Enrichment

Going beyond the school walls in their quest for learning becomes increasingly important in the elementary years. While the Primary child was content in the carefully-prepared classroom and its familiar, secure community, elementary children are eager and ready to take on the world.

In our Elementary program, going beyond the school takes two forms:

• Field trips are all-class or multiclass excursions, organized by the teacher or by the school. They may be as simple as a walk in the neighborhood to see a flag pole or to visit a nearby fire station—or as elaborate as a bus trip to a museum an hour or two away. Upper elementary children may go on overnight trips as well.

  These adult-led trips are a good opportunity to build the community, to deepen friendships, and to get to know the local destinations in our cities. They also often tie into subject matter the children have been studying—such as looking for habitats during a stroll in the woods or on the dunes or around tidepool areas, or learning about prehistory during a museum visit.

• Going Outs are child-initiated and child-organized trips of smaller groups of children (usually two to five students), and may begin during the 3rd year of Lower Elementary or (more typically) early in the Upper Elementary three-year-cycle. A Going Out has two purposes:
  • The direct purpose is bringing additional resources to a child’s study. This can be as simple as finding additional books during a trip to the library, or more elaborate, like a visit to a commercial bakery (as part of research on the provenance of food), or to an art museum (to see paintings and sculptures of a certain period or style that the children may have studied in class).
  • An additional purpose is enabling the child to learn life skills. Going Outs, while coached and supported by teachers, are organized and run by the students. The students research the destination, online or by calling the venue. They organize transportation—via public transport, where available, or alternatively by finding driving routes and organizing for a parent chaperone to drive them. They research costs (bus fare, admissions). They plan timelines. They even conduct a risk assessment and obtain needed approvals from the Head of School and permission slip signatures from their parents. In this way, Going Outs are part of the Practical Life curriculum for older children.

Teachers prepare students for these trips by providing resources and planning tools, setting clear standards, and ensuring children know the proper etiquette for behaving on public transport, in museums or symphony halls. Teachers assess students’ readiness: only children who consistently demonstrate their maturity and responsibility—e.g., by paying attention in class, by following through on assignments consistently, by treating teachers and other students respectfully, by following school rules and being trustworthy—show that they are ready to handle the responsibility that comes with Going Out.