Lower School Core Skills

Critical Thinking

Omega, Grades 1, 2

How do artists use the elements of art (shape, form exaggeration, symmetry, color, contrast, pattern) to engage the viewer and express emotions and ideas?

In visits to the Guggenheim, the Met, and the Whitney, boys practice the art of close looking—learning how color, shape, contrast, and pattern can express feeling, spark thought, and stir the imagination.

Grades 1, 2, 3

How has New York City grown and changed over time?

Boys learn to think like historians—studying artifacts and replicas, asking questions, and drawing inferences. Through these exercises, they explore how New York City has evolved, and begin to understand the forces that shape a place over time.

Grade 3

How can we communicate through performance?

In partnership with the National Dance Institute, third grade boys explore how movement can express ideas and emotion. As they learn choreography, they also learn to collaborate, interpret, and communicate—without saying a word.