PreK2 – Grade 3

Lessons aren’t limited to classroom exercises on the Lower Campus. Beginning at age 2, learning also takes place in art museums, in public gardens and even the county courthouse.

Every level from Pre-K through 3rd grade builds on itself as teachers customize each student’s learning plan to keep them continually challenged, engaged and reaching for more. The collective Lower Campus experience is designed to build academic skills, confidence, public speaking skills, critical thinking, global awareness, and personal integrity.

A few highlights from each grade include:

Pre-Primary

Family Partnerships
The Pre-Primary Program values the partnership between home and school. Family activities like yoga at the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden and reading during Loved One’s Day take place throughout the school year. These activities are designed to give our youngest students the opportunity to engage with their home and school families together.

Harvest Fest
The Pre-Primary and Primary students participate in the annual Harvest Fest which brings a taste of fall to South Florida. Rotating through various stations, students have the opportunity to choose pumpkins from a pumpkin patch, enjoy pumpkin-inspired science activities, and are taken on wagon rides led by 8th Grade students.

Primary

Museum Partnership with Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens
Through our partnership with the neighboring Ann Norton Sculpture Garden, students gain early exposure to different artists and art styles as they explore the various exhibits on display throughout the year at the Sculpture Gardens. The museum’s education coordinators further the hands-on explorations through classroom visits throughout the year.

Butterfly Garden
Students plant and maintain a butterfly garden throughout the school year and engage in all aspects of the process, from choosing plants that will attract caterpillars to monitoring and watering the plants. Students enjoy witnessing firsthand the life cycle of the butterflies.

Kindergarten

Teddy Bear Picnic
Each year, classes spend the fall learning around the theme of teddy bears with the project culminating in the annual Teddy Bear Picnic. Parents are invited to join in on the long-standing tradition that includes a “bear hunt” for lost teddy bears, music, stories, and a picnic.

Museum Partnership with the Norton Museum of Art
Since 2012, docents from the renowned Norton Museum and the Kindergarten teachers have collaborated to bring rich experiences based on the fine arts to our students. The partnership includes visits to PBDA from the Norton’s docents and trips to the Museum by our students. Through the partnership, students are encouraged to think more deeply about the role of museums in our culture and how to examine works of art.

Grade 1

My Father’s Dragon
The multi-disciplinary unit is based on the book by Ruth Stiles Gannett, serving as a springboard into the concept of animal classifications/habitats. Students utilize maps, measurements, and graphing skills as they design, engineer and test an alternative method of travel from one island to another. The unit culminates with each student preparing a research report on an individual animal.

Nocturnal Animal Unit
Students investigate owls, bats, and arachnids through this study of nocturnal animals. They chart migration patterns, dissect owl pellets, expand their geographical knowledge, and learn about nonfiction reading and writing. Students showcase what they have learned in a comprehensive teaching book full of information, diagrams, and fun facts. The unit concludes with a trip to Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, where the class enjoys seeing many of the animals they have studied, up close and personal.

Grade 2

Biography Day
After learning about various book genres throughout the school year, the project asks students to select one historical figure of interest to study. After reading a biographical chapter book about their chosen figure, each student dresses up as the person they have researched and presents what they’ve learned throughout their studies.

Flat Stanley Project
Inspired by Jeff Brown’s book Flat Stanley, this educational project is designed to facilitate the improvement of reading and writing skills while promoting an interest in learning about different people and places around the world. Students are encouraged to share ideas and information with others while practicing letter writing skills.

Habitat Museum
In connection with their nonfiction unit in Readers Workshop, students choose animals of high interest to study. Over several weeks, they research their animals’ characteristics, habitats, predators, prey, and the ways in which camouflage is used for survival. Students choose a creative way to present and share their learning with others.

Grade 3

Third Grade Pod

Third Grade students begin to prepare for their transition to the Upper Campus by collaboratively working together on various projects within the Third Grade “pod.” The model, which is simulated after the Fourth Grade model, helps set up the students for success and a seamless transition to the Upper Campus.

Entrepreneur Day
The spring project offers a learning opportunity for students to work individually or in partnerships to create and sell a product. This project inspires entrepreneurship at an early age, exposing children to many aspects of business, marketing, and advertising. All proceeds from the project are donated to a charity chosen by the students.

Charity Speeches
In a public speaking exercise that aligns with the above Entrepreneur Day event, students research a charity that has a mission close to their hearts. They then work to craft a convincing and well-developed speech about their charity of choice and present it to the rest of the class. Students then vote on which charity to donate to with the proceeds earned from Entrepreneur Day.

Wishes for Wheels Bike Drive
In collaboration with Jack the Bike Man, students conduct an annual bike drive to collect up to 80 used bikes that are later fixed by the local bike shop and donated to students less fortunate within the Palm Beach County community. The inspiration for the collaboration stemmed from the curiosity and desire to help from one of PBDA’s own students.