Our Program

Days at The Valley School are full of opportunities for children to investigate the world around them, create individually and in groups, and build friendships. Valley teachers guide students through experiences that feed children’s curiosity and are full of challenge, adventure, and fun.

We know that children learn by doing as well as from adult instruction, therefore, in every grade children learn through hands-on investigation as well as teacher-led instruction, beginning whenever possible with the children’s interests and needs.

The Valley curriculum is presented through a variety of themes that integrate lessons in language, math, science, and social studies.

PRE-KINDERGARTEN CURRICULUM

THE VALLEY PRE-K WAY

Pre-K students come to Valley with a variety of backgrounds and interests. With this in mind, our Pre-K teachers guide students through thematic units with broad appeal that also respond to the emergent interests of the class. The result is a curriculum that allows young children to explore their creativity, experiment with cause and effect, take risks, use ABCs and 123s as useful tools, and practice community.

THEMES EXPLORED IN PRE-K INCLUDE:

Pets and Our Community
Our Five Senses
Winter and Darkness
Change Makers and Power
Superheroes
Butterflies and The Butterfly Lifecycle

PRE-K STUDENTS SPEND THEIR DAYS ENJOYING:

Long spans of time for free play in the classroom and on the playground
Group read alouds and singing
Thematic and emergent project work
Visits with Upper School buddies
Neighborhood walks and hopping on the bus for adventures
Time with our Specialists. Pre-K students have Performing Arts, Science, and Spanish once each week. They have P.E. four times each week in addition to multiple play times outside each day, rain or shine!

LOWER SCHOOL CURRICULUM

LITERACY

Lower school students enjoy stories and build literacy skills in all areas: reading, listening, speaking and writing. Teachers provide a holistic, balanced approach including whole-language instruction, phonics, and sight word acquisition. We rely on developmentally appropriate practices to guide our instruction and pay close attention to the pace and progression of skills in each individual student. Students are grouped and re-grouped often to support differentiated work with their classroom teacher, learning specialists and peers. All students participate in book groups, read alouds, reading conferences, independent reading, and receive literacy mini-lessons every week. Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2 use Wired for Reading, Handwriting Without Tears, and a variety of differentiated phonics and spelling programs in literacy lessons.

MATH

Our comprehensive math program builds a foundation in all areas of elementary math and aligns with Common Core standards. Grades K–2 follow the Bridges 3rd Edition math curriculum. In all grades, we focus on communicating mathematical thinking and strategies in addition to performing accurate computation and application of new concepts and skills. Students learn and practice math through a variety of methods including exploration, whole-class lessons, math games, small-group instruction, and differentiated opportunities for the application of skills practiced.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Social Studies units integrate skills and knowledge from many disciplines. Students explore topics through literature, research, music, art, plays, field trips, celebrations and discussions. Units frequently end with an interactive culminating project or experience, such as a classroom museum or play. Students also participate in and often design their own community service project. Typical units are listed for each grade level, but some topics emerge from inquiry and student interest.

SPECIALISTS

Lower School students have a regular rotation of Specialist classes resulting in 45 minutes of the following each week: Performing Arts, P.E, Visual Arts, Science, Spanish.

UPPER SCHOOL CURRICULUM

LITERACY

In grades 3–5, students become more independent readers and transition from learning to read to reading to learn. They engage in Reader’s Workshop and Writer’s Workshop. Through participation in read aloud, literature discussions, shared reading, independent reading, and small, flexible reading groups, students build strong reading comprehension strategies and read a variety of texts fluently. As writers, they engage in the entire writing process and practice narrative, expository and persuasive writing. Students participate in Word/Language Study to learn about spelling patterns, grammar, Latin roots and vocabulary. They learn cursive and keyboarding as well.

MATH

The math program in grades 3–5 also follows the Bridges 3rd Edition curriculum and aligns with Common Core standards. The goal is to strengthen competency in all areas of elementary math including: Counting & Cardinality, Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Number and Operations in Base Ten, Measurement, Data, and Geometry. Students are introduced to content areas through a variety of methods including exploration, whole-class lessons, math games, and flexible, small-group instruction and application. The intentional mix of activities and approaches helps students build computational fluency, provides ample opportunities for practice, problem solving, and feedback, and encourages students to practice communicating about strategies they use.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Social Studies themes relate to other areas of study in the classroom. In grades 3–5, students learn about Washington State, Seattle, early U.S. history, and important local and global issues. Some topics emerge from student interest. Students transition from simply learning about a topic to becoming problem solvers, advocates and leaders. They explore topics through literature, research, music, art, plays, re-enactments, field trips, celebrations, discussions, and guest speakers. Units frequently end in an interactive, culminating project. Students also participate, and often design their own community service work. Students practice critical-thinking, mapping, and research skills through these topics.

SPECIALISTS

Upper School students have a regular rotation of Specialist classes resulting in 45 minutes of the following each week: Performing Arts, P.E, MIND Lab, Science, and Spanish.

HOMEWORK

At the Valley School, we center playful learning and purposeful play, which means we have little to no homework in our early grades. As students move into second grade, we recognize that a modest amount of homework provides students opportunities for practicing both time management and academic skills. To that end, 2nd-5th grade students will have some homework. The homework will be:

Designed to work with students' varied schedules (students will be able to choose when they actually do the assignments)
Gradually ramping up from 2nd-5th grade
Inclusive of self, family and community care tasks