Mission Academy is committed to environmental education. Why? Educators and parents alike are noting the restorative power of connecting today's tech-savvy kids to earth, plants, and animals. In the book, "The Last Child Left in the Woods," Richard Louv coined the term "Nature Deficit Disorder" to describe the state of humans disconnected from nature. Pope Francis has written extensively on the human need to appreciate God's goodness and grandeur through delighting in the natural world. Moreover, we are to Care for God's Creation and one another, as one of the seven principal themes of Catholic Social Teaching. So what does that look like for a child at school? Farmessori! The Montessori approach is to give children a true experience of the interdependency of the natural and social world, while inviting young ones to the kind of work that responsibly stewards the gifts of creation.
Here is a short student-produced video from Mercy Montessori School in Cincinnati, which shows how one community of learners structures their outdoor experiences.