Lower School

A place to discover.

Kinderclass - Grade 4

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Curiosity grows when children have the freedom to follow it.
Two Nantucket Lighthouse School Kinderclass students explore the outdoors together, walking along a wooded path while carrying sticks and dressed in warm jackets and boots.

Where Wonder Leads to Discovery

As children’s understanding of the world expands, so does the depth and complexity of their learning. In Kinderclass through Grade 4, our curriculum invites children to question, investigate, make connections, and discover.

Learning is interdisciplinary by design, because the world itself is interconnected. History, science, mathematics, literature, art, and the natural world continually inform one another, helping children see relationships rather than experience subjects as separate parts.

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A watercolor illustration of a Monarch butterfly with orange and black patterned wings, seen from above with spread wings, on a transparent background. 
Making Connections

The world isn't divided into subjects. Neither is a Lighthouse education.

At the heart of Lower School is Main Lesson, a cornerstone of the Nantucket Lighthouse School curriculum. For several weeks at a time, children immerse themselves in one area of study, approaching it through many ways of knowing.

A study of astronomy, for example, might include experiments, nonfiction reading, poetry, sculpture, weaving, and observations of the night sky. History, science, mathematics, literature, art, and the natural world continually inform one another, helping children see relationships and develop a deeper understanding of what they are learning.

Children don't just study a subject. They make it their own.

Throughout each Main Lesson block, children create their own lesson books, writing and illustrating what they have discovered and creating a lasting record of their learning. Cursive instruction begins in Grade 3, adding another expressive dimension to this work.

More than a collection of finished work, these books reveal the questions children have asked, the connections they have made, and the understanding they have built along the way.

A watercolor illustration of a ladybug with red wings and black spots, set against a transparent background.
Three Nantucket Lighthouse School Lower School students perform in costume during the school's Winter Celebration, standing on stage in front of a colorful, hand-painted Hundred Acre Wood backdrop featuring trees, flowers, and sunshine.
A display of original handwritten and illustrated stories created by Nantucket Lighthouse School Lower School students, showcasing their creative writing and artwork during the school's annual Project Night celebration. 
Learning Made Visible
A Nantucket Lighthouse School Lower School student reads an open book at a wooden classroom table, focused on independent reading and learning in a quiet classroom setting. 
Building Strong Foundations
Two Nantucket Lighthouse School students face each other while looking through red binoculars, sharing a playful moment of curiosity and exploration in a classroom with wooden walls and views of the trees outside. 
Beyond the Classroom
A watercolor illustration of a ladybug with a pink body and black spots, black head, and gray legs, wings, and antennae on a transparent background.

Strong skills give children the confidence to go deeper.

Alongside Main Lesson, children develop strong foundations in literacy and mathematics through intentional, developmentally appropriate instruction.

Our reading program draws on the Orton-Gillingham approach, using multisensory instruction to build confident, capable readers. Words Their Way supports spelling development as children become increasingly independent with written language, while Bridges in Mathematics builds mathematical understanding through prediction, problem solving, and hands-on exploration.

Together, these approaches give children the skills and understanding they need to engage deeply with the broader curriculum.

A watercolor illustration of a butterfly with orange and black patterned wings, outlined with white spots, on a transparent background.

Some of the most important learning happens beyond four walls.

Twice-daily recess and time outdoors in all kinds of weather give children space to move, explore, and reset. Weekly field trips connect classroom studies to the wider world, culminating in an off-island field trip each spring.

Lower School classrooms are intentionally screen-free, giving children time to work with their hands, engage deeply with one another, and develop attention, creativity, focus, and collaboration. Technology will come later. For now, children are building the skills and habits of mind that will allow them to use it with purpose.

Explore the Curriculum Path

See how learning grows from the first days of Small School through Grade 8 graduation.

View the Curriculum Path

Lower School Lesson Books

Signature Experiences

From Small School through Middle School, traditions woven through the years help define a Lighthouse education. Rooted in the school’s earliest days, these experiences engage the whole child—head, heart, and hands.

A bright Nantucket Lighthouse School classroom featuring wooden tables and chairs, world maps, books, and plants, with soft pink walls and large windows that fill the welcoming learning space with natural light.
A pink watercolor illustration of a compass with words around it: 'Curiosity' at the top, 'Wisdom' on the left, 'Kindness' on the right, and 'Belonging' at the bottom. Representing Nantucket Lighthouse School's Core Values.