Outdoor Environment

Experiencing nature and the outdoors are essential to the Primary experience. The classroom is filled with items from the natural world – fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables, even the beloved class hamster, guinea pig, bird, or fish. Students work with names, forms, and classifications through the Language, Cultural, and Sensory Curricula, and are given abundant opportunity to experience the wonder and joy of nature in its many forms.

All Primary classrooms also include a self-contained adjacent deck and garden that is an extension of the learning environment. Students help maintain the garden through planting and pruning, watering and weeding. They exercise their hands and creativity at the woodworking bench and work on their balance as they walk with a friend on the balance beam. Perhaps, most importantly, fostering the natural connection between children and the physical world helps young students understand their unique connection to their universe.