Experiential Learning
Foothills School extends learning beyond the classroom through experiential learning and class trips - both day experiences and overnight excursions. We believe that the unique experiential opportunities afforded in a new environment are important to develop our students' full potential for learning, hone their skills in adapting to new experiences, and enabling them to integrate classroom concepts into "real world" understandings. Experiential learning gets children away from their classroom environment and into a new mode of learning, and can be as simple as taking a class outside for a lesson in observation or as detailed as a curriclum-integrated trip.
Foothills believes that local and regional outings are as important to learning as any time spent in the classroom. The entire learning community - from our pre-school students all the way to our Nines Program students - take advantage of our downtown Cultural District location and we visit the Boise Art Museum, Idaho History Museum, Boise Zoo, Anne Frank Memorial and Human Rights Commission, The Cabin, Discovery Center, Public Library, and facilities at Boise State University on a regular basis. We also travel a little outside our neighborhood to enjoy the richness afforded by the Boise Foothills, Foothills Learning Center, Botanical Garden, the Boise Urban Garden School (BUGS) and other local organizations.
Student Trips
In addition to field trip experiences, Foothills School has a long tradition of overnight and weeklong trips that allow students to extend the borders of their education and delve deeper into inquiry projects. The intention of these more significant outings is to help students make real connections to what they've been learning in the classroom.
Spring Trip is an extended learning experience for 1st - 9th grade students. Foothills believes students develop mastery from hands-on learning as it relates to their class curriculum, and Spring Trips are the school’s best example of an experiential, hands-on learning opportunity.
Lower School Spring Trips range from two to four days - past Spring Trip locations have included Cathedral Pines Camp near Ketchum, ID, the YMCA Camp at Horsethief Reservoir, and McCall Outdoor Science School.
Students in the Upper School travel from two days to two weeks, depending on their learning objectives and the age of the students. Upper School Spring Trips locations have included Teton Science Schools (Jackson, WY), Olympic Penninsula, San Francisco and Southern Utah.
Upper School students (5th-9th grades) also participate in an annual Fall Trip. Fall Trip affords students an opportunity to have a hands-on learning experience early in the year and create deeper connections with other students and teachers outside of school. The relationships established in this early travel experience set a positive tone for the classroom learning community for the entire year.
