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Lower School Physical Education

Ready to get moving? You’ve come to the right place.

A Play-Based Approach

Physical education classes in Lower School promote active participation, from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Students are engaged in motor development, skill building, sensory integration, and fitness activities. They develop physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially through a curriculum that balances healthy competition and cooperative participation. Through their experiences in PE, students find an activity or sport they have an interest in; learn respect, compassion, and personal responsibility; and have fun living healthy and active lives.

Accordion

Our pre-kindergarteners have a lot of energy, and here they harness it to discover and grow in awareness of their bodies and surroundings.

In pre-kindergarten, students may:

  • Cooperate in games and team sports
  • Develop body and spatial awareness
  • Establish good sportsmanship
  • Participate in structured and exploratory movement activities
  • Explore a variety of age-appropriate equipment

As in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten students combine routine and structure with the freedom to explore new ways to get moving.

In kindergarten, students may:

  • Take part in stretching and running exercises
  • Participate in structured activities like parachute fun and climbing the cargo net
  • Use balls, hoops, scooters, and hippity-hops
  • Play noncompetitive games and develop sport skills

At this stage, students learn the importance of stretching and hone their movement skills to improve their control over their bodies.

In first grade, students may:

  • Develop new skills like skipping, galloping, kicking, throwing, dribbling, and running
  • Play simple games that promote friendly competition and good sportsmanship

Second-grade students continue their physical education with a curriculum that’s similar to first grade, in a comfortable environment that includes everyone.

In second grade, students may:

  • Develop new skills and improve existing ones
  • Play simple games that promote friendly competition and good sportsmanship

In third grade, students may:

  • Learn game-specific skills and strategies
  • Appreciate good sportsmanship, attitude, and cooperation
  • Gain knowledge about a healthy lifetime of exercise

In fourth grade, students may:

  • Give their best individual efforts as sports units are longer and more involved
  • Learn to work together in a team
  • Become more competitive, but learn the value of sportsmanship, compassion, and respect for others

In fifth grade, students may:

  • Develop their skills even further as they learn and implement rules and strategies
  • Discover tournament play, participating in games that stretch beyond one class period
  • Find joy in movement and develop active lifestyles