An apple orchard. A nature center. A pumpkin patch. The World Dairy Expo.

 

At first glance, these might simply look like fun field trips (just ask our students - they are fun!). But at CWC, these experiences are also opportunities for students to see learning and God’s world come together.

 

Through our Teaching for Transformation framework, we encourage students to see themselves as Creation Enjoyers and Earth Keepers. We teach that God created a world worth discovering and enjoying; more importantly, He gave us all the responsibility to care for it. 

 

It Starts With Wonder

Learning about God’s world begins with something as simple as an apple. Our 4K and Kindergarten students visit local apple orchards, where they see how apples grow and learn more about the process that brings an apple from a tree to their table. For a young child, experiences like these invite curiosity and wonder. They get to touch and taste; observe and discover. The lessons they learned in the classroom suddenly become real.

 

That sense of wonder is an important part of being a Creation Enjoyer. We want students to slow down enough to notice the world God has made, delight in it and become curious about how it works.

 

Our second graders do just that when they visit The Little Farmer pumpkin patch and farm. There, the changing season, growing crops and life on a farm provide another classroom filled with things to discover.

 

From Enjoying Creation to Understanding It

As students grow, those experiences—and the questions they ask—grow with them. Our third and fourth graders spent an afternoon at Marsh Haven Nature Center, where they explored Wisconsin’s natural environment and learned more about the plants, animals and habitats found close to home.

 

Experiences like this help students understand that everything within Creation has been intentionally designed, and our choices can affect the world around us. That’s where being a Creation Enjoyer begins to connect with being an Earth Keeper. We want students to ask questions like: What lives here? Why does this habitat matter? What does it need to thrive? How can we care for it well?

 

Growing Into Stewardship

By high school, those same ideas can become much bigger conversations.

 

Our high school Ag Club’s visit to the World Dairy Expo gives students the opportunity to experience agriculture on an entirely different scale. They see livestock, agricultural technology, innovation and the many careers connected to an industry that plays an important role in our Wisconsin communities and in feeding people around the world. It’s also an opportunity to think about stewardship.

 

How do we care well for animals? How can technology help us use resources wisely? How do farmers care for the land while producing the food people need? How might a student’s gifts and future career become a way to serve others and care for God’s world?

 

These aren't questions with answers found only in a textbook. They are questions students can begin exploring by seeing people live and work within God’s creation.

 

Learning With Eyes Wide Open

There is a natural progression in these experiences. Wonder leads to understanding. Understanding leads to responsibility. And responsibility grows into stewardship.

 

A 4K student walking through an apple orchard and a high school student walking through the World Dairy Expo are at very different stages of learning. Yet we hope both are developing the same habit: looking at the world around them with eyes wide open.

 

We want our students to notice creation. To enjoy it. To understand it. To care for it. And ultimately, to recognize that the world God created is not only something to learn about—it is something He invites us to faithfully participate in and care for.