The Primary at Upland Country Day School, consisting of Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and 1st grade, is a comprehensive and supportive program that promotes self-discovery and understanding of the world around us. Professional and caring teachers guide children through their first years of school during which they are learning how to learn and how to work in a group outside of their family environment.

" In a nurturing, child-centered environment, students are encouraged to take risks and are allowed to make mistakes, thus enabling them to become creative and critical thinkers."

In the Primary grades making learning meaningful through hands-on experiences is key. Presenting information in a way that allows the mind to extract patterns, rather than attempting to impose them, fosters a child’s learning. Upland provides its Primary students with developmentally appropriate opportunities to explore, make choices and build theories. Play is used to build skills and knowledge. In a nurturing, child-centered environment, students are encouraged to take risks and are allowed to make mistakes, thus enabling them to become creative and critical thinkers. Additionally, children learn that they are valuable both as individuals and as members of a group. They are encouraged to explore their strengths and share them with their classmates.

Each year’s curriculum is designed to build upon the previous year, and each year expectations and privileges change to give the children new challenges and traditions to look forward to.  There are many unique aspects of our Primary curriculum. Laboratory science, taught by a full time Lower School science teacher, begins in Kindergarten. Also in Kindergarten, instruction in Spanish by a full-time Spanish teacher begins. Upland has a skating rink, and in 1st grade students learn to skate during their winter physical education classes.

Primary students are engaged in numerous activities during the school year that encourage active exploration of our community and beyond. Many of these activities and events have become treasured traditions at Upland. For example, Upland’s Primary prepares and hosts a Thanksgiving feast every year for the faculty and staff throughout the school.

By the time children leave the Primary Building to go on to Lower School they are well on their way to becoming independent learners. Each child is beginning to understand how he/she learns best, and they are moving away from predominantly concrete thought and are beginning to engage in abstract thought. They understand differences between people and recognize that there are many ways to handle various situations. Students know how to challenge themselves to learn and they are prepared for a lifetime of learning.