Following is an overview of what each grade studies during a 5-day visit to Glen Brook:

3rd Grade: Harvest and food preparation (fall); planting and animal husbandry (spring)

4th Grade: Farm work: Preparing the farm for winter (fall trips) requires considerable labor: sowing cover crops, preparing compost beds, and winterizing equipment. Spring trips focus on getting the farm ready for the planting season: breathing warm, new life into the buildings and gardens.

5th Grade: Botany: The outdoors of Northern New England is the fifth grader’s classroom as students explore the woods, animals, and open fields. They learn about soils, compost, and plant identification.

6th Grade: Astronomy & Geology: Sixth graders visit geologic attractions in the area, including Mt. Monadnock and the Bear’s Den, and spend time looking at the night sky after hearing ancient constellation stories.

7th Grade: Mechanics: Students lift heavy objects using levers, pulleys, and fulcrums; they hoist each other to the ceiling of the barn in a “bosun’s chair;” and have an introductory experience on the high ropes course, which focuses on an introduction to both mechanics and group social dynamics.

8th Grade: Colonial American History: Students live and learn the diverse activities that made up life in colonial New England – from maple sugaring (at the Camp’s sugarhouse), to stone cutting, woodwork and construction technique, and handicrafts.

9th Grade: High Ropes Instruction: The full ropes course imparts in students the opportunity to build numerous essential skills: clear communication, trust, physical limits, and honesty. The week is spent building these skills. Students also spend the night in the woods here on the property, setting up their own tents, cooking over an open fire, and observing the forest in a personal way.

10th Grade: White Mountain Expedition: Students spend three days in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, cooking their own meals, hiking several 4,000- to 5,000-foot summits, and staying in AMC huts.

11th Grade: Cartography & Orienteering: Students learn a history of cartography, from the Chinese to the Basques to the Explorers to the Modern Era. They also learn practical, hands-on orienteering skills. The “final exam” consists of groups of small students using their newly-learned skills to navigate their way through the woods on a 5- to 7-mile course that finishes at Glen Brook.

12th Grade: Transitions: From high school to college, from childhood to adulthood, the week at Glen Brook seeks to develop a sense of personal responsibility in this exciting time. Students participate intensively in meal preparation, managing their own meals in small groups (working with the chef), closing the circle of education that was begun in the third grade with their first Glen Brook harvest.