Leesburg Pike campus, Magnolia Classroom

Elementary

Grade 1-6

Around the age of 6 or 7, a new developmental phase begins and lasts through the age of 12. Fiore’s Elementary Program is designed to focus on this age range through a carefully designed curriculum and is backed by modern science. Children thrive in this setting and cannot wait to come to school each day. As students develop a reasoning mind, they become intellectually independent and ambitious.

Our Elementary students ...

...discover concepts by exploration and doing - Our curriculum is based on experiential learning not on reading concepts in a textbook. The curriculum offers concrete material that creates a pathway to discovering concepts by first principles. Children internalize what they learn when they discover it themselves.

...each have an individualized lesson plan - Teachers assess individual student progress and trajectories, and plan weekly lessons for each child. This ensures that they progress systematically through the series of steps needed to master foundational concepts.

...work collaboratively in small groups - Students experience mixed age groups where they learn and teach each other. This also helps them develop leadership skills and teamwork so that children can work together to investigate new ideas and concepts

...become ambitious and intrigued - Students are naturally driven to do more and be more. They are inspired to take responsibility for their learning and growth. Instead of rigid tests and compulsory homework, we pique a child’s natural ambition and innate competitive spirit.

Student Outcomes

Deep understanding of arithmetic, geometry and pre-algebraic concepts
Accomplished written and spoken self-expression
Advanced critical thinking & problem-solving skills
Solid foundational skills in science, history, geography, art and music
Socially well-adjusted and confident
Passionately driven to succeed

Schedule

School Day Schedule: 8:00 am - 3:20 pm
After School Program: 3:20 am - 5:30pm
Summer programs are available for
4 weeks each summer.

Research Foundations

Research is a cornerstone of learning at Fiore, beginning as early as 1st grade and preparing students for high school, college, and beyond.

Students learn a systematic approach to satisfy their quest for answers and understanding. Rather than learning being driven by textbooks in which the answers are foregone conclusions and children are told what to think about them, Fiore’s elementary program focuses on research as a way of discovering information or data, and then internalizing it.

Research starts with innate curiosity and interest in a subject. When students receive lessons, they are encouraged to ask questions, investigate, and then dive deeper into the subject matter. They do this by collecting and reading source material, interviewing experts, visiting places and thinking critically about the topic. Students work together to collect the information they need by dividing up the tasks. They learn to organize the information collected and compose summary paragraphs to explain what they have learned in their own words within a report. A young student might use one source book, whereas older students learn to represent multiple sources in a bibliography.

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Research also often culminates in a presentation to their fellow students to share what they have discovered. Presentations come in various forms such as oral reports, visual artwork, skits or even cooking projects as the product becomes a demonstration of what has been learned, and a teaching tool for others to learn new information from those that did the research.

First Principles Thinking

At Fiore our Elementary students learn by cultivating a ‘first principles’ attitude. This means that rather than memorizing formulas or practicing rubrics, they spend their time exploring foundational concepts, and then arriving at core truths out of that experience.
Their teachers lead them to discover truths by manipulating concrete material, enabling them to later move toward true abstraction and deeper understanding. As children discover concepts and meaning for themselves, they develop a deeper understanding, and the connections they make become deeply ingrained.

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Discovery-based learning goes beyond our math curriculum. Students are introduced to the basic building blocks of life both scientifically and culturally so that they can experience true understanding of complicated ideas through their work. In language, for example, manipulation of symbols that represent parts of speech lead a child to discover the grammatical structure of the English language.

The quest for understanding and the desire to problem-solve is a natural way of life for our elementary students. They develop a mature appetite for knowledge and a “let’s go find out” attitude.

Social & Community Life

At Fiore we have a well developed program to prepare students to handle emotional regulation in real life situations that will serve them well as they continue their journey into adolescence and adulthood.

Mixed-age Social Working Environment

Our students are immersed in a mixed-age social working environment which organically offers leadership opportunities and the real-world experience of working collaboratively in teams.
This enables young students to develop trusting relationships, learn to respect others' opinions, practice expressing their needs and above all, work together with peers to problem-solve.

Leadership, Responsibility and Daily Living

Students also take responsibility for the environment and establishment of community rules. They hold regular meetings to discuss any issues that come up, and what can be done to rectify those problems. For example, there might be concern about the way the books have been returned to the shelves, or perhaps pencils are getting lost. The students would talk as a class about why these things are occurring, and make suggestions for what can be done differently.

Going-outs

The students, themselves, plan, organize and orchestrate specialized outings called "Going-outs"
to learn more about research topics and discover rich answers to questions that are not always available in books or online. Such outings might involve interviewing local community members, visiting a place of business to learn a particular skill, observing people in their career work, or exploring a museum exhibit.

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Outdoor Activities

Outdoor activities are part of daily life. They naturally lend themselves to social bonding through participation in daily unstructured physical activities where the children are free to explore our wooded wilderness and fields as they build teepees, forts, or invent group games. They also participate in more structured PhysEd opportunities designed to help them develop body awareness and physical coordination, progress their budding interest in sports.

After-School Activities

After School Interest Groups offer an opportunity for students to explore unique areas of interest beyond the classroom. Offerings vary from semester to semester, however recently we have had chess classes taught by a Grand Master, actors from a local theater facilitating a drama workshop, private Suzuki piano lessons, and students coming together to learn yoga and Latin Dance moves.

Integrated Coursework

Learning in Fiore's elementary classroom is rigorous, interdisciplinary and deeply interconnected. A strategic emphasis at a very young age on advanced math and language concepts develops organized and analytical thought processes. This coupled with the ability to critically examine ideas and the skill to authentically express their views creates a solid foundation. Children are given key lessons in all of these areas and are encouraged to delve deeper into any of these through their own research and projects.

The environment is specially designed to encourage children to dig deeply, research and make discoveries about topics of interest. These children often work on many subjects simultaneously, allowing them to notice the natural relationships between each subject. They are given the freedom to explore topics which are not typically expected of elementary age students.

Big areas of study in the Elementary classroom are introduced through “Five Great Lessons". Each Great Lesson builds the structure for our curriculum and enables learning across multiple subject domains. Collaboration with their teacher ensures that their work is challenging and purposeful, and that academic standards are met.

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Core Content

Math

Geometry

Language

Science

History

Geography

Earth Science

Daily Living Skills

Research Writing & Presentation

Planning & Organization

Executive Functioning Skills

Art and Music