Katie and I discovered we had pirates and explorers in preschool fairly soon after the school year began. One preschooler wore her pirate gear (headscarf, vest, and eye patch) to school regularly and others spent every morning building ships to sail through the skies, the seas, and space. 

"I want my third-grade students to know that the intention and the work ethic you have and the way you think about things and keep working is what builds us to be better, to be great." (Blair Amberly, third-grade teacher)

Our pre-kindergarten students see mistakes as opportunities for creative thinking.

Each year in October, Free Union’s fourth and fifth graders head off to Coopers Cove Wildlife Sanctuary, owned by Burgundy Farm Country Day School, for two packed-solid days immersed in nature, studying wildlife, having too much fun, and deepening relationships with friends.

Second-grade students began their school year not struggling for the right answers but looking carefully at bubbles, and asking questions.

Think back to third grade. You might remember memorizing multiplication tables, learning new vocabulary words, or understanding a brief, possibly confusing poem.