Elementary Community: Children 6 to 12 years old
The passage from kindergarten to elementary is the passage from sensory education to cosmic education. The child at this stage has a need for abstraction and intellectual challenges. He is constructing an impression of the whole universe in order to comprehend any one aspect of creation. Also, he is developing a moral sense and is concerned with issues of justice. Children experiment with social order among their peer group and conflict often arises. The elementary child is highly social, emotionally available, and dramatic.
For the elementary students the classroom is not confined only to the prepared environment of the classroom but expands to include the world around them and subsequently the universe. For the elementary child, who has an incredible curiosity and ability to imagine, the classroom is too small thus learning must continue out into the community that he is a part of. All experiences of going out serve to support the academic, physical and/or social needs of the child. The children make suggestions and bring ideas from their experiences outside of school and personal areas of interest.
In the Elementary program, children are given lessons individually and in groups, both small and large. Most of the cultural subjects are given to the entire group, whereas math or language lessons are tailored to the individual. The children are expected to work across the curriculum and are required to complete a math, language and culture activity each day. The children are primarily self-directed and free to make work choices from their list of presentations.