Experiential Learning

As students and teachers committed to the Montessori philosophy at Henson Valley, we seek meaningful work in a real-world setting.

The open-ended challenges enjoyed at the Upper Elementary and Middle School levels coax students out of their comfort zones and into unfamiliar situations.

Upper Elementary students on a caving expedition in Pennsylvania

Our faith in real-world education and commitment to global-minded students guarantees we’re off on academic adventures to destinations like museums, food banks, science labs, parks, theaters, or embassies at least once a month. The highlight and culmination of each year’s study is the opportunity for Upper Elementary students to travel within the contiguous United States and Middle School students to travel internationally.

Students vote on their destination in September and research it all year long. We make presentations, write reports, cook meals, play songs –- everything we can do to learn about our destination before we get there. The work during the school year is a thorough exercise in multi-disciplinary research and prepares students for the brand new challenges and perspectives encountered by being in a different place for an extended period of time.

As we have discovered, much of the learning comes with being immersed in another culture and lifestyle. And with each adventure comes greater self-awareness and a stronger sense of community — and of course all the new skills and knowledge picked up along the way, like how to hold a horney toad, why forest fires are good, and what it means to sweat at 7,000 feet above sea level.

Experiences like these embed students in their own education, as they make visceral connections with each activity, big or small. In each experience, everything combines to create a critical mass of lived curricula.

In past years, students have traveled to China (2004), Honduras (2005), Spain (2006) and most recently in 2007, to New Mexico and Greece. Visit our gallery to see highlights from our travels!