Experiential Learning

Our school uses a hands-on approach in many classes, encouraging students to learn by doing and to experiment with different methods of solving problems.  Instead of just memorizing facts or reading about others’ experiences, our students learn by doing, making discoveries and experimenting with knowledge firsthand.

In these days when many children’s time is so tightly scheduled, our school actively seeks out ways to engage them on a more personal level.  Subjects like hands-on science and the creative arts provide many opportunities for students to gain a deeper understanding of the material.  Through goal setting, experimenting, observing, reviewing, and action planning, they are able to learn new skills, new attitudes, or even entirely new ways of thinking.  Games and sports are especially popular techniques because of the “fun factor” – learning through fun helps students to retain the lessons for a longer period of time.

Off-campus field trips and fifth-through-eighth-grade wilderness adventures provide children with exciting opportunities to participate in their own education.  Traveling with their teachers and fellow students, they learn to develop teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership skills. Within this team-building wilderness curriculum, we also teach an appreciation of nature, including an understanding of our responsibility to protect the environment.