Each student participates in a wide and enriching range of subjects in addition to the regular academic curriculum. Lessons in movement, color, music, language and aesthetics help students grow into well-rounded and capable human beings. Educating the hands- through craft lessons in both hard and soft media over many years- helps students see their own potential as learners, workers and creators. When students know that their hands can fashion yarn into clothing or a block of wood into a stool; that they can join with others to realize an instrumental or choral work; or that they can shape sounds and words, at first foreign, into meaningful communication in a foreign language – they stand well-poised to use their hearts, minds and hands to transform the world.
The following special subject classes are integrated into the school day for students in the lower school:
World Languages: All students study both Japanese and Spanish through eighth grade
Music: Musical exploration, singing, notation, instrumental studies in both stringed and wind instruments. Middle School band, orchestra and chorus
Visual Arts: Painting, drawing, and modeling with both beeswax and clay
Performing Arts: Eurythmy, movement, and class plays
Manual Arts: Handwork (hand sewing, knitting, crochet, cross-stitch and machine sewing), woodwork, and practical crafts
Gardening: Soil care and seeds, garden planning, seasonal cycles and planting, harvesting and utilizing garden produce
Physical Education and Games: Cooperative outdoor movement games in the early grades, physical challenges and team sports in the middle school years