Learning Beyond our Walls
At Casa di Mir, some of the most powerful lessons happen far from the classroom. Maria Montessori believed children learn best by encountering the real world directly, so we take them to it. With roughly 20 curriculum-based field trips each year, several with overnight stays, our students don't just visit new places. They immerse themselves in them.
Growing With Every Stage
Primary students experience the world coming to them. Visiting guests and hands-on experiences bring cultural, scientific, and culinary learning right into our classrooms, sparking curiosity in our youngest learners.
Elementary students venture out to bring their studies to life, touring the State Capitol and Old Town Sacramento, exploring California history museums, investigating the Space and Science Center, and stepping back in time at Coyote Hills Regional Park. Their overnight trip to Mendocino is a highlight: students bunk together in cabins, cook meals, and canoe, building independence and practical life skills along the way.
Middle schoolers take on bigger adventures, from hiking Pinnacles and exploring Yosemite to representing Casa di Mir at the Montessori Model United Nations conference in New York City. These journeys build resilience, teamwork, and the confidence that comes from stepping outside their comfort zone.
A World of Discovery
Throughout the year, our students explore the region's richest learning spaces. They marvel at marine life at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, investigate the natural world at the California Academy of Sciences and the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, and gaze at the stars in the De Anza College Planetarium. At Hidden Villa and the Homeless Garden Project, they see stewardship and community care in action. And through live theater, they experience the power of the arts firsthand.
Going Outs: Student-Led Discovery
One of the most distinctive parts of a Casa education is our Going Out program. Each year, students plan 10–15 of their own field trips, driven by their own questions. They research, organize, reach out to experts, and head into the real world to learn firsthand, whether that's interviewing a scientist, meeting an artist, or seeing a process up close. It's Montessori at its best: learning led by curiosity and carried out with real responsibility.
Why It Matters
Every trip connects back to what students are studying, but the lessons go far beyond the curriculum. Our children learn to cook for one another, navigate new places, speak with experts, and meet challenges with confidence. They come home with memories that last a lifetime and the understanding that the world is full of wonder, and they're ready to explore it.
