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Lower School Distinctives




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Lower School Distinctives

Trinity's Lower School curriculum is designed to be developmentally appropriate for the ages and stages of our youngest children. Children go through similar and predictable sequences of development, but at their own pace. School years come in neat, one-year increments, but each child’s learning journey is unique.

Trinity School values the emotional and social development of children as much as their cognitive abilities. Research indicates that when emotional and social development stages are acknowledged and supported, the “executive functions” in the brain (problem-solving/decision-making) develop as well. Providing time and ample opportunities for all kinds of play, conversations, and language experiences for our young children allows the emotional and social domains to mature.

Incorporating the principles of Charlotte Mason, Trinity uses much of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education for designing curriculum and shepherding children. Mason, a British educator from the 1900’s advocated for environments where children:

  • are surrounded with the best of ideas and culture,
  • have plenty of free time for play, and space to make lots of noise,
  • are respected for who they are rather than for who they might become,
  • are given work appropriate for their developmental level, and
  • are surrounded with beauty, laughter, and many books.