Early Childhood

In the Early Childhood Center (ECC) at HFS, we believe that all young children learn through play. Through this medium, our teachers provide and seek those auspicious moments to perpetuate natural curiosity within children—the catalyst that prompts their questions, ignites their passion to explore and discover, and sets the stage for their Lower and Middle School experiences.

Children progress through three grades in the ECC, beginning with the Swallowtails (ages 2-3), followed by Skippers (ages 3-4), and Monarchs (ages 4-5). Teachers use thematic weeks and centers to provide a multidisciplinary approach to learning both in and out of the classroom. Through our curriculum, children have the opportunity to develop in critical areas so they emerge from the ECC fully ready to continue their educational journey as learners. Students must be 2 by the first day of school to enroll in the Swallowtails program.

⭐ Gross and fine-motor skills
⭐ Social-emotional skills
⭐ Literacy, writing and math readiness
⭐ Hands-on STEM experiments
⭐ Basic understanding of social studies, world history and cultures
⭐ Health and physical education
⭐ Exposure to and appreciation for the Arts, Music, and Spanish language

The ECC curriculum is also enriched with special field trips, artists-in-residence, guest speakers, and once-a-month participation in all-school Meeting for Worship, which our little ones enjoy with their older “buddies.”

Our nurturing, warm environment provides ECC children with a feeling of safety, connection, and self-worth to their teachers and fellow classmates. Once children discover this trust, we believe there is no limit to learning. Through planned and purposeful play, our teachers help develop the skills needed for life—problem-solving and resolving differences using words, expressing needs and feelings constructively, developing friendships, and working cooperatively with one another – all while growing in self-confidence as they learn.

Lower School (Grades K-4)

Kindergarten
As early as Kindergarten, HFS students learn to think independently and construct their own knowledge, whether they are examining the metamorphosis of the Monarch Butterfly, learning to relate to the world around them via time, space, numbers, art, music and literature, solving problems, or reaching out to others in the community. The children begin to understand that areas of study are interrelated, and that knowledge—and people—are immutably connected. Independence, critical thinking, social development, and relationships all take center stage, even for our youngest.

Grades 1-3
Students continue to develop academic and social-emotional skills. During these years, students begin more formal academic instruction with concentrated study of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Teachers present the children with meaningful contexts in which to learn the skills they need, and in the process, continually demonstrate those academic connections that reinforce critical thinking skills and independent learning. Query, exploration, discovery, and hands-on learning continue to dominate the academic atmosphere. While technology is integrated across the grades, students in grades 2 – 3 engage in a more formalized study with the school’s librarian/media specialist. Consistent with our ECC program, students across the grades enjoy field trips and special programs that augment their learning.

4th Grade
Students actively prepare for the rigors of Middle School by assuming greater responsibility for their own behavior and learning. They continue to hone their academic skills and work more independently. Differentiated instruction is integral to the school’s academic approach to learning, and teachers readily accommodate rapid learners. The students work extensively on study skills, strategies for note-taking and test-taking, and formal presentations. They also assume leadership roles with the younger children, serving as “buddies” to them in Meeting for Worship and special projects.

Middle School (Grades 5-8)

The HFS middle school curriculum focuses on preparing our students for high school, giving them the tools and knowledge to be prepared intellectually and social-emotionally, while helping instill the confidence to be an independent and critical thinker, self-driven learner, and advocate for oneself. Our smaller class sizes create a nurturing environment, conducive to personal attention, creativity, risk-taking, and in-depth study. As with our lower divisions, experiential and service-based learning continue to play an important role in the curriculum.

Middle school students are fully immersed in a curriculum and routines unique to the middle school grades. History, literature, and writing are integrated into a daily 90-minute Humanities format. As a part of the science curriculum, all seventh and eighth grade students participate in the Coriell Institute Science Fair with the opportunity to advance to the regional and national levels of competition. The middle school math curriculum strengthens arithmetic skills and expands student knowledge in concepts leading to their study of Algebra and Geometry. Teachers also work on organizational skills—from keeping track of daily homework assignments and materials to guided note taking and preparing for longer term assignments and tests.

Our students attend classes in performing and visual arts. Each year of the middle school music curriculum introduces students to performance experiences on a different instrument (soprano recorder in 5th grade and guitar in 6th grade) or immersion in music study (music history in 7th grade and world music in 8th grade). Middle school students perform in two all-school concerts: The Winter Concert in December and Frolic (graduation) in June. In the HFS Spanish program, students are encouraged to acquire conversational proficiency in Spanish through language exposure by listening and reading, intentionally tailored to their level of understanding. This input-based approach to teaching foreign language focuses on the systematic instruction of high frequency vocabulary in a highly comprehensible, personalized, and contextualized manner. Students are taught vocabulary, basic language structure, and grammar through the context of stories, novels, songs, and conversation, as well as through gestures and pantomime with the goal of fluency. In Art classes, middle school students create art in a variety of media that addresses issues ranging from current events, to Quaker values, to the students’ own thoughts and concerns. In Health & Physical Ed, students learn a variety of sports skills, fitness exercises, and health concepts, and they participate in numerous cooperative and strategic games.

Experiential learning occurs through field trips in each grade; some field trips involve the entire middle school. We also engage with our local community — walking to Haddonfield bookstores and ice cream shops to learn about entrepreneurship and chemistry, for example.

Service-based learning is also part of the middle school experience. Our sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students donate their time and effort to cook hot meals and bring interactive activities to sick children and their families residing at Ronald McDonald House. The students also plan and organize a school-wide rummage sale to raise funds for the food purchases necessary for their meal preparation at RMH. Students often identify needs in both our local and global communities and design service projects of their own.

These collective experiences and opportunities at HFS set our middle school students up for success after graduation. Students are mentored through the high school application process and gain admittance to many of their schools of choice, including Moorestown Friends, Lawrenceville Prep, William Penn Charter (PA), St. Andrew’s School (DE), St. Joseph’s Preparatory School (PA), Friends Select (PA), Bishop Eustace, and Monteverde Friends (Costa Rica). They also achieve success at area public high schools (Haddonfield Memorial, Cherry Hill East, Collingswood, Pitman, Eastern, Sterling, to name a few).