Elementary School

The curriculum at Indigo is aligned with the state of California academic standards, ensuring that essential learning content and skills are mastered. These standards are delivered primarily through hands-on, active learning activities that incorporate all learning modalities and the multiple intelligences. Instruction is differentiated to meet each student where he or she is and provides options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and demonstrating progress. Students who meet their grade level standards are encouraged to extend their learning, go deeper into the curriculum and excel in their research, writing, and projects.

art lessonWhat will I see in an Indigo K-5 classroom?

  • Children’s work displayed on the walls
  • Small group instruction
  • A bustling learning environment
  • Class Meetings
  • Student exploration and engagement
  • Differentiated learning
  • Cooperation and collaboration

What is the role of the parent?

  • Get to know students
  • Run Small groups
  • Be positive role models
  • Become part of a strong parent network
  • Support teachers and students in and out of the classroom

Constructivist Learning

Learning at Indigo is based on Constructivist Learning theory, which states that people are active creators of their own understanding and knowledge of the world. When students have interesting experiences, engage in problem-solving, ask questions, explore, experiment, reflect, assess, and discuss, they not only learn the material more deeply and remember it better, but they gain important life skills. Perhaps the most important of these skills is that they learn how to learn.

At Indigo, lessons incorporate fine arts and technology, opportunities for collaborative learning, and in-depth, extended projects, which take into consideration developmental levels and interests. Teachers encourage students to use open-ended questioning and to develop and employ learning strategies so that they become “expert learners.”

Developmental Approach

Just as each child cuts a first tooth or takes a first step according to a personal inner clock, so each child breaks the reading code, skips, or associates an abstract symbol with a particular concept at the right time for that child. In a class of twenty-five, there are twenty-five levels of competency, readiness, interest and emotional make-up.

In this context, a child’s development can best be maximized by providing an experiential hands-on approach, promoting an awareness of self and one’s relation to others, and providing an opportunity to learn at their own pace within an integrated curriculum. Our program is based on these premises.

Research shows that a basic education must address the needs of the whole child; social, physical, emotional and academic areas of growth are interrelated and are of equal value. When a child’s whole being is honored and respected, the innate desire to learn is developed and enhanced.

Social / Emotional Learning

Students’ social and emotional development is an important aspect of the Indigo philosophy. As a community we strive to use a common vocabulary to provide our students with a safe and supportive atmosphere in which to learn not only academics but also interpersonal, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills.