The concept of outdoor adventure education begins in preschool with trips to our local parks to explore the environment and continues throughout the grades with increasing levels of complexity and length of overnights. Different than other schools that send their students on outdoor adventure programs, our outdoor adventure programs are run by our teachers and are directly connected to our curriculum. Along with the benefits of any outdoor adventure program (teamwork, personal development, and environmental stewardship), our students have the added benefit of a curriculum that lives in the wilderness as the classroom.
Prospective parents sometimes ask why we go on so many trips. Age appropriate trips provide children with fresh, life-altering experiences and new challenges, along with opportunities to apply skills learned in the classroom, collect data for use in the classroom, solve problems, bond with classmates and teachers and develop self-confidence. Trips aren’t just fun add-ons, separate from academic studies. Our trips into the field are an inextricable part of the way we teach and learn at The College School.