A Lens into Elements
  • 8:40AM – 9:15AM
    Welcoming Our Community

    Children and families enter through cascading bamboo plants. Children are dropped-off each morning in our backyard adventure playground, where grown-ups are always invited to stay and play with us before we begin our breakfast transition.

  • 9:30AM – 10:00AM
    BREAKFAST

    Children are offered breakfast to start their day. Our first meal of the day is typically eaten outside.

  • 10:30AM – 10:50AM
    Morning Reflection Meeting

    During our morning gathering, children represent their thoughts, feelings, reflections, wonderings, and plans for the day. They share their play work, projects, and partnerships, and design community agreements that help station the day with enough predictability to feel safe and secure, yet enough flexibility to feel spontaneous and autonomous over their choices.

  • 10:50AM – 11:45PM
    Self-Directed Exploration

    Children learn in lasting ways when engaged in their truest forms of play. This authentic relationship with learning emerges best when given the space and freedom to access it. Educators participate in a blend of guidance and observation which informs not only each individual day, but our school and classroom studies as a whole. During this time, children participate in discovery that is prompted by daily outdoor provocations, including, but not limited to, our mud kitchen, tree house, sensory space, log-center, climbing station, and environmental seasonal changes. Following the children’s interest, we supplement our days with meditation, forms of free and guided movement, and a range of process and sensory based art mediums that invite children to learn through the self initiated methods of experimentation, trial, error, cause, and effect. Children may also use this time for focused work, small group investigations, or to contribute to ongoing projects connected to their curriculum.

  • 11:45PM – 12:15PM
    Community Lunch

    Community lunch is offered family style – where children help inform and serve their own meals from shared trays. Lunch is a time of noticings and conversations: smelling the food served from our chef, seeing what food some of us brought in for the day, or the sounds we hear as we chew. Through shared moments like these, we build food fluency, competency and inclusion by celebrating the different meals we enjoy together.

  • 12:15PM – 2:00PM
    Rest

    At Elements we think of rest as more than just a break from the day, and instead, think of it as an extension of independent mindfulness and reflection. Rest looks different for every child, and children’s needs are met individually. While some use the time to sleep, others use it to read literature, think, build with small tools, or create art on their personal rest mats or cots. During rest, educators liven the room with mood lighting and gentle, steady music, which creates a peace-driven warmth and comfort for all within.

  • 2:15PM – 2:35PM
    Afternoon Snack

    Children participate in an afternoon snack as a way of fueling their bodies after rest, in preparation for the second portion of their day, whether at home or in school.

  • 2:50PM – 3:00PM
    School Day Dismissal
  • 3:00PM – 5:20PM
    Extended Day

    Extended Care is a smaller cohort of children who come together to build further meaning from their day. Extended care is not just a resource for families, but an opportunity to dig deeper in play narratives, materials, and specialties. During this time, children will also participate in an additional late snack.

  • 5:00PM – 5:30PM
    Extended Day Dismissal
Our 2022-2023 Community Calendar
September 7Thurs First Day of School
Family Breakfast – 9:00-11:00Dismissal at 12:00pm
September 7ThursFamily Orientation – 5:00-6:00
September 8FriPhase-in Begins – 12:00
Dismissal All Students
September 11 – 13Mon – WedNew Student Phase In – 12:00
Dismissal
September 13WedFamily-Teacher Conferences – 3:00 Dismissal
September 14ThursExtended Day Begins – All Student
September 25MonYom Kippur – School Closed
October 9MonIndigenous People’s Day – School Closed
October 27FriAnnual Bonfire – 3:00-5:00pm
November 7TuesElection Day, Staff Development – School Closed
November 22WedNo Extended Day – 3:00
Dismissal
November 23 – 24Thurs – FriFall Break – School Closed
December 22FriFamily Potluck – 12:00-3:00pm, 3:00 Dismissal
Dec 25 – Jan 1Mon – MonWinter Break – School Closed
January 15MonMLK Jr. Day – School Closed
February 19-23Mon – FriMid-Winter Break – School Closed
March 7ThursFamily-Teacher Conferences – 3:00 Dismissal
March 29 – Apr 1Fri – MonEaster Weekend – School Closed
April 10WedEid al-Fitr – School Closed
April 22 – 30Mon – TuesSpring Break – School Closed
May 3FriSpring Planting Day – 3:00-5:00
May 9ThursFamily-Teacher Conferences – 3:00 Dismissal
May 18SaturdayAnnual Spring Fair and Bake Sale
May 27MonMemorial Day – School Closed
June 5WedDinner Under the Stars – Fundraising Gala
June 6ThursChancellor’s Day Staff Development – School Closed
June 7FriClerical Day – School Closed
June 17MonEid al-Adha – School Closed
June 19WedJuneteenth – School Closed
June 26WedLast Day of School – 3:00 Community Celebration
July 1 – Aug 16Element Summer Program 2024