Ascension Lutheran School

Ascension Lutheran School has been Nature Explore certified since 2019. Since then, the school has  blossomed to include two areas for students to engage with Nature; one is our Outdoor Classroom and the other is our garden.

Our Outdoor Classroom is divided into different areas of play: an art center, a sand play area, a climbing area and a water exploration area/outdoor play kitchen. Our garden includes a butterfly pavilion, green house and raised planter boxes for each grade (TK-8th) to grow vegetables. The students absolutely love both these spaces.

Picking their own vegetables toward the end of the school year is a highlight. The annual tomato sale where the students sell their tomato plants to parents, families and church members is another big highlight. It is wonderful to see everyone so eager to share their knowledge of tomatoes, and families are very supportive of their efforts.

For our Outdoor Classroom we had a school family donate several new logs this year. We have quite a number of families that like to contribute logs and flowers to our school environment. This is a blessing, and we so often hear from parents how much their children love the natural environment we have created on campus and the garden program where students can have hands-on experiences with digging, planting, and harvesting.

Overall we feel that being a Nature Explore school sets us apart from the other schools in our area, and we love having this natural element as part of our grounds and curriculum.