Adventure Learning

High school is a significant chapter in a young person’s life, filled with self-discovery, creative exploration, personal growth, and important developmental change as students orient themselves to the world. The natural world is one of the best supports a young person can have during this pivotal time, which is why Credo’s commitment to Adventure Learning is steadfast. Foundational to both Waldorf education and Credo’s ethos is the belief that great learning and community building happen when students are immersed in nature.

In this spirit, Credo offers two signature Adventure Learning trips: one in 9th grade, as students enter the community and begin building relationships, and one in 12th grade, as they prepare to leave the community and enter the world as initiated adults. These trips are the bookends of the Credo high school experience, each supporting an important moment of transition. Both are grounded in a Rites of Passage philosophy, which holds that people are more likely to develop and sustain a sense of belonging and purpose when major life moments are intentionally marked and honored.

Credo is proud of its long-standing collaboration with Weaving Earth in offering these trips. In their own words, Weaving Earth is “a local non-profit organization whose purpose is to cultivate ecological belonging and foster community and climate resilience through hands-on, nature-based education. They support people of all ages in developing the skills, practices, and relationships needed to face today’s challenges with resilience, responsibility, and care.” With decades of experience helping young people honor and mark significant life transitions, Weaving Earth is a natural partner for this work, and we are deeply grateful for it.

There is no mistaking it: the move from middle school to high school is a big step in anyone’s life. It is a period of significant personal growth, as students learn to navigate new terrain and new relationships. This new beginning deserves to be honored and celebrated! Entering high school is both an opportunity and a challenge that helps shape who we are while laying the groundwork for who we will become.

The 9th Grade Trip is filled with exciting, contemplative, and welcoming experiences designed to help students get to know their classmates, themselves, and the natural world around them. It builds a foundation they can return to throughout their high school years. The trip also complements a similar, more intensive journey for the senior class as they prepare for life beyond high school.

The Senior Trip marks more than the end of high school; it is an opportunity to honor the passage out of adolescence and into early adulthood – a huge transition for students and families alike! In a modern world where rites of initiation have often been lost, forgotten, abandoned, or destroyed, we believe it is critically important to give graduating seniors the chance to intentionally recognize this monumental shift. The Senior Trip aims to help students complete high school well while fostering a healthy passage into their next chapter and beyond.

The trip is guided by three intentions:

• To honor the transition out of high school in a meaningful way
• To give seniors the chance to celebrate together as a class
• To ground the experience in connection with nature, the foundation of our work

The experience blends challenge, depth, relaxation, and fun. Guides help each student find a personal way to honor the move from high school into young adulthood, weaving in elements of Weaving Earth’s Relational Education pedagogy, and making sure everyone has a great time along the way.