Pre-primary

Science

Children are taught a love of nature and exploration in an environment that is supportive, comfortable, inviting and creative. Oak Lane's natural surroundings of marsh, meadow, woods, and a spring-fed creek and pond are fully utilized for a variety of science themes. A beginning foundation of sensory observation in nature makes “science” a welcome part of a child's first life experience that is built on over time. Since children have science once a week, many of the activities in science class are extensions of themes in the homeroom class.

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Primary

Science

Children explore their world as they build self-esteem and increase their skills and knowledge base. The rich, outdoor classroom is balanced with a variety of indoor science themes and activities. All-school autumn themes of birds, trees and watershed, and primary spring themes of habitats, life-cycles and weather are complemented by winter themes of simple machines, balance and measurement, and chemistry. Participation in the communities of the classroom and School, as well as life outside of School relative to science topics, are valuable tools in developing the whole child.

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Intermediate

Science

The natural world and the indoor thematic world are scientific laboratories from which skills are taught and knowledge is learned. Oak Lane's natural surroundings of marsh, meadow, woods, and a spring-fed creek and pond are fully utilized for life science and earth science studies. Scientific process, language arts, measurement skills and other skills specific to a theme are all integral parts of experiential learning. Children are expected to explore with rigor, work cooperatively as a community, and set high expectations for themselves. The classroom environment is supportive of the whole child; it responds to queries and interests of the children, and is structured so that children build their knowledge and skills in a systematic way.

All-school fall themes of birds, trees and watershed, are balanced by winter themes of electricity, force and motion with K'NEX and the fourth grade “Mold Symposium.” Spring themes include vegetable gardening, human anatomy and exploring the microscopic world.

Click here for additional resources for the science program.