Elementary

Inspiring Confident,
Courageous Learners

At the Valley School’s Lower School, we create a dynamic, supportive learning environment that sparks curiosity, nurtures empathy, and builds responsibility. Students are encouraged to explore, ask questions, and take pride in their learning as they grow academically, socially, and emotionally. Our goal is to inspire a lifelong love of discovery while helping children develop confidence, independence, and strong collaboration skills.

Academics are at the heart of everything we do. Each grade-level curriculum is thoughtfully designed to challenge students, strengthen critical thinking, and foster a deep love of learning. Beyond the classroom, students enjoy a well-rounded education through Spanish, technology, art, music, and daily physical education.

Our students consistently achieve outstanding academic results, ranking in the top 10% nationwide and performing up to two years above grade level compared to similar schools.

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Elementary School Curriculum

Language Arts

  • Letter Recognition
  • Basic Phonemes
  • Phonics
  • Blending Phonemes
  • Reading Decodables

Phonics

  • Consonant sounds
  • Short & long vowel sounds
  • Consonant blends
  • Endings, digraphs, contractions

English

  • Rhyming
  • Following Directions
  • Recalling a story
  • Sound Words
  • Action Words

Science

  • Tree module
  • Paper module
  • Wood module
  • Health and hygiene

Music

  • Exposure to different instruments
  • Musical Notes
  • Rhythm and Harmony
  • Musical Beats

Handwriting

  • Students learn basic strokes to writing
  • Naming and writing letters

Physical Education

  • Develop hand-eye coordination
  • Small and gross motor skills
  • Social skills as in team cooperation

Social Studies

  • Activities to teach concepts of self, community, country and patriotism, to be personally safe

Art

  • Use media correctly
  • Develop small muscle coordination for positive creative expression

Library Skills

  • Dewey decimal system
  • Using the dictionary
  • Story time

Computers

  • Provides hands-on experience
  • Curriculum supplementation

Spanish

  • Introduction to basic Spanish vocabulary

Math

  • Number Recognition
  • Comparing & Classifying Objects
  • Counting Money
  • Telling Time
  • Sequencing
  • Addition & Subtraction
  • Word Problems
  • Measuring

Language Arts

  • A phonics based reading system
  • Reading decodables and chapter books

Art

  • Use media correctly
  • Develop small muscle coordination for positive creative expression

Physical Education

  • Develop hand-eye coordination
  • Small and gross motor skills
  • Social skills as in team cooperation

English

  • Rhyming
  • Following Directions
  • Recalling a story
  • Action Words
  • Sound Words

Phonics

  • Consonant sounds
  • Short & long vowel sounds
  • Consonant blends
  • Endings, digraphs, contractions

Science

  • Tree module
  • Paper module
  • Wood module
  • Health and hygiene

Handwriting

  • Students learn basic strokes to writing
  • Naming and writing letters

Social Studies

  • Activities to teach concepts of self, community, country and patriotism, to be personally safe

Spanish

  • Introduction to basic Spanish vocabulary

Music

  • Exposure to different instruments
  • Musical Notes
  • Rhythm and Harmony
  • Musical Beats

Library Skills

  • Dewey decimal system
  • Using the dictionary
  • Story time

Computers

  • Provides hands-on experience
  • Curriculum supplementation

Math

  • Comparing objects
  • Classifying Objects
  • Counting Money
  • Measuring
  • Telling Time
  • Sequencing
  • Addition & Subtraction
  • Word Problems
  • Multiplication & Division readiness
  • Making Graphs

Language Arts

  • Reviews phonics and blending skills
  • Students read a compilation of various literary pieces

Art

  • Proper use of medias
  • Small muscle coordination

Physical Education

  • Continued development of hand-eye coordination, small and gross motor skills, social skills and team play

English

  • Examining the writing process
  • Sentences
  • Capital letters & punctuation
  • Proofreading
  • Action words
  • Descriptive words

Phonics

  • Initial, medial and final consonants
  • Compound words
  • Contractions, endings, suffixes
  • Vowel pairs, vowel digraphs, diphthongs
  • Prefixes, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms

Music

  • Exposure to different instruments
  • Musical Notes
  • Rhythm and Harmony
  • Musical Beats

Handwriting

  • Students review and practice the basic strokes in writing letters, numerals and words

Science

  • Students study a series of four modules dealing with topics like animal classification, astronomy, dinosaurs, plants and the senses

Spelling

  • A compilation of spelling lists

Social Studies

  • Students work to understand living things, families and the communities around us

Library Skills

  • Dewey decimal system
  • Using the dictionary
  • Story time

Spanish

  • Introduction to basic Spanish vocabulary

Computers

  • Mouse dexterity
  • Computer care
  • Acclimation to computer and keyboard

Math

  • Completing patterns
  • Number lines
  • Measuring
  • Telling Time
  • Sequencing
  • Addition & Subtraction
  • Geometric figures
  • Comparing amounts
  • Functions
  • Fractions
  • Inequalities

Science

  • Growing and changing
  • Earth’s resources
  • Fossils
  • Observing and measuring matter
  • Forces and Sound
  • Solar system
  • Habitats

Math

  • Measuring and the Metric system
  • Graphs
  • Addition & Subtraction
  • Geometric figures
  • Rounding
  • Functions
  • Multiplication & Division facts

English

  • The Writing Process
  • Sentences
  • Punctuation & Capitalization
  • Main idea
  • Book Reports
  • Parts of Speech
  • Summarizing & Sequencing
  • Cause and effect

Language Arts

  • Students continue to refine reading skills by reading and discussing various literary pieces

Art

  • Continued development of small muscle coordination for positive creative expression

Handwriting

  • Students learn the basic techniques of cursive writing

Physical Education

  • Continued refinement of eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, team play, sportsmanship

Spelling

  • A compilation of spelling lists

Social Studies

  • Students work to understand living things, families and the communities around us

Library Skills

  • Dewey decimal system
  • Using the dictionary
  • Story time

Computers

  • Curriculum supplementation
  • Keyboard acclimation, computer care, computer term

Spanish

  • Introduction to basic Spanish vocabulary

Music

  • Exposure to different instruments
  • Musical Notes
  • Rhythm and Harmony
  • Musical Beats

Phonics

  • Consonants, short and long vowels
  • Compounds, blends and digraphs
  • Y as a consonant and a vowel
  • Contractions, plurals suffixes
  • Vowel pairs, diphthongs, digraphs
  • Prefixes, base words, syllables
  • Synonyms, antonyms, homonyms
  • Dictionary skills

Social Studies

  • The first Americans
  • The Spanish in America
  • Community government
  • State and national government
  • National symbols
  • The rail road

Science

  • Plants & animals
  • Ecosystems
  • Solar system
  • Matter
  • Energy and light
  • Rocks, minerals, fossils

English

  • Parts of speech
  • Capitalization & punctuation
  • The writing process
  • Book reports
  • Contractions

Language Arts

  • Students continue to refine reading skills by reading and discussing various literary pieces
  • Students move beyond learning to read and begin reading to learn

Music

  • Musical Notes
  • Rhythm and Harmony
  • Musical Beats
  • Exposure to different instruments

Physical Education

  • Development of body
  • Gross and fine motor skills
  • Exposure to different sports

Handwriting

  • Students refine cursive writing skills

Spelling

  • A compilation of spelling lists

Spanish

  • Introduction to basic Spanish vocabulary

Computers

  • Curriculum supplementation
  • Keyboard acclimation, computer care, computer term

Art

  • Continued development of small muscle coordination for positive creative expression

Math

  • Reviewing addition & subtraction
  • Approximating
  • Area and perimeter
  • Number patterns
  • Multiplication
  • Division
  • Variables
  • Graphing
  • Decimals
  • Functions
  • Scale drawings

Math

  • Place Value
  • Area & perimeter
  • Fractions
  • Estimating
  • Multiplication & division
  • Common multiples
  • Common factors
  • Order of operations
  • Ordered pairs
  • Coordinate plane
  • Geometric figures
  • Powers
  • Probability

Science

  • Animal growth and adaptation
  • Ecosystems
  • Biomes
  • Rocks and minerals
  • Natural resources
  • Matter
  • Electricity and magnetism
  • The human body
  • Thermal energy

English

  • The writing process
  • Commands and exclamations
  • Complete subjects and predicates
  • Book reports
  • Capitalization and punctuation
  • Parts of speech
  • Outlining
  • Comparing and contrasting

Physical Education

  • Fine and gross motor skills
  • Exercise and fitness
  • Team sports
  • Swimming
  • Rules and Sportsmanship

California History

  • California’s National Parks & Resources
  • California climate
  • The First Californians
  • California Missions
  • The Gold Rush
  • The Rail Road
  • California Government

Music

  • Exposure to different instruments
  • Musical Notes
  • Rhythm and Harmony
  • Musical Beats

Language Arts

  • Students continue to refine reading skills by reading and discussing various literary pieces
  • Students move beyond learning to read and begin reading to learn

Computers

  • Curriculum supplementation
  • Keyboard acclimation, computer care, computer term

Spelling

  • A compilation of spelling lists

Spanish

  • Introduction to basic Spanish vocabulary

Art

  • Use of different media

Language Arts

  • Reading and analyzing complex texts across genres
  • Identifying themes, main ideas, and author’s purpose
  • Using evidence to support thinking and writing
  • Writing essays, narratives, and research projects
  • Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and writing structure
  • Vocabulary development and word study
  • Speaking, listening, and collaborative discussions

Mathematics

  • Operations with fractions, decimals, and whole numbers
  • Understanding place value, estimation, and number relationships
  • Algebraic expressions, equations, and variables
  • Graphing on the coordinate plane
  • Geometry (area, volume, angles, and shapes)
  • Data analysis (mean, median, mode, graphs)
  • Problem solving and mathematical reasoning

Social Studies

  • Early American history through Westward Expansion
  • Exploration, colonization, and the American Revolution
  • Formation of the U.S. government and Constitution
  • Cultural diversity and historical perspectives
  • Geography, maps, and states/capitals
  • Cause and effect in historical events
  • Civic responsibility and citizenship

Science

  • Physical science (matter, elements, chemical reactions)
  • Life science (human body systems, plants, animals)
  • Earth science (weather, water cycle, solar system)
  • Scientific investigations and experiments
  • Use of tools and measurement
  • Observation and data collection
  • Understanding scientific concepts and processes

Art

  • Elements of art and principles of design
  • Observational drawing and creative expression
  • Exploration of different art styles and media
  • Cultural and historical art studies
  • Art analysis and critique
  • Perspective, composition, and design
  • Creating original works of art

Physical Education

  • Development of motor skills and movement patterns
  • Team sports and game strategies
  • Fitness, strength, and endurance
  • Goal setting and personal improvement
  • Cooperation, teamwork, and sportsmanship
  • Understanding health and wellness concepts
  • Participation in physical activities and challenges

Technology

  • Keyboarding and computer skills
  • Word processing and digital tools
  • Graphic design and media creation
  • Video and audio production
  • Online research and evaluating sources
  • Digital communication and collaboration
  • Internet safety and digital citizenship

Music

  • Reading and performing music notation
  • Rhythm, melody, and musical structure
  • Singing and instrument performance
  • Exposure to music from different cultures
  • Composition and improvisation
  • Listening and analyzing music
  • Collaboration and performance skills

Ready to Apply?

Applicants for admission are accepted one year prior to the student's enrollment. Schedule a tour or request an application to make Valley School your child's home.

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