Grades 3-5 at the Butler Campus

At Butler, learning happens outdoors, and the Third-Fifth Graders dive into an innovative curriculum that invites them to grapple with concepts from multiple perspectives.
Developmentally ready for increased independence, students hone their blossoming leadership skills and intellectual curiosity while engaging with a place-based curriculum and learning about the natural world. Through these years based at the Butler Campus, students build:

• • Autonomy by learning to control behaviors, set goals and develop authentic leadership skills through stewardship of the 150-acre campus.
  • Inquiry and curiosity through a deep connection to the natural world during a phase of childhood development that is typically nature deficient.
  • Connection between self, community, the natural world and each other.

Students continue to develop intellectual strengths, academic skills, and resilience as they deepen their engagement with the environment through inquiry-based studies of the Butler Campus. This experience for 8-11-year-old girls is unmatched by any other in Northeast Ohio.

At our Butler Campus, the Gator Garage is an intentionally designed woodshop where students in Grades 3-5 learn to Dream, Dare, and BUILD!

Whether it’s Third Grade students constructing raised cedar garden beds for our Outdoor Pre-Kindergarten or a Fourth Grader designing yurt-inspired birdhouses to support local wildlife, students develop a deep sense of belonging and purpose while applying the mathematics they learn in the classroom and mastering real-world design skills. Upon completing Tool School, students gain confidence and skills to use construction tools responsibly, transforming their ideas into tangible creations that benefit our community and beyond.