Elementary
At Miquon, the elementary years are a time of tremendous growth academically, socially, and personally. From kindergarten through sixth grade, children build strong foundations, pursue meaningful questions, and gradually grow into confident, independent members of our community.
Our elementary program balances explicit instruction with the freedom to explore. Children spend significant time learning outdoors, collaborating with classmates, and engaging with the natural world around them. They learn through conversation, hands-on experiences, projects, movement, and play. Screens play a very limited role in our elementary classrooms.
At Miquon, children are known deeply by their teachers and peers. They learn in community—sharing ideas, solving problems together, caring for campus, and taking increasing responsibility for themselves and one another.
A Journey from Foundations to Leadership
In our mixed-age Kindergarten/First Grade classrooms, children build the foundations for lifelong learning. Through a balance of intentional instruction, play, exploration, and collaboration, students develop as readers, writers, mathematicians, and community members. Teachers nurture curiosity and independence while providing the support children need to grow as learners. Younger students are welcomed into elementary routines, while older students strengthen their skills and begin to take on leadership roles within the classroom community.
Second grade serves as an important bridge between foundational learning and increasingly independent inquiry.
Students continue to strengthen essential skills in reading, writing, and mathematics while beginning to use those skills to investigate meaningful questions, collaborate on projects, and share their thinking in new ways.
Second grade is the only single-age classroom at Miquon, intentionally designed to give children the time and support they need to consolidate these foundational skills before moving into the more integrated, thematic learning of the older elementary grades.
By third through sixth grade, students increasingly use their academic skills as tools for exploration and discovery. Through integrated theme studies, students connect English language arts, writing, mathematics, social studies, science, and the arts as they investigate complex questions and real-world challenges.
They conduct research, consider multiple perspectives, create original work, and share their learning with authentic audiences.
Read More about our Elementary Curriculum
Mathematics
Mathematics at Miquon helps children make sense of the world. Children build deep conceptual understanding through exploration, problem-solving, pattern-finding, and flexible thinking.
Language Arts
Language Arts at Miquon empowers children to read, write, speak, listen, and think with purpose by building strong literacy skills and using their voices to understand the world and inspire change.
Social Studies
At Miquon, Social Studies comes alive through Theme, where children explore people, places, history, and culture through interdisciplinary inquiry that connects their own experiences to the wider world.
Growing Independence
At Miquon, independence develops gradually throughout the elementary years. As children grow in confidence, responsibility, and awareness of their community, they are trusted with increasing freedom to explore campus and make choices about how they spend their time.
In kindergarten and first grade, students build strong classroom communities and enjoy Choice Time on their own dedicated playscape, where they develop friendships, confidence, and independence within a familiar setting. Beginning in second grade, students expand their campus experience, exploring spaces such as the Red Playground and Creekwood Hollow, where they collaborate, build forts, and engage in imaginative outdoor play. In third grade, students gain access to the Woodchip Field, opening up even more opportunities for whole group play. By fifth grade, students are trusted with access to the full campus, including the Bamboo Forest. "All Campus Tag" becomes a favorite activity for this group!
This gradual expansion of freedom reflects Miquon’s belief and trust in children. As students grow, they develop the confidence and judgment needed to navigate a larger community while continuing to care for the people and places around them.
Growing as Leaders
Leadership at Miquon develops over time. Beginning in third grade, students become older buddies to younger children, building relationships and practicing responsibility. As students enter fifth and sixth grade, leadership becomes an increasingly central part of their experience.
Older students have opportunities to:
- Run the weekly pizza sale to help fund their end-of-year trip
- Lead GroveKeepers, a student group focused on conflict resolution and community care
- Design and teach their own minicourses for elementary students during three sessions throughout the year
- Pursue independent personal projects based on their interests
- Participate in a two-night overnight trip that builds independence, teamwork, and community
Through these experiences, sixth graders leave Miquon not only as strong students, but as thoughtful leaders who understand their responsibility to contribute to a community.