At The Harbor School, we know that children are innately curious and learn best when they are actively engaged in hands-on experiences. Don’t we all? Our teachers carefully design lessons that allow students to actively learn by doing, rather than passively listening and watching. When immersed in authentic experiences, students are highly motivated learners, making memorable, meaningful connections.

Whenever possible, we take children on field trips that build upon classroom instruction. Harbor students have met renowned authors at our favorite bookstore, Politics and Prose, and attended musical and theatrical productions at neighboring schools, Imagination Stage in Bethesda and even the Kennedy Center. They have studied and sketched priceless works of art at the National Gallery, and have toured the US Capitol. Harbor students have participated in community service outings and visited residents at local assisted living facilities and read to dogs and cats at the local Humane Society.

The most memorable outings are those that include more active hands-on experiences, like going to a farm to milk cows and pick pumpkins, releasing newly hatched fish into the Potomac River, conducting water ecology experiments aboard a historic vessel on the Anacostia, and working as a team to conquer a ropes course.

We know this is the best way to learn, but have been logistically limited in the past. In early 2016, we decided to make it a priority to provide more of these immersive experiences and set a goal to acquire our own bus. Thanks to the boundless generosity of our community, we achieved this goal, and we now have an even greater opportunity to access all of the amazing experiences the national capital region has to offer.

We are literally driving learning outside the walls of the classroom and into the community!