Our academic goals for our elementary students are to develop a genuine love of learning and to foster a capacity for original thought. The curriculum is exploratory, integrative and challenging. We follow and enhance the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks including English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and a foreign language. In addition, we teach art, music, drama, geography, technology, and physical education.

Our elementary program affords the opportunity for substantial flexibility in addressing the individual needs of each student. To enable this, the class sizes are kept small with a maximum of 10 students in a class. Children are grouped according to their age and ability level. An important aspect of the curriculum is theintegration of various academic subjects around a particular theme. This instills a strong academic base, a cultural appreciation, and an environmental awareness. The curriculum is enriched by guest speakers and by field trips to the extensive natural and community resources available to us.

Music Program with West Bend

Recent research has found that music uses both sides of the brain, a fact that makes it valuable in all areas of development. Music affects the growth of a child’s brain academically, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Learning an instrument helps keep the mind and body active for both children and adults. West Bend Music's goal is to bring the community closer together thru the gift of music and at The Laurel School we agree! We are proud to have Clayton March as our elementary first through fifth grade music teacher who comes to us from West Bend. He is also a freelance musician, a fiddler, mandolinist, and a classically trained clarinetist. For more about West Bend Music and Clayton March, visit their website at www.westbendmusic.org

Afterschool Clubs and Extended Care

Our elementary students have the opportunity to participate in our afterschool clubs which is part of our enrichment program. We offer many structured age-appropriate activities in a variety of affordable and quality programs. In our academic clubs we offer programs like our Newspaper Club where students learn how how to write and run a real school newspaper or Private Music Lessons. Or students who want the opportunity to show their artistic side may want to choose our creative Arts & Crafts type of clubs. And we also have recreation and sport clubs like Cheerleading, Soccer, Martial Arts, Pinewood Derby and Basketball. We also offer many other clubs for each day of the week throughout the school year for children to choose from. For more information about our clubs see our our posting to the right. We also offer affordable before school hours for families who desire drop off as early as 7:30am where elementary students may enjoy free play with their peers until school begins. For those students who families needing longer hours in the afternoon until 5:00pm, students can have fun in creative age-appropriate activities under the supervision of the faculty with indoor and outdoor exploration. Elementary students who choose not to participate in our clubs, will also have a balance of supervised homework time.