Introducing oneself to a visitor, speaking as a docent for the family museum, and performing puppet shows are ways pre-kindergarteners develop their cognitive language skills. Students learn to recognize all capital letters and their sounds, and to make them with a variety of materials including playdough, chalk, and sponges. Ample exposure to books and environmental print materials help build word recognition, expressive language, and conceptual understanding.
Curriculum Guide
A Look Inside Our Curriculum
Epiphany School’s well-rounded academic and social-emotional learning program feeds young minds—enriching students with a one-of-a-kind, interactive elementary education. This rich and varied program guides all our students to continuously grow in curiosity, courage, confidence, respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness.
Click the buttons below to explore our curriculum by grade, subject, or progression.
Our Curriculum Progression
- Mathematics
- Language Arts & Library
- Social Studies
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
- World Languages
- The Arts
- Health and Fitness
- Social-Emotional Learning
- Outdoor Education
Mathematics
Classroom teachers and math specialists work together to guide Epiphany School students to develop a love for math. Pre-kindergarten students play with numbers, shapes, and measurement. Older students learn foundational concepts and strategies, then apply them to novel situations.
In and out of the classroom, students learn by doing, which helps them to develop confidence in their skills. They practice solving complex problems and are expected to articulate their thinking. We utilize Math in Focus and ST Math as our primary mathematics curriculum.
By graduation, students have in-depth experience using multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percentages, geometry, and algebraic thinking. Additionally, upper division students have the opportunity to join the Math Olympiad team each year to enrich their math experience.
Language Arts & Library
Solid foundational skills and rich integrated lessons equip your child with strong reading, writing, and public speaking skills—and lots of practice! Epiphany School is known for developing young orators.
Students work in reading groups, writing workshops, and individually to develop a strong foundation of vocabulary, phonics, grammar, comprehension, fluency, and expression.
Our upper and lower division literacy specialists offer expertise in differentiated instruction that supports our grade-level teachers’ highly experiential curriculum. Every student receives focused and individually tailored instruction, including extra support from learning skills specialists as needed. Close collaboration between specialists and classroom teachers ensures continuity of learning from grade to grade.
The library program provides access to our collection of more than 8,500 volumes and encourages students in their developing passion for recreational reading. Students hear stories read aloud, examine critical thinking strategies, and participate in author studies and schoolwide reading challenges. The library supports students in the goal of being efficient, effective, and ethical users of information by exploring library organization and electronic resources and collaborating with classroom teachers in the development of age-appropriate research skills.
Social Studies
At Epiphany School, students explore the meaning of community, from their classrooms to the world. Students investigate new ideas, try on differing perspectives, and walk in others' shoes—manifesting our school's diversity statement every day. Through exploration of culture, conflict, and change, students develop critical thinking skills and build empathy. Learning to share their opinions and unique points of view, students delve into the concepts of fairness and justice.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) equips curious adventurers with tools to explore the world around them. As students progress from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, they return to and deepen scientific skills across disciplines.
Through exploration and experimentation in the classroom and outdoors, students develop a sense of awe, wonder, and care for the natural world. Students in every grade conduct field-based science investigations focusing on topics such as stormwater, organisms, weather, and daylight. Such hands-on projects deepen students’ understanding and sharpen their scientific skills in observing, investigating, analyzing data, and communicating results.
Students engage with the engineering design cycle at every age—asking questions, imagining solutions, planning with materials, building, testing, and improving designs. Students apply a growth mindset as they identify design flaws and work to redesign solutions. Students build flexible thinking as they observe a range of solutions from other peers. Over the years, students continue to build habits of collaboration, persistence, flexibility, and resourcefulness as they invent controllers, engineer bridges, program robots, build structures, and much more.
World Languages
At Epiphany School, we incorporate the study of classical languages for a complete and cohesive approach to language arts. By discovering connections and vocabulary shared between three languages as part of our daily study, students gain deeper understanding and heightened acquisition of each language. When they graduate, Epiphany School students are prepared to continue making world languages part of their developing lexicon.
French begins in the youngest grades for early exposure through songs, games, and stories. Student vocabulary increases as our French specialist helps students converse with each other. In the upper grades, students explore language, Roman culture, mythology, and history with our Latin specialist.
The Arts
Throughout each grade level at Epiphany School, students explore the formal elements and components of music, fine art, and various styles of performance. Both our art specialist and our music and performance specialist collaborate with classroom teachers to enrich each grade level's curriculum, introduce skills and exploration, and inspire creativity. Visiting artists expose students to additional mediums and collaborate on in-depth projects. Much-anticipated grade-level performances and showcases give children an opportunity to express themselves through dance, drama, singing, and public speaking at all-school assemblies and Grandparents and Special Friends Day performances.
Learn more about school performances.
Health and Fitness
Health and fitness classes are taught to every grade. Our physical education specialist guides students to build endurance, foster self-esteem, and spark a desire for lifelong healthy living.
Our program focuses on building students’ sports skills and developing sportsmanship. Students at every grade level participate in team and individual sports, cooperative and recreational activities, and fitness and endurance tasks. In addition, our program educates students on health and fitness—from basic human anatomy and physiology to nutrition and goal-setting. Students self-assess individual and team performance to know whether they are engaging in activities at their best effort.
Social-Emotional Learning
Emphasis on our shared school values, mission, and diversity, equity, and inclusion teaches students to be inclusive leaders and team players. Responsive Classroom, a highly regarded, evidence-based program, is our school-wide social-emotional learning (SEL) framework. The program focuses on developing five core competencies: cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
A dedicated school counselor supports faculty and staff in helping all students navigate friendships, learn problem-solving skills, identify and manage strong emotions, and build strategies for conflict resolution. Working closely with teachers, our counselor develops and leads social-emotional learning lessons, works one-on-one and with small groups, and helps students become respectful and confident advocates who are unafraid to express themselves and speak up for others.
Outdoor Education
Immersing students in the wonders of the natural world
Outdoor Education introduces our students to a classroom without walls—where every tree, rock, and breeze invite exploration and inquiry. Our young adventurers are encouraged to engage their senses, ask questions, and unlock the mysteries of the natural world. As they journey through the grades, our students practice the fundamental scientific principles through field studies while delving deeper into the wonders of nature. Whether they're studying the patterns of rainfall, the diversity of local flora and fauna, or the secrets of the soil, they are guided to observe, question, and analyze with the keen eye of a scientist.
The Outdoor Education program cultivates a community of explorers and stewards of the natural world. Through shared experiences, our students learn the value of teamwork, communication, and collective problem-solving, laying the foundation for a lifetime of adventurous inquiry.
Curriculum by Grade
Math is integrated through games, daily calendar activities, and in curricular units throughout the year. From observing the growth of a caterpillar to weighing an apple from the garden, students use numbers, shapes, patterns, and measurement. Picture graphs showing the class’s favorite version of a story, or measuring their baby weight in potatoes, encourages the creation and interpretation of data.
Pre-k students are introduced to digital tools in play and structured learning activities. Students utilize an iPad for digital learning to support key reading fundamentals like phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and beginning comprehension. Technology is used to deepen student engagement, make rigorous content accessible for all learners, and engage families in the learning process.
In an interactive, supportive environment, pre-k students are encouraged to explore science, technology, engineering, and math using all of their senses through direct manipulation and materials including wooden ramps, wind tubes, natural materials, instruments, and light.
In outdoor ed class, pre-k students immerse themselves in discovering nature’s patterns, engaging their senses in the garden, birdwatching, planting seeds, composting and much, much more. These activities aim to foster students' connection with the environment, sparking curiosity and creating a foundation for a love for learning outside.
In pre-k, art and music lessons foster creativity through the development of elemental skills and techniques. Students are introduced to a variety of artists and media, with an emphasis on their own self-expression. They learn nursery rhymes and poems, play with instruments, and experiment with movement. Students also prepare and participate in their first age-appropriate performance.
French is introduced through songs, games, and stories. Movement and interaction are key to learning simple phrases and vocabulary including colors, animals, foods, and numbers.
Supported in a safe and nurturing environment, students learn how to be caring friends and responsible members of the classroom. Students practice following directions and focusing their attention through easy-to-understand concepts like whole body listening, thinking with your eyes, and following the group plan.
Curriculum by Subject
Introducing oneself to a visitor, speaking as a docent for the family museum, and performing puppet shows are ways pre-kindergarteners develop their cognitive language skills. Students learn to recognize all capital letters and their sounds, and to make them with a variety of materials including playdough, chalk, and sponges. Ample exposure to books and environmental print materials help build word recognition, expressive language, and conceptual understanding.
Math is integrated through games, daily calendar activities, and in curricular units throughout the year. From observing the growth of a caterpillar to weighing an apple from the garden, students use numbers, shapes, patterns, and measurement. Picture graphs showing the class’s favorite version of a story, or measuring their baby weight in potatoes, encourages the creation and interpretation of data.
Pre-k students are introduced to digital tools in play and structured learning activities. Students utilize an iPad for digital learning to support key reading fundamentals like phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and beginning comprehension. Technology is used to deepen student engagement, make rigorous content accessible for all learners, and engage families in the learning process.
In an interactive, supportive environment, pre-k students are encouraged to explore science, technology, engineering, and math using all of their senses through direct manipulation and materials including wooden ramps, wind tubes, natural materials, instruments, and light.
In outdoor ed class, pre-k students immerse themselves in discovering nature’s patterns, engaging their senses in the garden, birdwatching, planting seeds, composting and much, much more. These activities aim to foster students' connection with the environment, sparking curiosity and creating a foundation for a love for learning outside.
In pre-k, art and music lessons foster creativity through the development of elemental skills and techniques. Students are introduced to a variety of artists and media, with an emphasis on their own self-expression. They learn nursery rhymes and poems, play with instruments, and experiment with movement. Students also prepare and participate in their first age-appropriate performance.
French is introduced through songs, games, and stories. Movement and interaction are key to learning simple phrases and vocabulary including colors, animals, foods, and numbers.
Supported in a safe and nurturing environment, students learn how to be caring friends and responsible members of the classroom. Students practice following directions and focusing their attention through easy-to-understand concepts like whole body listening, thinking with your eyes, and following the group plan.