This September, sixth-grader Kal and his classmates spent a week at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Colorado, interacting with archaeologists, learning about ancestral Pueblo culture, studying artifacts and hiking Mesa Verde National Park to explore cliff dwellings. This type of unique, hands-on educational experience is commonplace at Rohan Woods, an independent, co-educational elementary school that educates students age 2 through sixth grade. “There were several thousand Puebloans in the region, and all of a sudden they were gone,” head of school Sam Templin-Page explains. “Our kids get to go on that experiential journey and try to discover why they picked up and left.”
The annual fifth/sixth-grade trip is just one piece of Rohan Woods’ challenging curriculum, which features personalized instruction and an emphasis on responsibility and leadership development. “Our curriculum is designed to help students discover and uncover information,” Templin-Page says, adding that teachers have strong relationships with each child and their families. “We also help them understand that there are leaders within all of us, and we provide opportunities for students to discover what type of leader they are.”
The trips alternate between Crow Canyon to study archaeology and Huntsman Marine Science Centre in Nova Scotia to study marine biology. Beforehand, students learn all about the related topic in the classroom, which enriches their experience when they get there. No surprise, the kids have a blast, Templin-Page says. Kal, for example, especially loved learning about dendochronology, or tree-dating. “We could tell when the trees had drought and when they had record rainfall, and the archaeologists use this information to cross-date artifacts from similar wood in the region,” Kal explains. “The trip was fun, but I also learned so much about research and documenting data—much more than I could have just by reading about it in a classroom.”
One highlight was spending time at Crow Canyon’s Pithouse Learning Center, which features a replica of a typical Puebloan home from around 650 A.D. The students used tools to make fire and tried their hand at Pueblo games. “They could have watched a video showing someone using the fire-making tools or playing those games, but to actually experience it is so much more impactful,” Templin-Page says. Another highlight was visiting Mesa Verde National Park. “Because we did all of our studies first, students had the background knowledge they needed to understand the importance of what they were seeing, and they could really visualize how the ancestral Pueblos lived,” Templin-Page says.
The trips also teach life skills, she points out, like leadership, independence and collaboration. Only staff, no parents, accompany the students, parking the first time many of them have left home without Mom or Dad. “They’ve never had that sense of autonomy before, and our students realize throughout the week how independent they really are,” she says. “We know we are preparing them to leave for secondary schools, and this is an opportunity for them to build those skills in independence in preparation for when they graduate.”
Pictured: Students get hands-on archaeological experience.
Photo courtesy of Rohan Woods School
[Pictured on the cover: Fifth- and sixth-graders on the science excursion to Crow Canyon in Colorado. Rohan Woods, located at 1515 Bennett Ave., is a co-educational elementary school for students age 2 through grade six. It hosts an Admissions Open House 9 to 11 a.m. Nov. 14. For more information, call 314.821.6270 or visit rohanwoods.org.]
