. The fifth grade studies all three scientific disciplines: life, earth and physical.
In first grade, students develop understandings related to citizenship. They study important historical figures as well as U.S. states, with special emphasis on New York. Map skills are explored to a greater extent, especially through the unit related to Flat Stanley. Students are given opportunities to problem-solve, to negotiate, and to develop understandings related to facts versus opinions. A strong emphasis is placed on the ideas of citizenship, community, and respect.
In second grade, the curriculum focuses more on map skills, landforms and explorers. Students work to a greater extent developing the idea of citizenship. There are a number of social studies project in second grade including a research project related to Hawaii, a geography project related to rainforests and a habitat project related to penguins.
Child development tells us that children at this stage in their growth are beginning to understand that they are not just an individual in this world but a contributing member of a group of people. Parallel plan continues, but it is less and less a part of what they are naturally inclined towards. There are myriad lessons learned as children become cognizant of and a valuable member of partnerships and group work. This is why the theme of third grade social studies focuses on Community. What role do people play? What role should each member play? What examples exist in our school and local regions? Beyond our localities, the third grade will learn about the fifty states as well where we are in the global community.
The theme of the fourth grade social studies program is the State of New York. From the first inhabitants, explorers and slave trade to the Revolutionary War, founders, local and state government structures, and immigration, students become well-informed historians about our regional history.
The fifth grade social studies curriculum focuses on the study of people from around the world, beginning with the emergence of mankind and continuing through to ancient China. Traditional skill building through note-taking, research, debating, writing and reading are core elements to our history program.
How we speak and listen to each other is a natural connection to our social studies theme and is an important part of child development at this age. There are many opportunities to speak in third grade in pairs, groups, with one’s homeroom teacher and in public forums. Presenting information in a clear manner with good eye contact and a loud voice are skills we reinforce. As a considerate member of a community knowing how to share, listen and brainstorm effectively students learn how to work as a team to solve problems and create solutions.
There are many forms to speaking in school and we believe in providing frequent opportunities for each student to become self-assured, poised speakers. Summarizing current events, explaining the processes used in answering questions, reading aloud fluidly and with expression, as well as presenting projects in a public forum, are examples where students gain confidence in themselves a public speakers.
The pace of life in school can be fast, but by concentrating on attentive and thoughtful listening skills, students learn more about the world around them from their classmates and teachers alike. By listening carefully and patiently to oral directions, student discussion and storytelling, for example, students appreciate the power of listening.
Speaking and listening are woven into many areas of the curriculum throughout the year, especially in their partnership work in literacy, math, and social studies as students strive to develop skills related to attentive listening, collaborative communication and clear presentation of ideas.
One of the backbones of establishing a solid foundation for future school success is in laying the groundwork in study and organization skills. As part of a community where each student develops skills around cooperation, responsibility, preparation, collaboration, children learn to become contributing members of a class and school. They also grow into independent, self-assured individuals.
Constructing a reliable and predictable set of study skills paves the way for deeper learning. Organizing desks, books and folders, as well as developing consistent homework, project and classwork timelines, builds confident learners.
It takes a combination of skills to achieve academic success. These skills are practiced as students work on various projects throughout the year. The skills are organization, time management, prioritization, concentration, and motivation.
First Grade through Fifth GradeTechnology is an integral part of the curriculum and it is integrated into the homeroom teacher’s program. Through instruction of basic skills, familiarity with various hardware sources, and projects, students gain an appreciation for and confidence in their computer skills. Learning about safe use of the Internet, students are exposed to the computer, laptop and iPad. Google programs are introduced and reinforced – email, Google Drive, and the calendar. Students will continue to learn about Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Google Chrome, and improving keyboarding skills.
By leaps and bounds, students in the third grade grow as writers as they publish their own work on an increasingly sophisticated level. Students are introduced to the basic concept of paragraph writing. They learn the essential parts of a paragraph, which include main ideas, topic sentences, supporting and body sentences, and conclusions.
The reading and writing programs work like hand-in-glove in developing each child’s writing. Writing about what they read and about what the teacher read to them, we provide an opportunity for students to express themselves in writing every day. It starts with a safe learning environment where students feel comfortable writing and in generating their own ideas independently. From understanding that stories need a beginning, middle and end to building a logical story line with character development, setting and plot, students gain confidence as authors of their own work. Learning about the mechanics of writing fine-tunes their work as the gain knowledge about capitalization, punctuation and formatting. Students come to appreciate the essential need revision plays in becoming great writers.
One of the mainstays to a robust language arts program is its writing curriculum and with it, creating confident writers. Writing often is one of the keys to this and using a variety of styles and techniques in another. We do this with practice in writing narrative, persuasive, expository and creative writing pieces. Building a foundation of basic skills by solidifying each child’s knowledge of and familiarity with the importance of writing an essay with an introduction, supportive evidence and a concluding sentence all with proper mechanics are essential skills. Creating an energetic style within each exercise includes instruction around transition words, description language, fluid phrases, a varied sentence style allow students to develop their own unique style in writing. Research is also a part of the writing program, which includes not only finding credible and varied sources, but also citing research.
Writing in fifth grade is based on a writers' workshop model. The goals of writers' workshop are to develop students’ awareness of the process and craft of writing and to increase their ownership of their writing. Teachers expose students to a variety of writing styles and aim to develop each student's unique writing voice. Students are carefully guided through the writing process, and writing lessons scaffold to allow students to build upon strategies and skills learned throughout the year. Beginning with brainstorming and planning, children learn specific conferencing and revision techniques so that they are able to share their ideas effectively with one another. Following the conference, the children proofread and edit their own work, and ultimately publish selected texts. Teachers work with individuals and small groups, discussing genre, teaching skill lessons, helping with the editing process and asking questions to provide feedback.