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Multi-Age Elementary

The Lab School Advantage

At the Children’s School at Stephens College, we offer a unique laboratory school environment where innovation drives education for college and elementary school students alike. Since 1925, students at the Children’s School have benefitted from a dynamic learning ecosystem built on collaboration between professors, college students, and master teachers. Our low student-to-teacher ratios and on-campus opportunities allow for an exploratory, inquiring, individualized community of learning.  

Multi-Age Learning

Our multi-age elementary program brings together children from ages five to eleven, creating a diverse learning environment that mirrors life outside of school. Younger children are inspired by their older peers, while older students develop leadership skills and reinforce their own understanding by mentoring others. This approach encourages empathy, cooperation, and a sense of community, preparing students for a place in an increasingly interconnected world.

Individualized Curriculum

Unlike traditional schools that group children strictly by age, we take a flexible approach, grouping students by ability and interest, allowing for more focused instruction and appropriate challenge. This method ensures that each child is working at a level that’s right for them.

We believe that every child is unique, with their own strengths and interests. Curriculum at CSSC is individualized: children learn what they’re ready to learn when they’re ready to learn it. Following the open classroom model, teachers prepare small group learning experiences that allow students to collaborate naturally and to test their understanding with one another as well as take risks, share ideas, and actively participate in their own learning.

Inquiry-Based Approach: Nurturing Curiosity and Creativity

Our inquiry-based approach puts student questions and interests at the center of learning. We encourage children to explore, ask questions, and seek answers, developing critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of the world around them. 

Arts Integration

We place a strong emphasis on arts integration throughout our curriculum. Students use the arts as a way to test their understanding of scientific principles, to develop writing skills, to express feelings and ideas, to immerse themselves in ancient cultures, and to visualize mathematical concepts. This comprehensive approach to arts integration helps children engage with learning materials through multiple modalities, enhancing their understanding and creativity.

Hands-On, Lifelong Learning

Our constructivist approach considers learning as an active, hands-on process. Students build knowledge by testing ideas in experience, transforming abstract concepts into tangible understanding. Exploration of inviting, well-selected materials, rather than one-size-fits-all lessons, provides the basis for learning experiences. Teachers come alongside children to help them build their own understandings of the world while teaching important concepts and skills. 

Independent Inquiry

Independent Inquiry, the only homework at CSSC, is a two-phase learning initiative designed to foster curiosity, research skills, and self-directed learning. In the fall, older elementary students work closely with family members to develop a presentation on a topic of their choice, following a structured five-week process that includes topic selection, question development, resource gathering, and presentation planning. The spring phase encourages more independent work, with students diving deep into a subject and creating a hands-on project to share with their class. Independent Inquiry emphasizes authentic research, student-driven learning, and the development of essential skills such as organization, time management, and presentation. 

Learn More About CSSC

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