Arts and Specialists
The foundation for artistic discovery is laid in Lower School. In grades PreK through four, the arts are not just built into the school day, but a source of wonder, expression, and growth.
Specialist classes are critical because they help students discover interests, find purpose and joy at school, and complement their left-brain thinking with their more creative right-brain. A whole child curriculum suggests a unique style of rigor where the creativity of the arts reinforces and accelerates learning in mathematics, science, and reading.
Academic rigor is supplemented through whole child instruction that includes specialists in world language, theatre, music, visual arts, physical education, technology, media literacy, library, and Makerspace.
A Balanced, Joyful Arts Experience
Students in Lower School enjoy immersive, hands-on experiences in visual arts, theatre, and music, all offered on a full-year rotation to ensure deep engagement and exploration.
- With visual art every other day starting in kindergarten, children learn to identify, reflect on, and use art elements. They develop the visual language to express ideas and solve creative problems. Mounds Park Academy
- Theatre, multiple times per week starting in kindergarten, offers creative dramatics, guided play, imagination, and storytelling, building self-expression, communication, and empathy from the earliest grades.
- Through music every other day in grades PreK-4, students engage with the Orff-Schulwerk process. Singing, movement, instruments, and composition help them explore rhythm, melody, and cultural traditions.
Arts classes are woven into the heart of our interdisciplinary Lower School curriculum, connecting to literacy, social studies, science, and world languages. This thematic approach brings the arts to life, showing students how creativity infuses every part of learning. These experiences help students build confidence, collaborate with peers, and discover passions that often extend well beyond the classroom.
Language & Culture
Specialist classes also plant the seeds of bilingualism in Lower School. Students learn both French and Spanish in kindergarten and choose to specialize in one starting in first grade. Listening, speaking, writing, and reading, the four modalities of learning a language, add rigor to these classes, and diving deep into Spanish-speaking and Francophone cultures adds depth and curiosity. The intentional length of World Language blocks allows students to engage more deeply in conversation, culture, and authentic language experiences.
Moving Bodies, Strong Minds
Daily physical education in Lower School is an essential part of how we support the whole child. Regular movement helps students build strength, coordination, and healthy habits, while also improving focus, confidence, and readiness to learn in the classroom. Just as important, it creates space for teamwork, resilience, and joy—helping students develop social skills and a positive relationship with physical activity that can last a lifetime.
Thoughtful Digital Citizens
Weekly library and technology classes are an important part of how students learn to think, explore, and create in Lower School. In the library, students develop a love of reading while building research skills, curiosity, and independence as readers and learners. In technology, they learn to use tools thoughtfully and creatively—whether designing, coding, or collaborating. These experiences evolve into media literacy, giving students even more opportunities to think critically, solve problems, create, and innovate through hands-on learning while maintaining a thoughtful, age-appropriate approach to technology. Often, these experiences are integrated, allowing students to apply what they’re learning in meaningful, real-world ways and to see themselves not just as consumers of information, but as thoughtful, capable creators.
