Origins
Mountain Shadows began in 1986 with a small group of children that included the offspring of teachers. Some of the first teachers were trained and experienced, while others were parents who shared their skills, their diligence, and their honoring of childhood.
Curriculum
A Progressive, Place-based, Integrated, and Foundational-based Curriculum Throughout all grade levels: Language Arts [Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing (Phonics, Spelling, Handwriting)], Math, History, Science, Spanish, The Arts (Music, Movement, Fine Arts, Two-dimensional/Environmental Art, and Performance), Wellness (Health and Fitness), and Critical Thinking (Analyzing, Questioning, Innovating, Communicating, Collaborating) within all disciplines, are rooted in both a progressive and traditional curriculum that tracks each child’s progress in each subject area.
The Classroom Environment
At Mountain Shadows, the physical environment is itself an expression of values. Children alternate between sitting on rugs with artboards for writing and handmade seats that can also serve as desks. A long, antique table provides a surface for the youngest learners, while eighth-grade students have tables and chairs. Floor seating encourages back strength and good posture while allowing for flexibility—students can sit together or apart as the work demands. Children are given genuine space for presence and focus so natural capacities for attention and deep engagement can grow unhindered.
Events
Traditions That Create Belonging Mountain Shadows is shaped by shared traditions that give each day and each season a sense of meaning and continuity. These are not merely events on a calendar; they are the rituals through which children can experience belonging, contribution, hopefulness, and shared purpose.
Recess
Play, Community, and Mixed-Age Learning A daily, multi-age recess is not a break from learning—it is learning of a different and essential kind. Children from kindergarten through eighth grade play together, participating in both invented and athletic pickup games that promote steady skill-building, problem-solving for and with one another, contributing to outdoor art creations, and engaging in imaginative, collaborative play and creations across a full span of ages, an intentional replication of the “real-world”.
Team Sports
In addition to boosting fitness, team sports can advance core character skills such as initiative, resilience, self-control, and collaboration in working toward a “goal.”
Outdoor Education and Place-Based Learning
The outdoors is not separate from learning at Mountain Shadows—it is central to it. The school's outdoor education curriculum honors place-based learning and promotes an experience of oneself as a respectful and respected part of the natural world. The so-named Uncharted Forest is the school's magical outdoor classroom, where every bit of furnishing and every work of art is constructed from materials found in its surroundings—with minimal hardware store purchases. Children build, create, and explore, using what the land itself offers.
Field Trips
Field trips, local and afar, connect students tangibly to their history, literature, arts, science, nature, and integrated cultural curricula. Among those that are scheduled throughout specific grades, beyond spontaneous visits to local businesses and events,
Coming Soon
Mountain Shadows, an independent, progressive school in Dublin, NH, serving children in K-8, is launching a new website!
Contact Us
We apologize for the wait while our new site is being constructed, but please don’t hesitate to connect with us in the meantime.