School Programs for Public Schools Sky Ranch has been providing a high quality Outdoor Education experience to public schools since 1992.  The Outdoor Education program is designed to have a positive impact on students by combining 4 key elements:             1.  Focused Academic Content              2. Strong Student Motivation Emphasis              3. Purposeful Play Based Instruction              4. High Quality Facilities Courses Resources Evening Activities Facilities Staff Trip Options What to Bring Location Schools and References Quotes Video -(Quick Time Format) T-Shirts Focused Academic Content Our Outdoor Education program for public schools is tailored to meet the specific curriculum needs of public school teachers and administrators.  Public school courses are designed to directly correlate to state curriculum and testing needs.  Content levels taught in each class are tailored to the content needs of the grade level of the students.  Content is delivered on-site through our teaching facilities and learning is enhanced through extended learning activities that are available through our distance learning program.  Strong Student Motivation Emphasis Through our 55 years of experience as a summer camp, we have developed a capacity to motivate students of all grade levels to make positive changes in their lives.  We bring that experience to our Outdoor Education program through a focused effort to achieve positive changes in student attitudes about school.  We encourage students to protect their “ME”cosystem.  We accomplish this through our teambuilding activities, evening assemblies and through our course curriculum that incorporates character education elements into each of the course content areas.  Each of these activities are designed to be an integral part of a camping experience that sends students back to school who have                    1. a more positive vision for their future                    2. are motivated to improve academic performance                    3. see their teachers as a valued mentor in helping them achieve their goals Purposeful Play Based Instruction Sky Ranch is a camp and we like to play.  However, we also exist for the sole purpose of impacting lives.  So, we like to think of all our classes as “purposeful play” in the sense that we want the students to learn without even knowing they are learning.   In that spirit, our classes are designed appeal to students’ sense of wonder and their desire for fun.  The curriculum is designed to be highly interactive and combines games and manipulatives with hands-on interaction with nature as an outdoor classroom.  Our staff is comprised of experienced summer camp counselors and they are well trained to make the learning experience fun and exciting. High Quality Facilities Sky Ranch is committed to providing schools with outstanding facilities to support their stay.  We offer comfortable cabins, spacious dining facilities, general store and a host of recreational options.  We are also committed to providing schools with access to high quality teaching facilities that are not available at a school campus.  Our outdoor classrooms include access to beautiful lakes, ponds, meadows, and forests.  We also provide outdoor teaching areas with structures such as teepees and a full horse livery to enhance our cultural programs.  We provide outstanding indoor teaching facilities such as our new Limnology Center which allows students to study environmental systems such as life cycles, ecological niches, carbon/nitrogen cycle, food chain, etc. by observing live organisms.  Our teambuilding areas consist of both low-element and high-element activities designed to challenge the heart and mind.  All of these facilities are strategically arranged on the property to blend together and provide a fantastic camping and learning experience.