Physical Education
The overall objective of the Physical Education program is to provide students with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to make active living a way of life. Cooperation, fair play, sportsmanship, communication, and respect are emphasized in all forms of our activities and sports.
Approach
Every year, we begin with Cooperative Games and Problem Solving Activities. In these activities, the group confronts a specific scenario or problem to solve (a sinking ship to escape, a poisonous or toxic swamp to cross, an electric fence to get over, or a minefield to get a blindfolded partner through safely). The focus of these activities is fostering cooperation, encouraging strategic and supportive dialogue, listening to a different opinion than your own, and having fun at the same time. Some groups spend just a few classes on cooperative activities, while others spend a lot more time and do a wider variety of them. This depends on what each group needs and how well they are working together. The activities also develop collaboration, communication, cooperation, respect, teamwork, and problem solving skills — all skills necessary for the success of any physical activity, game, or sport that involves more than one person.
🚨Proud alumni moment! 🚨 From speaking at graduation to speaking at the most recent Board of Education meeting—Naveh `25 and Evan `24 continue to use their voices with courage and conviction.
Now students in the School District of Philadelphia, they recently spoke out against the proposed closure of their middle school.
Bravo to them both for advocating for themselves, each other, and the world!
#themiquonschool #foreveramiquonkid #progressiveeducation
🍁 Sap season is our favorite season! 🍁
Each year, our K/1 students engage in the beloved tradition of tapping maple trees on campus.
Through this process, children learn by doing. They observe the first drip of sap, ask questions, share ideas, and discover together how sap becomes syrup. Along the way, they build not just knowledge of the steps, but deeper understandings of scientific inquiry, research, and how to represent their learning.
The best part? A tasty treat at the end, of course! ✨
#themiquonschool #foreveramiquonkid #progressiveeducation #independentschool
👀 Sneak Peek Alert!
Our 5/6 has been planning, creating, and documenting their Personal Projects for weeks. Today is the big reveal!
Before the fair begins, here’s a preview of the work happening at home:
🎵 Writing, recording, and layering an original song on electric guitar and drums
🚀 Designing a model rocket using CAD and bringing it to life with a 3D printer
🎂 Baking a different cake each week while learning to measure, prep, level layers — and taste test (with neighbors happily benefiting!)
We can’t wait to celebrate their curiosity, commitment, and creativity at today’s Personal Project Fair.
#themiquonschool #progressiveeducation #independentschool
At last night’s Curriculum Night, families stepped into the role of learners and experienced math the way our students do every day.
In small groups, they rotated through classrooms, engaging in hands-on number sense activities at each stage. Parents worked with materials, collaborated with one another, and learned alongside our teachers--bravely diving into math themselves.
By the end, families saw how we intentionally build number sense and deep understanding from Nursery through 6th grade.
We’re grateful to our teachers and families for making this night happen! 💛
#themiquonschool #ProgressiveEducation #IndependentSchool
Our 3/4 is diving deeply into PA history through their theme study this year, with a special focus on the Lenape people, the original inhabitants of this region.
The children have built a rich understanding of Lenape life through research and hands-on experiences. They visited the recreated Lenape village at Churchville Nature Center and hosted Chief Bluejay of the Lenape Nation of PA, who shared Lenape stories, customs, Unami words and traditional games. We were also lucky to welcome musician Krista Nelson, who has been studying indigenous musical traditions. She brought wooden flutes to play and told an interactive folktale about how the Lenape imagined the invention of the first flute by the woodland creatures.
Now, the 3/4 is bringing bringing this knowledge into a historical fiction writing unit. Each child is creating a character and crafting a story set in a Lenape village long ago, using research to ensure their writing is thoughtful, vivid, and historically grounded. From imagining seasonal work and winter preparations to picturing what this land looked like 500 years ago, students are blending research, imagination, and empathy as young historians and authors.
We are proud of the 3/4’s dedication to this meaningful work!
#themiquonschool #progressiveeducation #independentschools
Students recently wrapped up their 2026 Caldecott unit in library class!
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. The medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service for Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Each year as part of Miquon’s library program, students and staff form a mock Caldecott committee. This year, they looked at eight amazing contenders for the Caldecott medal and voted on which three books were the best contenders for “the most distinguished American picture book for children” published in 2025.
Shown here are students in the 3rd and 4th grades checking out the books and making their selections!
#progressiveeducation #phillyareaschools #progressiveschool #HandsOnLearning #independentschool #foreveramiquonkid #themiquonschool #caldecottmedal #caldecott @americanlibraryassociation
The 5th and 6th graders continued their theme work on immigration and migration last week with a field trip to Philadelphia’s Italian Market.
The students found themselves immersed in the rich visuals, stories, and experiences that make the 9th Street community unique - among other stops, they saw intricate murals and learned their histories, they stepped into a church built in the 1840s, and they explored both a Mexican shop that sold traditional items and a shop that sold coffee from the owner’s family farm in Nicaragua.
We hope that by exploring the stories of people who made the market what it is today, our students feel inspired to learn more about how everyday people make communities special and resilient.
#progressiveschool #HandsOnLearning #progressiveeducation #independentschool #italianmarketphilly #phillyareaschools
At Miquon, we understand both that children learn by doing and that learning occurs in ways unique to each child. From hands-on projects and art-making to collaborative observation and problem solving, we offer a wide variety of opportunities for children across all grades to grow their skills as learners, thinkers, creators, and contributors to our school community.
#miquonschool #progressiveschool #progressiveeducation #independentschool #HandsOnLearning #foreveramiquonkid
After the initial Cooperation and Problem Solving unit, we move onto eye-hand coordination skills and activities that combine the eye-hand coordination skills with cooperation. From there, activities that are in line with the Society of Health and Physical Educators National Standards Scope and Sequence are introduced to students as part of a larger lesson plan. For example, if the students are working on throwing at targets, we usually teach the skill cues first (e.g., jumping jack, muscle man, point, step, throw, follow through). Next, the children practice individually, throwing at targets (paper plates on walls or various objects to throw at). Then, we play a partnered game (“p-i-g” or “t-i-g-e-r” or whatever they decide) which is followed by a larger or whole group game.
PE Blog
Want to learn more about the latest happenings in Miquon’s Physical Education program? Check out pictures and teacher commentary posted to the PE Blog.
Curriculum Report
The curriculum report is the teachers’ review of the entire year, looking back and making observations after their plans, projects, problems, and revelations are long over. One of the distinguishing features of this report is the great extent to which each teacher’s style, focus, and personality come through in this retrospective narrative. Check out the PE Curriculum Report.
