The first grade language arts program focuses on the development of students' familiarity and command of foundational language skills such as reading, writing, and listening, while instilling a passionate and creative approach towards literature. Often working in small guided reading groups, the students work first to understand the basic parts of a work of literature then begin to explore how to extract the meaning and main idea of the works through context clues and discussion. At the same time, they actively build their writing skills through a systematic progression geared towards an understanding of core concepts like capitalization, punctuation and sentence combining. This progression compliments a strong written expression component, which encourages attempts at personal narrative and persuasive writing.

Students are introduced to a flexible set of strategies for problem solving in the first grade math program. Exposure to real-world activities like calendar use, time-telling, money, and measurements, allows students to acquire useful skills and a curiosity to explore more advanced mathematical concepts. The program builds a foundational base with daily work in counting, basic arithmetic, problem solving, graphing, and word problems. Fun activities and math-based games like the estimation jar, computer exercises, and "100's Day" supplement this work.  

The first grade science program strives to enhance both the children's innate curiosity of their physical surroundings and their capabilities in scientific discovery. Units in the domains of both Life and Physical Sciences such as "Living and Not Living," "Five Senses," and "Space: Sun, Moon, and Stars," expose students to scientific vocabulary and principles through class discussion, hands-on experiments, and field trips. Students also create a focused project in each of the two fields: a spider project in Life Sciences and a magnet invention project in Physical Sciences. The scientific method is introduced to begin the children's understand of forming hypotheses and developing experiments to test their ideas.

The social studies program both begins with and frequently revisits the examination and understanding of values. Students begin to understand their uniqueness and their place in their family, community, and world. Efforts at self-understanding are complimented by exposure to historical and contemporary cultures to build appreciation and respect for the views of others. Audio-visual aids, individual projects, and organized activities such as the Mexican Posada and the English Tea highlight the curriculum. Teachers help develop vocabulary, basic historical understanding, appreciation of historical figures, and an awareness of current events.