Social Studies and Sciences

Developments in the social studies and sciences form the themes around which  language arts and math curricula are integrated. The goals of the Social Studies and Science curricula are to encourage our students’ questioning and curiosity about the world around them and to cultivate the research skills and abilities needed to find the answers and current thinking on those questions.

Social Studies and Science in the lower grades is very much focused on the immediate community in which the children live. As students progress through the grades, the topics in these two disciplines progress to developments longer ago, further away or more remote from the students’ life experiences and concrete observations.

Social Studies: Begin in Pre-K. Students learn about each other, their families and their interests. In the 2nd and 3rd grade, students begin to research local history beginning with the early Native American communities through the colonial period. Students in the upper grades begin to explore the history of democracy, starting with the Greeks and continuing through the ongoing American experiment of creating a just and pluralistic society. Students then go on to explore the Eastern Hemisphere, delving into elements of culture and governance, comparative religions, conflict and peace, and ideas of beauty.

Science: In the lower grades is explored through experimentation, observation and trade books. Students are asked to predict, draw conclusions and write about their observations, whether they are watching chicks or ladybugs hatch, or are observing the changes in a tree over the course of changing seasons.

In the upper grades students delve into deeper science studies and experiments in geology, meteorology, environmental science, evolution, biology, nutrition, electricity, inventions and physics.  An emphasis is placed on environmental science and appreciation throughout the grades through local hikes on the school’s nature trails and in the Shawangunk Mountains, and through our ongoing studies in the field.