Understanding the Value of Learning Outside the Classroom

Students can learn anywhere. Lessons take place in the classroom, on the playground, at home and beyond. Classroom instruction is great for learning facts, figures and skills. For more advanced learning, students benefit from expanding their knowledge out in the real world. Project-based learning allows students to interact with the learning material differently. Going outside of the classroom takes that real-world application to another level. 

Benefits of Learning Outside the Classroom

While most subjects can be taught in a classroom setting, there’s something to be said about hands-on experiences. Reaching out and touching the subject matter brings it to the student’s level. Students who go out into the world and apply what they learn have an easier time relating to the material. Experiencing lessons outside of the classroom also allows students to think more critically and solve problems they may not have thought of in the academic setting. 

Ways Students Learn Beyond the Classroom Walls

Experiential learning can take place in almost any environment. That’s the great thing about hands-on education. Students can go on field trips to places like museums, parks and businesses to learn about any number of subjects. Community service projects provide excellent learning opportunities. Students can also work on collaborative projects with local organizations that need volunteers. The opportunities are endless. 

Impact on Student Engagement and Motivation

Even children who excel in the classroom can benefit from learning in new environments. By showcasing the real-world application of their lessons, hands-on learning can increase students’ interest in the subject matter and improve their retention of information. Getting outside of their comfort zone also allows students to see new perspectives, leading to enhanced creativity and room for innovation. 

How Teachers and Parents Can Support Experiential Learning

While children can benefit in many ways from learning outside the classroom, they need help from the adults in their lives to get started. Teachers can provide guidance and resources to help students find opportunities. Teachers and parents can help their students connect with community partners who could use the help of a child or teen. After a child has an experiential learning experience, parents can encourage their child to reflect on and discuss what they’ve learned. The best way a parent can help a child learn is being involved. 

At NTCA, we’re all about experiential learning outside the classroom and collaboration on campus. Students at our Tampa private school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

STEM Skills That Every Teen Should Learn

Today’s world relies on STEM industries, with technology constantly changing and requiring new sets of skills. The skills associated with STEM subjects are now more valuable than ever. No matter what your teen decides to pursue in college and beyond, certain STEM skills can be a great resource. Here are some STEM skills that we believe every teen should learn before they leave high school: 

Coding

While coding may have once been a hobby for geeks, it’s now increasingly incorporated into every industry. Consider enrolling your teen in an online course or an in-person coding bootcamp. Learning how to program in languages like Python and JavaScript can open up career opportunities. Not everyone knows how to code, and learning this skill can put your teen one step ahead. 

Data Analysis

Data analysts are some of the most sought after professionals in today’s world. Learning how to analyze data can take your teen a long way. These skills have benefits beyond the professional opportunities they open up. Knowing how to sift through data, understand it and make informed decisions can help out in many aspects of life. As technology advances and becomes more complex, these skills are more important than ever. 

Critical Thinking

Before going out into the world, your child needs to know how to think critically. Critical thinking means looking beyond the surface level of the material. It means analyzing and evaluating what’s in front of you. This can be difficult for teens to learn on their own. To foster these skills, ask open-ended questions, and encourage your child to be inquisitive. These skills will help them far beyond the classroom in all areas of their lives. 

Communication

Communication skills can be applied anywhere, but in STEM fields, they can be a matter of life or death. Things can go sideways when doctors, scientists or engineers fail to communicate. If your child is studying a STEM subject, help them figure out how to explain what they do in layman’s terms. Ask clarifying questions when they explain something in a scientific manner. Learning how to translate STEM speak into everyday language will set your child up for success.

Collaboration

In STEM projects and beyond, teens need to know how to work effectively with others. Almost any type of work involves collaboration, especially in today’s world. Collaboration means setting collective goals, dividing responsibilities and working together to accomplish more than an individual could do on their own. STEM subjects involve many moving parts, which makes collaboration a core focus of these fields. 

No matter what your teen decides to pursue, learning these STEM skills can help them thrive. Students at our Tampa private school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

5 Ways to Prepare for the New School Year

You’re home from summer vacation, and the break from school is almost over. Now that your child has had the chance to relax and recuperate, they’re beginning to anticipate the new school year. What activities will they do, and what new friends will they make? There’s so much to consider as summer break draws to a close. You and your child may feel unprepared. Here are a few ways you and your child can get in the right headspace heading into the school year: 

Organize Study Areas

Over the summer, your child’s study nooks have likely been neglected or repurposed. Before school starts, take time to clean and declutter the area. Stock up on school supplies, especially ones they go through quickly. Make sure any study or homework spaces are well equipped, well lit and ready to go when your child comes home from school. 

Set Goals

Establish realistic, achievable goals for the upcoming school year. Sit down and think about potential goals. Is there a subject where your child can improve? Does your child have a social goal, like making new friends, or an extracurricular goal, like auditioning for the lead role in the play? Write the goals down, and make a note to refer to them again at the end of the school year.  

Create a Schedule

Develop a daily or weekly schedule to balance schoolwork, extracurricular activities and free time. This schedule may change once the school year begins, but it’s good to start off with a framework. Once the school schedule becomes more apparent, especially in terms of extracurricular activities, consider posting a calendar on the refrigerator so everyone in the family can keep track. This will make it easier to plan out breaks between activities. 

Reach Out to Friends

Encourage your child to reconnect with classmates or friends from school. Every new school year brings new challenges with it, and it’s always easier when you have support. Coordinate study groups, and brainstorm ways to stay connected during the school year. Once you get started on schoolwork and extracurricular activities, you may get so busy that you forget about the importance of these connections. 

Practice Self Care

Going from a relatively relaxed summer to a faster-paced school year can be stressful. Help your child establish self-care routines, like journaling and engaging in their hobbies, before everything ramps up. Remind them during the school year that it’s important to take breaks for the things they enjoy, and that includes breaks from staring at screens. 

Starting a new school year can be as intimidating as it is exciting. Preparing for school at the end of summer break can help set the stage for a great school year. Students at our Tampa private school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

How to Keep Teens Motivated to Learn Over the Summer

Your teen is on summer vacation, and they couldn’t be more excited. It’s finally time to go have fun between school semesters. However, you’re concerned about the summer slide, where students lose some of what they’ve learned during the school year. Students can keep learning over the summer break without feeling like they’re going to class every day. Here are some tips for finding that balance and motivating your teen to keep learning: 

Create a Schedule

While you don’t want to make your teen feel like they’re back in school, making a schedule for learning activities can help keep them engaged in learning over the summer. See if you can carve out a couple of days a week to do an educational activity like visiting a museum or blocking out time for summer reading. Things can always come up, so keep the schedule flexible. 

Set Goals and Rewards

When setting summer learning goals for your teen, get together with them to discuss what they want to brush up on or accomplish during the break. If there’s something you feel is missing, try to nudge them in that direction. By setting goals, your teen will have something specific to aspire to or focus on. Goals can be as vague as “read faster by the end of summer” or as specific as “read every book on the summer reading list.” 

Encourage Independence and Creativity

What your teen needs the most as they work toward accomplishing their learning goals is a sense of independence. Allow them to explore their interests, and support them in the process. If they’re stuck on a problem, offer guidance for finding a way around or through it. As a teenager, your child will soon be out on their own, and they’ll need to be able to think independently and creatively to thrive. 

Incorporate Real-World Learning Opportunities

Summer is the perfect time for your teen to explore their interests in the real world. Take that trip to the museum, the zoo, the library, or wherever you can engage with your teen’s interests. If they’re especially service-minded or focused on social justice, consider signing up for volunteer opportunities together.

Stay Positive and Flexible

You want to make summer learning a priority without making it a chore. The more it feels like work, the less engaged your teen will be. Use this break as an opportunity to help them explore what they’re interested in or to bridge learning gaps to set them up for success in the new school year. Make it a positive experience, even if they continue to struggle. Be flexible. If something they want to do lands on a scheduled learning day, you can always reschedule the learning day. Keep your teen engaged by working around their schedule. 
Education doesn’t need to be the sole focus of summer break, but learning shouldn’t stop as soon as school’s out for the year. Students at our Tampa private school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

3 Fun Science Projects to Keep Your Child Curious Over Summer Break

During the school year, children find themselves fully immersed in academic activities. Then, over the summer, that abruptly stops. For some children, this leads to summer learning loss, where they fail to retain knowledge they gained when school was in session. Fortunately, there are plenty of educational activities you can do in the comfort of your home, from reading challenges to science projects. Here are a few science experiments that can be fun for the whole family:

Project 1: DIY Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

This classic science experiment never gets old. People of all ages enjoy watching the results of this chemical reaction between common household products. When you do this experiment together, you can experiment with different amounts of baking soda and vinegar to create different eruption heights and effects.

Materials needed for this experiment include: 

• A plastic bottle

• Baking soda

• Vinegar

• Food coloring

• A container to contain the volcano eruption

Here’s how the experiment works:

1. Build the base by placing the plastic bottle in the center of the container. Add materials like paper mache or clay to create a more realistic volcano shape.

2. Mix a few drops of food coloring into the baking soda.

3. Fill the plastic bottle about halfway with vinegar.

4. Carefully pour the baking soda into the vinegar-filled bottle, and step back quickly to watch the volcanic eruption!

5. Clean up messes after completing the experiment.

Project 2: Homemade Slime

What could be more fun than playing with a gooey material that can easily wash off your hands with soap and water? Making homemade slime is a great way to spend a summer afternoon. Your child may even forget that they’re learning when you perform this science experiment together. 

These are the materials you will need for this experiment: 

• White school glue

• Liquid starch

• Water

• Food coloring

Here are the steps:

1. Mix 1/2 cup of white school glue with 1/2 cup of water in a mixing bowl. Stir until well blended.

2. Add a few drops of food coloring to the glue mixture. Stir until you have evenly distributed the color.

3. Slowly add 1/4 cup of liquid starch to the glue mixture, stirring constantly.

4. Continue stirring and kneading the slime until it reaches the desired consistency. Add more liquid starch if the slime comes out too sticky. Add a little water if it's stiff.

5. Once the slime has the right texture, customize it with different colors! Divide the slime into separate portions, and mix in different food coloring to create a variety of colors.

6. Store your homemade slime in an airtight container when not in use to keep it from drying out. Enjoy playing with your colorful, customized slime!

Project 3: Solar Oven S'mores

S’mores and summer fun go together like chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows. Campers traditionally make these snacks over a campfire, but you can also make them in a solar oven. And when you make them in an oven, you’re doing science! This experiment is educational and delicious. 

To make solar oven s'mores, you will need the following ingredients and materials:

Ingredients:

• Graham crackers

• Marshmallows

• Chocolate bars

Materials:

• Cardboard pizza box with a lid

• Aluminum foil

• Plastic wrap

• Black construction paper

• Tape

• Scissors

Here are the steps for making solar oven s’mores: 

1. Line the inside of the pizza box with aluminum foil, shiny side up, to create a reflective surface that will help trap and reflect the sunlight.

2. Cut a piece of black construction paper to fit the bottom of the pizza box, and tape it in place. The black paper will absorb the sunlight and help create heat inside the solar oven.

3. Arrange the ingredients for the s'mores on the graham crackers - place a piece of chocolate on one graham cracker and a marshmallow on the other.

4. Place the s'mores on a small plate, and carefully place them inside the pizza box.

5. Close the pizza box lid, and securely tape it shut to seal in the heat.

6. Place the solar oven in direct sunlight, with the reflective side facing the sun. Adjust the position of the solar oven throughout the process to ensure maximum sunlight exposure.

7. Allow the s'mores to cook in the solar oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the marshmallow melts and the chocolate becomes soft.

8. Carefully remove the plate from the solar oven, and assemble the s'mores by placing the marshmallow and chocolate between the two graham crackers.

9. Enjoy delicious solar oven s'mores!

We encourage you to make science fun with these easy-to-do at-home science experiments this summer. Students at our Tampa private school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.