The Orca outdoor curriculum is designed to build upon each child’s readiness for physical activity and promotes agility, group cooperation, and self esteem through daily guided adventures. All of these are important skills to guide them through life.

Throughout the year we discover many of the unique outdoor treasures in our community: rocky creek beds with their riparian richness and waterfalls; the mountain domains along Camino Cielo and their amazing ancient boulder fields; the Santa Ynez River with its secret swimming holes; the backcountry of Santa Barbara, home of the endangered condor, to name just a few.

We gather all our impressions from outdoor sessions and bring them back into the classroom. Learning becomes full-circle with math, science, writing, drawing, painting, and discussion linked to our acitvities.

At this age, the child innately wants to develop a relationship with nature, and especially discover the place of humanity in nature.

Nature provides limitless posssibilities for learning about ourselves and the world. Goethe, John Muir, George Washington Carver, Sacajawea, Rachel Carson and Jacques Cousteau are but a few examples of naturalists who have made significant contributions to humankind. By approaching nature with an open-minded attitude and enthusiasm, we gain clearer insights for dealing productively with each situation that arises.