Specials provide an addition to the rich environment provided by the classroom teachers. The school currently has specialists on staff in the areas of art, music, yoga, and Spanish, and contracts with the YMCA for physical education.

Art and music specialists work with the classroom teachers to ensure that their curriculum dovetails with what is happening in the classroom.

Art: At the Children’s House level, art activities are developed by the art teacher and integrated into classroom activities by the classroom teachers. Kindergarten through Elementary-aged children have weekly art periods with our in-house art teacher which involve exploration and the hands-on study of the styles of great artists. In our halls, you will often see art by our students. The school displays its artwork to the community through our annual participation in the Week of the Young Child celebration, where Kindergarten artwork is displayed in the window of a designated downtown business, and through Upper Elementary’s participation in the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s annual Create-An-Ad contest.

Music: We are a singing school! Children’s House and Elementary enjoy separate monthly group sings in addition to a monthly an all-school assembly/sing. Kindergarten through Elementary children experience music weekly with our in-house music teacher, which includes not only singing but also learning to read music. Our music teacher also works with classroom groups on special events. These include all-school events such as the Harvest Gathering, Solstice Celebration, and Culmination/End of Year Celebration, as well as the annual Kindergarten play, Elementary performance, and Upper Elementary Musical Breakfast.

Spanish: Kindergarten through Elementary-aged children receive weekly Spanish instruction from our in-house Spanish teacher. The Spanish teacher works extensively with with the Upper Elementary children in planning and producing Fiesta Day, an all-school celebration of Spanish-speaking countries which occurs in May.

Sign language is also taught to many of the children in our school.

Physical Education and Yoga: Children participate in physical education daily on our beautiful school playground, and the classroom curriculum incorporates movement on a daily basis. Elementary students travel weekly to the YMCA for gym classes with a YMCA-provided instructor. In addition, all classes have weekly instruction with our in-house yoga teacher. These two styles of exercise give children exposure to a variety of physical activity.