Lower School

Grades K - 4

In the earliest years of their academic journey, Villa students develop foundational literacy, mathematical, and interdisciplinary academic skills through joyful, engaged learning.

Applying to Villa

Growth & Awareness

As active participants in our inquiry-based approach, students gain confidence in reading, writing, and mathematical thinking while working collaboratively to identify and answer big questions, seek out multiple solutions, and wonder deeply about our world.

Understanding that the early school years provide a foundation of growth, development, and awareness, Villa weaves social-emotional learning across all aspects of the program. Each student learns to gain a positive understanding of themself, utilize multiple strategies for interpersonal engagement and problem solving, and build connected classroom communities.

At Villa Academy, we are growing confident young minds with strong moral character who are prepared to make a difference. Our inquiry-based approach to education balances theory with experience, pairing student-centered academic excellence and whole child wellness with our values of growth, justice, and student agency.

Joy and inclusion: Kindergarten to 2nd grade

Villa faculty cultivate students’ advancing literacy skills through Wired for Reading, an evidence-based program supporting reading, spelling, and vocabulary development. Students move from understanding sound and letter correspondence to reading decodable texts and gaining fluency in a wide variety of rich and diverse books.
Utilizing the Bridges in Mathematics program, students joyfully engage in learning while gaining a deepening conceptual understanding of mathematics. Through visual models, manipulatives, games, and other unique learning materials, they gain a deep understanding of concepts, proficiency with key skills, and the ability to solve complex problems. Beginning in 2nd grade, a third math teacher allows for smaller class sizes and more personalized math instruction.
Social-emotional learning is interwoven throughout all academic experiences, as students develop emotional regulation and interpersonal problem solving skills while co-creating a classroom environment of kindness and inclusion.

Education of the Heart Extended Day

Economics in Action: 1st and 2nd Grade

Responsibility & Growth

Villa’s 1st-grade students wrap up their Economics unit in the sweetest way possible—by setting up their very own donut shops! From colorful signs to creative menus (inspired in part by their Spanish class research), students thoughtfully select flavors and set prices. Armed with “donut dollars,” families and classmates browse the shops and purchase a delightful array of student-made treats.

Creativity & Resourcefulness

To celebrate the culmination of their Economics unit, Villa’s 2nd graders transform the Rainbow Theatre into a lively carnival. From pencil darts and “knock a stuffie” to the electrifying lightning ball, students resourcefully design a mix of classic and one-of-a-kind games. They set prices, pitch their attractions, and welcome eager carnival-goers to join the fun.

Villa is an extraordinary, magical place that nurtures the joys of childhood alongside academic challenges. [Our child] thrived in becoming their best self.Lower School parent

Sophistication & Humor: 3rd and 4th Grade

Building upon the foundational skills and practices developed during the first years of Lower School, 3rd and 4th grade students are now “reading to learn,” rapidly growing their vocabularies, and making meaning of their ever-expanding world of discovery. They inquire, classify, generalize, and analyze while communicating with increasing depth, sophistication, and humor.

Continuing their learning through the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum, students deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts and numeric relationships. Whether by using models to demonstrate their mathematical thinking, or through writing for greater purpose, students in 3rd and 4th grades develop critical thinking skills and begin to formulate a world view that is particularly theirs. In deliberate preparation for Middle School, Lower School students learn to self-advocate, demonstrate leadership, and take increasing responsibility for their learning.

Through dynamic inquiry-based learning, Villa students are invited to the educational process as active participants.

Thriving on Inquiry: 3rd and 4th Grade

Growing Up at Villa

Starting with an indoor plant stand equipped with grow lights, Villa’s 3rd graders plant vegetable seeds in the classroom that are later transferred to Villa’s garden. Through this project, students learn about basic plant anatomy and development in addition to phenomena including climate change and food deserts.

Curiosity & Discovery

Villa 3rd graders embark on an extended inquiry-based study into ornithology, exploring adaptations, natural selection, species identification, and beyond. They culminate their research by authoring unique field guides and presenting their findings at a ”Bird Day” fair.

When authoring and illustrating their original graphic novels, Villa 4th graders discover how the interaction between words and visual components can impact the reader’s understanding of the story.

Critical Thinking & Research

Villa 4th graders engage in a multi-week interdisciplinary study of African countries, widening their perspectives as they develop more than a “single story” of the continent. The unit concludes with a Stone Town Marketplace research-sharing event that invites the entire Villa community to play, sing, and learn about our 4th graders’ studies.

Learning to Serve

Villa 3rd graders extend their unit on food insecurity with a service learning project. Partnering with customers at a local grocery store, they collect and deliver hundreds of pounds of food to a nearby food bank.

The Villa Difference

THE VILLA DIFFERENCE

Villa is the only independent school in the city of Seattle nurturing the holistic development of children: mind, body, and spirit. Dedicated to inquiry-driven, student-centered academic excellence, Villa simultaneously tends to whole child growth and integrated health, informed by clear and compelling research on the powerful influence of nature, spirituality, and social-emotional intelligence on academic thriving. Our empowered students become stewards of their lives, caretakers of their mental and social wellbeing, and custodians of the environment. Villa firmly stands in commitment to the transformative power of our Cabrinian tradition of “education of the heart.”

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