You know how they say young people are the future? Well, after spending two days in the wilderness on a Cottonwood Institute trip with some STRIVE- Prep RISE students it became evident that these particular students are the ones that are going to change the world. The students spent the couple of days participating in… Read more »
For two sunny September days, Golden’s White Ranch Open Space served as a substitute classroom for 11 STRIVE Prep – Federal seventh-graders. With the many challenges of the trail, the theme of this trip was all about learning the importance of working together. We had our first lesson before we even made it to the… Read more »
The AXL Academy CAP students had such a wonderful time on their day trip to The Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms! There was so much to see on the property. The tour guide did a great job explaining the rich history of the property and how it has evolved over time. The kids were fascinated… Read more »
When you read the book Hatchet, didn’t you wonder if you could do what Brian did? Did you ask yourself if you could survive, feed yourself and stay warm with nothing but a few tools? The Centaurus CAP students got one step closer to being able to answer that question, after learning some valuable lessons… Read more »
As with any good class teachers most often begin class with a series of activities that can help facilitate the group adopting a safe space to learn. These activities generally consist of the following elements: Name games, team building exercises, class “rules” and expectations/syllabus review. As I tell all of my students, I alone cannot… Read more »
After the first full year of programming for Nature Kids / Jovenes de la Naturaleza (Nature Kids) Program in Lafayette, CO, there are some great results to report! Nature Kids is a five-year, $10 million collective impact project led by Thorne Nature Experience that provides pre-k to high school, backyard to backcountry, and family integrated… Read more »
Our 5-day trip to Mission: Wolf with Cottonwood Institute proved to be an exceptional week to remember! Six students from Colorado Academy summer camp piled into the bus on Monday morning ready for a day of travel. We arrived at Mission: Wolf to cloudy skies, wind, and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range shining in the hazy… Read more »
It was already warm at 7:30am when the group started to trickle into the parking lot of Casa de la Esperanza for our adventure. Sleepiness mixed with excitement as we piled into the van for the four hour trip. Skyscrapers and billboards gave way to mountains and desert sage until we finally reached our destination:… Read more »
It was nearly two months ago when the CAP crew at AXL Academy debated the major problems affecting the world and their neighborhood. The class was skeptical that they could have any real impact on big problems like homelessness, clean water, worn out parks, air pollution and trash bins overflowing with recyclables. A few students… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute staff spent the afternoon at Colorado Academy (CA) on Friday, June 8th. We were there to offer our expertise in the art of team-building and small-group-facilitation to CA’s Day Camp staff who will be entertaining, enriching and wrangling kiddos aged 4-14 all summer. Most of CA’s staff are themselves teenagers and relatively new… Read more »
