Lower School

The VCS Social Studies program provides the means through which we help children understand their world and the world of other peoples across time and space. Students master interdisciplinary skills through their Social Studies coursework. They expand their intellectual framework and feed their curiosity, becoming self-motivated, critical thinkers for a lifetime.

Students explore essential questions such as: What can we learn from studying the past? Why do people move? In an exploration of world geography, students build an understanding of how our lives are shaped by the physical environment. They study the culture of local Native American groups and the arrival of the Dutch and other European and African settlers to better inform their understanding of today’s New York. Students read and make maps, exploring New York’s geography, topography, and ecosystems. They visit museums and cultural sites such as the National Museum of the American Indian, American Museum of Natural History, and the Brooklyn Museum.

Students cover a variety of units to build their understanding of the push and pull forces that spur human migration. Students concentrate their studies on the Great Migration of African-Americans from the rural south to the urban north and explore Black history in America. Reading, discussion, role-playing, field trips, dramatic reenactments, written assignments and art projects plunge students deep into historical contexts, providing them with a new, multifaceted understanding of their own movement-filled American culture.

As children’s curiosity and interests increasingly move outwards, the social studies curriculum moves back in time and further away in place. Students begin their two-year journey into ancient history with an exploration of how such studies can better inform our understanding of modern society. As students examine the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, they seek answers to questions like: What do ancient objects tell us about their makers? What essential elements make up a civilization? How do people acquire resources? They then dive into studying three river civilizations: Mesopotamia, Indus Valley and Egypt.

Grades 2-4 are an exciting time for young readers as they make the transition from learning to read, to reading to learn. Students begin to focus more on comprehension and fluency skills. Students are reading and analyzing novels, periodicals, poetry and nonfiction to support comprehension and critical-thinking skills. Students demonstrate understanding of character, theme, plot and literary devices. By 5th Grade, students are discussing and debating literature and learning how to support their opinions and interpretations of texts. 

Students learn about and practice various approaches to the six core traits of writing: ideas, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice and conventions. Using a writing workshop format, students develop their “voice” and improve the clarity and fluency of their compositions. By the end of 5th Grade, students have written journals, expository essays, newsletters, narratives, fables, comic strips, poems and research reports.

Students continue to grow as mathematicians who know that being able to explain one’s reasoning and problem-solving strategies is as important as getting the right answer. While building computational fluency, they participate in group work and discussions about myriad concepts and approaches, deepening their appreciation for math’s elegance and applications.

VCS students learn to effectively use a variety of digital technologies and online learning programs as tools to enhance their education. Laptop computers, e-readers, iPads, SmartBoards, 3D printers, document cameras and more seamlessly blend into the life of the school as students use digital tools to interact, analyze, create, code, document, present and publish work.

Students log on to the VCS network, learn about the Mac OS platform, begin keyboarding and master basic operations. Using Kid Pix, they build graphic design skills with geometry-based projects. Students program Ozobot robots using Ozocodes to enhance sequential thinking skills and grasp coding concepts. Working as industrial designers, students sketch ideas and realize them as real objects using our 3D printers.

Later, students' imaginations come alive as they begin coding engaging animated characters and stories using Scratch, a visual programming language from MIT. Spatial awareness, geometry and computational math skills grow as students continue their industrial design studies using TinkerCAD. With increasing precision, these budding engineers transform two-dimensional designs into 3D objects. 

Students explore topics in three broad areas of science: earth science, physical science and life science. Coursework encourages children to see themselves as inquisitive scientists who understand science as both a body of knowledge and a way of learning. Working individually, in pairs and in small groups, students manipulate objects, learn to use basic science equipment and document their work and findings in written lab reports. 

The VCS world language program opens up new worlds of communication and cultural understanding for students. We introduce the program at an age that will develop the neurological tools for a lifelong capacity for language acquisition.

Children begin their Spanish studies in 2nd Grade and progressively build their skills through Lower School. Students receive direct instruction on linguistic mechanics, vocabulary and the varied cultures of Spanish-speaking countries.

By Grade 5, students have built extensive conversational Spanish skills. Foundational, familiar topics expand and requirements for reading, writing and speaking increase. Children learn geographical terminology, read short novels in Spanish, and correspond with pen pals in Spanish-speaking countries.

Our physical education program exemplifies VCS’s commitment to active, meaningful learning experiences that educate the whole child. Children develop psychomotor, cognitive, athletic and social skills through a rich array of daily recreation activities, indoor/outdoor play, games and sports. We provide a safe environment where positive attitudes toward physical activity blossom and endure for a lifetime of benefits.

As children progress through the Lower School, physical activities become more specialized to enrich students’ awareness of body mechanics, build their confidence and deepen their skills repertoire. Our program encourages students to find enjoyment through challenging themselves. We use myriad lead-up games to build skills for various sports that are introduced throughout the year, including soccer, volleyball, touch football, kickball, and basketball.

Children refine and develop their skills in areas including painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking. They acquire techniques of increasing complexity to enhance their work and study topics like perspective, shading, mood creation and portrayal of human figures at rest and in motion. Students also discover art amid the cultural richness of New York City. VCS hosts artists-in-residence who share their work and insights; classes  visit area studios, galleries, and museums.

Woodshop study focuses on exploration of ideas, planning and construction, as well as making connections to other curriculum subjects. Students expand their working vocabulary and tool repertoire. They learn proper use of the Japanese pull saw, surface design techniques – including color application – and strategies for reclaiming and repurposing materials. In addition to required projects, children choose independent projects to complete like puppets, boxes, shelves and musical instruments.

Singing, movement and instrumental playing continue to reinforce musicality in Grades 2-5. Students’ repertoire expands to include elements aligning with their social studies curriculum, such as Native American musical games, Chinese ribbon dance and jazz. Ensemble teamwork continues to build in importance and complexity as students learn to sing harmony, play different percussion instruments and perform for audiences. As their fine motor skills develop, children receive additional training on a wind instrument, initially the soprano recorder and by Grade 5, alto, tenor and bass recorders. Private lessons in additional instruments are available to interested students starting in Grade 4 through the VCS Instrument Lessons Program. By completion of the Lower School, students have a broad appreciation of many types of music and the skills and literacy to participate in our Upper School ensemble.

Developing confident, discerning researchers and fostering a lifelong love of reading are the goals of the VCS Library program. Our Librarian helps students discover appealing books through read-alouds and literacy projects. Students learn to make meaningful connections between texts and the larger world through discussion, analysis and artwork.

Students learn how to use the library independently, locate reference materials, and respond meaningfully to works. Older students expand their reference repertoire through lessons in fair use and copyright, effective Google searching, and research using academic databases.