At Camas Ridge Community Elementary School, the morning and first part of the afternoon are focused on the core instruction of language arts and math. Three days a week in the afternoon we have a multi-age Community Time class for grades 1–5, which provides an opportunity for social problem solving, caring, sharing and decision making in a multi-age setting. Four days a week in the afternoon we have multi-age project-based instruction in which students investigate open-ended questions and apply their knowledge to produce authentic products. Students choose from a menu of project-based learning classes. Project classes are engaging, rigorous and student driven with an inter-disciplinary approach that blends reading, writing, science, social studies and art with complex thinking skills into 12- to 16-week course. During the year we also have three art blocks, which allow partnering with local artists and community resources. Types of classes in the art block include music, theater, video, fine arts, culinary arts and creative writing/poetry.
