A Day at Northwood Cottage School

Within the multi-age setting of Northwood Cottage School, our students develop strong academic skills and a lifelong curiosity supported by explicit instruction, high-engagement practice, and guided inquiry throughout the day.

We begin the day with our morning meeting. During this time of connection, we discuss the plan for the day, review the calendar for upcoming events, and build community through our Social-Emotional Learning and Executive Functioning Skills lessons. Twice a week, we will use this time to focus our minds and bodies through yoga class.

Whole School Meeting

Our Foundations block strengthens students’ skills in core subjects. Math, reading, phonics, grammar, writing, and spelling lessons are taught by a certified teacher in small, ability-level learning pods, ensuring student mastery.

Foundations

Our students benefit from a one-hour lunch and recess break, a vital time for restoring both mind and body. We value outdoor time and aim to spend this unstructured period outside whenever we can.

Mid-Day Break

Explorations is the heart of the Northwood Cottage School experience, where students dive into science and social studies topics through guided inquiry and hands-on learning. Students connect ideas to their own lives and showcase their understanding through art, creative writing, research, and presentations.

Explorations

Students at Northwood Cottage School engage in a vibrant week that includes yoga twice a week, visual art, and Spanish instruction, and regular access to our full-service library. We further enrich student learning through field trips, visits from special guests, and daily walking excursions to Montie Beach Park.

Specialty Experiences

Northwood Cottage School Curriculum

  • The math program at NCS aims to develop strong mathematicians ready to tackle future challenges.

    Engaging, hands-on tasks inspire curiosity and encourage creative problem solving, showing students there are often many ways to solve a problem.

    Our teachers apply the concrete-representational-abstract approach to support deep student understanding of mathematical concepts.

    • Spelling & Phonics: We teach phonics through systematic and sequential instruction, empowering students to understand the English language. Games and activities keep our students engaged as they master new skills.

    • Literacy: Full novel studies develop our students’ reading comprehension skills and vocabulary while encouraging a love of classic and contemporary literature.

    • Writing: In addition to grammar instruction, our students learn strategies for planning, revising, and editing their writing. NCS writers are confident engaging in multiple genres of writing including narrative, opinion, research, poetry, and more.

  • Students explore interconnected science and social studies themes such as botany, Ancient Egypt, chemistry, and Texas History. Within these units, we build knowledge by engaging with complex texts and conducting research.

    To solidify understanding, students construct their own record of learning. This involves capturing key information and insights through written notes, visual diagrams, concept maps, timelines, and more.

    Within each of these units, our students are encouraged to identify patterns and forge connections, linking science and social studies concepts while also relating new knowledge to art, Spanish, music, and the wider world.