McGuffey’s Middle School students had a fantastic time on their trip to St. Louis. “Going Out” of the classroom and into the wider world is an essential part of the Montessori curriculum. Our very oldest age group goes on McGuffey’s biggest “going out” experience, traveling all the way to another state.
We traveled to St. Louis by bus, riding on both luxurious buses and not quite as luxurious buses. Students learned how to have a great time even when waiting in a bus station, and enjoyed hanging out at an Indianapolis mall.
When we arrived late on Monday, everyone got settled into our temporary home, the Mancave. The foosball table and pool table were instant favorites. On Tuesday morning, we headed for the St. Louis Arch, admired it from the base and then took its unique tram ride to the top. Next we boarded the National Park Service’s riverboat tour and had lunch while cruising the Mississippi. We spent the afternoon exploring CityGarden, a sculpture park only two blocks from our AirBnB. It was warm and sunny enough that we enjoyed popsicles during our outing. We topped off the day with Imo’s St. Louis style pizza and a movie.
On Wednesday we explored St. Louis’s unique City Museum. This giant space is filled with fantastic environments to explore. With the guidance of our chaperones, Wednesday’s cooking crew made a big spaghetti dinner for everyone, and the cleaning crew. Our final outing was to the Kosciusko Graffiti Wall, where each student added their own piece of graffiti art.
