How Oak Learners Approaches Curriculum

Oak Learners endeavours every day to inspire learning through an authentic skill-based curriculum. Our teachers nurture children’s natural curiosity about their world with student-centered experiences. Oak Learners’ progressive, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based programming brings new learning opportunities and experiences through an integrated and immersive approach to education. Ontario Curriculum content and skill achievement guidelines are covered and enriched through a holistic approach to learning in a 21st century environment.

Oak Learners Micro School is a Reggio-Inspired alternative school for Kindergarten through Grade Eight. We are committed to providing a nurturing, engaging environment where children can learn, explore, and grow beyond the classroom. Our teachers nurture children’s natural curiosity about their world with student-centered experiences. Oak Learners was making the most of “Learning Pods” long before COVID made them popular. Small classes (6:1 ratio) allow for more hands-on learning experiences, more field trips, stronger teacher-student relationships and quality teacher-parent collaboration.

Our Ourdoor Learning program is based on the Forest School philosophy that academic excellence is enhanced with integrated with immersive Outdoor Education. This means that academic subjects like Math, Literacy, Science, and Social Studies are taught, explored, and shared in an authentic way: in the natural environment. Students spend 2-3 hours outdoors every day, all year round, engaging in a variety of Outdoor Learning activities that range from nature-based exploration, to academic programming delivered in the natural envronment, to physical fitness and sports programming.

Many research studies over the past decade link children’s mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health with time spent outdoors, experiencing nature. For example, students have been shown to have increased focus, confidence, self-esteem, and overall feelings of happiness and satisfaction with school.

At Oak Learners, we believe every child can be successful when they belong to a truly supportive educational community. Academic excellence is enhanced with 30-50% of our school day being integrated with immersive Outdoor Education. This means that academic subjects like Math, Literacy, Science, and Social Studies are taught, explored, and shared in an authentic way: in the natural environment.

Progressive, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based programming in a student-driven, teacher-facilitated, alternative enrichment learning environment. Each learner goes through a cyclical process of identifying their unique strengths, needs, goals, and interests. Through collaboration with teachers, peers, parents and members of their community, they design an inquiry-based project to guide their learning over the course of a term.