We are excited about all the different ways kids learn and how our community has a little bit of everything.
We really love to bring learning alive by reading great literature and then allowing our students to discover what it looks like outside of the book and in real life. Whether using math to build replicas of ancient structures or learning history from the elderly at the assisted living center across the street, we want our students to practice critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity to meet the challenges of learning and life.
We really care about helping our students develop character and relational skills beyond just learning information or simply becoming "smart." We want them to have the character they need to face people who might have different ideas, a different way of solving the problem or even be just plain difficult to work with. We know that it takes patience, kindness, empathy, respect, and cooperation to work at our jobs or get along in our relationships in our adult worlds.
We think it is one of the most important things to teach our kids, and through the PBL model, we have plenty of "teachable moments" that help our kids learn what makes a person truly successful in the world: Character.
This learning opportunity gives our students the practice that they need to put these skills to use. PBL is a 21st century model of education, but really, the hands-on learning prepares students to meet the demands of adulthood because they learn the ability to think for themselves, cooperate with others, and learn the relational skills of what it takes to work in a team-focused environment.