At The Children’s School, from the earliest ages to our first-ever class of eighth graders, play is serious learning, through immersive hands-on experiences that continue to grow as our campus expands and our students rise through the grades. From wooden blocks that stimulate young brains, to travel explorations far from Atlanta, our students thrive through lessons and studies built around play-based learning, project-based learning, and place-based learning.
A new building, renovated classrooms, and refreshed outdoor spaces gave our young learners expanded places to play in the 2018-19 school year. In August 2018, the Wolf Pack celebrated the completion of the beautiful new spaces with a pledge to keep the campus clean and cared for, as we use the spaces to play, learn, explore, engage, imagine, discover and so much more.
TCS third graders studied the history of Atlanta through immersive activities and hands-on experiences. Each week, students explored the history of Atlanta — working in teams, to complete scavenger hunts, timelines and graphs — that focused on the buildings, schools, transportation and food of our city.
At the conclusion of the project-based learning unit, students applied their knowledge to a topic of their choice and created projects, including models of Grady Hospital, iMovies about Coca-Cola, books about Jimmy Carter and more, to share the great history of our city with the community during a gallery walk event.
The first-ever class of eighth graders at TCS took their project-based learning to a new place in December, with a place-based learning adventure in Puerto Rico. Traveling to Puerto Rico, the group of students and staff spent a week exploring the southern, eastern, and western regions, to learn more about the local heritage, cultures, landscapes and history. Students left their phones and all electronic devices at home, to be fully present and immerse themselves in the experience.
On the trip, students became ecologists for a time, studying the environment that makes the Puerto Rican land so unique, including a tour through the Bioluminescent Bay, to learn what causes the incredible bioluminescent phenomenon when darkness falls. Students also studied Puerto Rican history at Fort San Cristobal and spent time with local students completing service learning projects, painting school bathrooms, making a hopscotch course, and singing with local school children.
At TCS, students of all ages learn and grow by exploring traditional school subjects in the most innovative ways, through play and project-based experiences that teach far more than books alone ever could.
