First Life
Discover Fairhope’s Unique Elementary Experience: First Life for 1st & 2nd Graders
At Fairhope Organic School, our First Life program offers a distinctive elementary school experience where children, usually between 6 and 7 years old, are grouped together thrive in combined-age classrooms. This progressive approach significantly expands learning, fostering greater emotional and social development for every child.
Our minds grow as we listen to stories, identify words, and begin to read independently. We learn to form our letters and keep journals in which we record what we have learned in words and pictures. We manipulate numbers and categorize things. We learn about time, money, and the meaning of numbers greater than those we can count.
Whole Child Development
The First Life classroom not only encompasses a comfortable environment for daily traditional education, but also includes the woods, gullies and nearby bay.
What First Life students learn about will often depend upon their interests, which are ever evolving. Our teachers give the students the tools they need, such as shovels, buckets, computers and microscopes.
Our spirits grow as we sing, dance and create masterpieces with crayons and art supplies. We enhance our independence as we learn to do things for ourselves, like tie our own shoes, choose our own clothes and take care of our bathroom needs. When we are eager to learn to read and write we move on.
For First Life, the physical body is still growing at a rapid rate. Games and physical activity such as, skipping, running, exploring, dancing, and more, are all part of the daily and weekly rhythm at our school. We aim to consistently nurture the whole child development.
