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Outside the Classroom

Student outings extend the classroom experience into the real world. Arbor students prepare to contribute to the community of the larger world by first participating as respected members of their school and local community. 

Toddler students watch sheep as they are brought onsite to winter on Arbor's property.

Toddler & Primary

For the young child, Arbor's Toddler and Primary environments are self-contained; a world scaled down to just their size. Orderly, beautiful, and thoughtfully prepared classrooms allow for children to focus on development of the self. Classrooms are also framed by large windows and extend into garden spaces, offering independence to explore the natural world. In the toddler community, children leave the classroom to play on the playground, go on a guided walk around campus, or for a special visit to Elementary or Adolescent spaces. Primary students gain increasing responsibility and independence to assist teachers in hallway spaces or to visit administrative offices. 

Elementary

Three elementary students smile at the camera after delivering donated supplies to Lifeline Animal Project, a local Atlanta animal rescue.

As students move up to Elementary, they emerge from the protective environment of the classroom into the world. Their focus shifts beyond themselves; students want to know about the natural environment and the human, cultural environment around them. At this age, students begin to participate in "going outs" off campus. These outings are taken by small groups of children, and emerge from the work of the classroom. 

Some of a child’s first going out experiences may include traveling to the store with the assistant teacher to purchase supplies, or taking a trip to the library to checkout books for a research project. By their second or third year, a child may arrange to visit a history center, a vet clinic, or do community service at an assisted living residence or food bank. 

These off-campus experiences prepare Elementary students to live in society, to think critically, make choices, and to further develop their self-control. As they enter Upper Elementary and take their first overnight trips to Medicine Bow, they are well prepared to contribute with integrity to their community, as stewards of Arbor's mission and vision. 

Adolescent

Dr. Montessori believed the adolescent straddles two worlds: that of their known nuclear family and that of the “future family of which the adolescent is the father, builder, center.” (A Social Newborn) In other words, the adolescent is leaving childhood—which is centered around the nuclear family—to be reborn into adulthood, where they will create their newly independent life. Montessori envisioned the ideal environment for this rebirth as a boarding community, where the new “family” would form and allow the lessons of approaching adulthood to unfold in a safe environment.

Since Arbor's Adolescent Program does not offer boarding, class trips are designed to fulfill the need for residential life. These trips are fully integrated into the curriculum and represent some of the best opportunities for personal growth and community building that the Adolescent Program offers. 

Adolescents learn to balance other’s needs and desires with their own as they live with roommates, decide where to eat dinner, and choose activities. They learn to listen and compromise. They learn that, sometimes, we have to make decisions based on the good of the community, rather than on personal preferences. These lessons allow the adolescents to practice the skills they will need to build their “future family.” Both our AP students and our guides return from the trip with a new understanding of our world, our community, and ourselves.