Experiential Learning

“All-A-Taut-O” means all lines are ready on a ship and could set sail. This TX course teaches essential life skills and content will depend on student interest. Sessions could include essentials such as Auto 101, Finance 101, CPR/FA/ALICE Training or more exotic skills like knife sharpening, bike maintenance, sourdough bread making, and splitting wood.
 

Master the art of digital photography, and enhance your “creative eye” using our own Smartphone cameras. You will learn basic camera settings and principles of lighting and composition. We will study images from masters in the field of landscape, portraiture, and macro photography. We will learn basic editing techniques using a free professional editing app. And for the Instagram influencers among us, selfie and food photography are also on the agenda. We will endeavor to create a digital portfolio of stunning work that we will print for our very own art show.

Join as we dine and review food at 8 different breakfast spots around the South Coast.  You will research and propose different options to try for each of our eight Saturdays. You will also have the chance to write reviews. Let’s bond over breakfast! Weather permitting, we will also stop by various locations on the South Coast and Cape for beach cleaning and combing. 

Breaking Bread aims to promote intercultural dialogue and collaboration that inspires a lifetime of ethical, sustainable, and consequential action-taking. It is a virtual exchange of students from a global network of schools and organizations. Under the guidance of faculty mentors at each institution, cohorts of students collaborate on asynchronous activities—creating shared music playlists, filming walking tours of their hometowns, and sharing recipes, for example. Synchronous meet-ups and feature discussion topics such as justice and human rights, gender diversity & equality, and climate action. V 3.0 of Breaking Bread will be more experiential in nature and culminate in “projects of consequence.”  
 

In this group, we will make brunch together for the first hour, then do a high-level auction Fantasy Football draft that will include research, strategy, budgeting, math, and tactical adjustments throughout the season. Each time we meet during the NFL season we’ll debrief our teams, write game summaries, conduct trades and free-agent signings, and plan for future games. Once the NFL season is over, we’ll finish up with March Madness and then the NBA and NHL playoffs.
 

A look into the science and philosophies of how the world may/will end (depending if your asteroid is half-full or half-empty).  Are you worried about artificial intelligence?  Is the heat death of the universe on your mind?  Are we actually real, or will somebody just reset the simulation we inhabit?  Fingers crossed for vacuum decay!  There will be some reading and some writing, but if you are interested in these discussions already, it won’t blot out your sky.

Explore Chinese cooking techniques. Deeper understanding Chinese tradition, history, and food culture. Create multiple authentic Chinese dishes from Napa Cabbage Salad to Pork dumplings. Sessions will also include dishes like: Eggs and Tomatoes, (Real) Kongpao Chicken, Spring Pancakes, Vegetarian Triple Delight, and more.
 

Explore the major food preparation methods used today: grill, smoke, fry, sous vide, poach, steam, and roast. Imagine learning to make homemade mac and cheese that comes from real cheese and not the blue box? This is why you should join us! Check out our sample sessions: 

• Week 1: Grilling
• Week 2: Smoking
• Week 3: Sous Vide
• Week 4: Baking
• Week 5: Steaming, Boiling & Bain-marie
• Week 6: Stews and Soups
• Week 7: Local field trip 
• Week 8: Bring it all together for a meal.

Dungeons & Dragons offers an organic opportunity to “play” teamwork, develop critical thinking, and use the imagination. A D&D adventure requires a lot of decision making, often between suboptimal options. Players must combine the unique skills and abilities of their characters with other players in approaching situational challenges. In D&D, players drive the experience and their decisions have consequences, both positive and negative. D&D develops real-life skills within the boundless safety of our imaginations.

If you are interested in fishing, whale watching, and observing marine life, then this is the program for you. Sessions will include: 

• Week 1: Fishing the canal (East)
• Week 2: Fishing Bird Rock
• Week 3: New Bedford Whaling Museum
• Week 4: 3D Printing lures / or Ice Fishing
• Week 5: Mystic Aquarium / or Ice Fishing
• Week 6: Fishing Cleveland Ledge
• Week 7: Fishing the canal (west)
• Week 8: Whale Watch out of Plymouth

Participants will be able to indulge in fishing and whaling events with depth to the experience. The program will pivot from hands-on to observational to exhibits and more. The main theme is to witness local fish and whales in the first person with time on and off the ocean.
 

This program will be an all-encompassing look at gear, preparation, knots, maintenance, catching fish, regulations, and how to filet, clean and cook fish. You will learn specific skills such as when to fish different species, where to find them, what lures to try. Fishing provides one of the last available means for average people to provide sustenance for themselves, sourced from its natural environment. Recreational fishing is a life skill that is aligned with ecological sustainability.

Make connections with global cultures & students at Tabor while learning to cook! Learn information about history, culture, and traditions through gastronomy. Sessions may include dishes like Pad Thai, Larb Gai, Bubble Tea (Thailand); Tiroler Geröstel & Apfelstrudel (Austria); Frijoles negros dormidos (Cuba); and Empanadas (Argentina). 
 

Interested in a healthier lifestyle? In Happy Humans, you will work to develop goals, create actionable items, and execute a plan. We will focus on fresh air, fresh food, sleep, nutrition, and fitness.

Why spend your Saturday morning binge-watching reruns of Fixer-Upper on HGTV when you could be a part of HGTX! Join us for a year-long adventure into the world of DIY projects. Have you always wanted to learn to sew, knit or use power tools? This program will rotate through a variety of crafts in order to teach useful crafting/life skills and produce a collection of usable (and ideally desirable!) products. Sample sessions include: 

• Woodworking
• Sewing
• Knitting
• Gardening
• Holiday Wreath decorating 
• Cricut Crafts 

Explore your historical interests while learning to podcast. This is a chance to learn the 2.0 history research skills taught in college and an opportunity to connect with professional historians.  The future of history is talking about the past. Come join the conversation!
 

In this group, you will use improv as a tool for character development, risk-taking, and shedding inhibitions. Improv promotes creativity, critical thinking, and public speaking to an audience eager to listen. It is an imagination workout and it will be a welcomed break from academic and social exhaustion. You will be challenged to be “up on their feet” and presented with various scenarios that involve problem-solving skills. 
 

Are you interested in upping your knitting and crochet game? Join this group if you would like to learn how to knit and crochet or to improve your skills. Knitting and crochet are useful life skills and an incredibly relaxing hobby. Projects will be tailored to the individual’s skill level. 
 

Work through an appropriate training program while enjoying time off-campus and exploring nature on Cape Cod. The MarathonTX session will culminate in completing the Hyannis Marathon or Half Marathon and/or the Martha’s Vineyard Marathon. For novice runners who want a challenge.  
 

Race model boats built at Tabor. There will be a fall and spring set of regattas off the crew dock. In the winter, we will shift to Virtual Regatta
 

Learn how to practice mindfulness in a variety of ways and start your day off with ease and relaxation. Sessions will involve mindful nature walks, meditation and gratitude practice, art, yoga, journaling, and anything else participants may want to explore. 
 

This group will explore high-school life in the 80s & 90s as depicted in classic films. Explore the trials and tribulations of young people at the time when your parents were your age. What were their concerns and problems? What continues to resonate in 2022? Have we improved? Have we gone backwards? 

Visit local and regional museums to learn about local history and more. 
Some museums could include: 

• RISD museum, Providence, RI - collections of art and artifacts from around the world. 
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA - exhibitions change frequently and include major Impressionist works of art. 
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Gardens, Fenway, Boston, MA. This museum is modeled after a 15 century Venetian palace and has a collection of over 7500 paintings, sculptures, furniture, textiles, silver, ceramics, 1500 rare books, and 7000 archival objects from ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, Renaissance Italy, Asia, the Islamic world, and 19th-century France and America.         
• Sippican Historical Society, Marion, MA - local history museum 
• The Edward Gorey House, Yarmouth Port, MA  - this museum celebrates the life and works of Edward Gorey. 
• Heritage Museum and Gardens, Sandwich, MA - this outside museum also features gardens a display of 21 antique cars. 
• Whitehorne House Museum, Newport, RI 
• Thorton W. Burgess Society - Green Brian Nature Center and Jam Kitchen where you can make your own pot of jam! 
   

Build a 8x8 fully framed, sheathed, insulated, wired, & shingled “mini-home playhouse” with finished interior. The final product will be raffled or donated. 
 

Develop local programming and activities to build and improve relations between the two school communities. Our goal is to create consistent and shared programs that bring the schools together for service, celebration, creation, and support work. 
 

Explore the great outdoors. Upon completion of this series students will have a deeper understanding of the landscape upon which they live, the forces that shape that landscape (both nature and historical human influence) and an understanding of the plants and animals they share their bioregion with.  Additionally, students will gain fundamental outdoor skills with some emphasis on basic survival skills in the wild. Photography could also be included depending on student interest.   

Are you interested in music performance? Have you always wanted access to a professional recording experience? In this group, you will work with recording professionals on the projects that interest you.  
 

Reclaim portions of campus to restore them with native planting. As the School by the Sea, Tabor’s identity is deeply rooted in its natural surroundings. Over the course of the school’s history, marsh land and native coastal vegetation has been displaced by manicured grassy spaces, physical buildings and other hardscaping. Reintroducing native plants to Tabor’s landscape has ecological benefits (especially for pollinators), can reduce our carbon footprint (by decreasing the amount of space requiring regular mowing and fertilizing), and will leave a lasting legacy on our campus. Come learn more about the benefits of native plants, get your hands dirty, build some camaraderie, leave your mark on Tabor’s campus, and enjoy the well-documented physical and mental health benefits of gardening!
 

This TaborX Experience opens the door for students to try their hands (and feet) at rock climbing! Through a partnership with a local small business, students will not only learn the basics of rock climbing but will also learn how to belay and some outdoor leadership skills. Rock climbing is both a physically and mentally challenging activity, so students will grow both their motor skills and their perseverance while they have some fun. 

Founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1917, the Tabor Roller Hockey League (TRHL) has been competing for Lord Stanley’s Cone (an orange construction cone) on the tennis courts at Tabor Academy for over a century. With a robust slate of regular season and playoff games scheduled for the 2022-23 season, the league commissioner is encouraging all skill levels to join TRHL for 3-on-3 competition on Saturday mornings. In addition to playing, participants will have the option to be their team’s coach and/or general manager, handling the day-to-day operations of their “organization” at pivotal moments in the season: the preseason, the trade deadline, and the playoff push.
 

Ever wanted to coach a sport? Wanted to be part of a team but didn’t play that season? Are you interested in sports management in the future? Seawolf Sports Management is a place where students can learn the skills on the other side of the team from the athletes. Learn practice planning, social media use, ideas of management that could benefit you to lead others in sports or other areas in the future. This is ideally created for students interested in pursuing athletics in the future but not necessarily as athletes. We have a robust Varsity manager program here at Tabor and this would provide a space for us all to get together to learn and advance our craft to better support our teams but also explore interests in sports management.
 

We will be exploring the process of identifying and creating a new business/solution that solves *that* problem. Start with concept creation and learn the skills and mindsets necessary for business success.
 

But … do you even shred?

ShredTX is an eight-session MOUNTAIN BIKE program dedicated to raising the stoke. Ride more, work less! Develop proper technique for bashin’ berms and finding the flow. Explore local trails, learn the basics of bike maintenance, and improve your individual riding while participating in group excursions.  

Mountain Biking launches riders into worlds of adventure while immersing them in nature. A lifelong sport and way of life, it requires constant learning and deep focus. ShredTX™ follows lessons developed by Whistler-based PMBIA (Professional Mountain Bike Instructors Association), the worldwide leader in the sport. Shredders of all skill and experience levels are welcome, as are students of any gender.

Do you love soccer, the world’s “beautiful game”? Subbuteo is a Table-Top Soccer game that is interactive, tactical, and action packed. Each student gets their own team. After introductory rules and practices, an active league will be run, standings and statistics kept, culminating with a Subbuteo TX Champion. Students will learn to work together and compete against each other while celebrating the world’s game.
 

Learn basics of child care including child psychology, first aid, and how to organize activities. You will get to work with area children to practice your skills.  
 

Have you always wanted to experience the Tabor Boy but haven’t had the time? Then Tabor Boy TX is for you! Think of Tabor Boy as a resource to be used by all of your creative ideas. We require your help in getting out there sailing and then provide a space for new experiences & perspectives of Buzzards Bay.

Who are the Lyndons? What is a Stroud? Is the Fish Center really just a School by the Sea pun? Does the past inform the present to cultivate the future? You bet your Big Brother it does!  Be on a dynamic team of forensic investigators. Breathe life into the names and events that have created the Tabor we now inhabit and that we cultivate for future Seawolves! Unpack the mysteries of what “Stone” Seawolf built the gym, who the Rollers are? The Bosts? Once we develop a research strategy we will begin to reach out to stakeholders for interviews and artifacts that tell our collective story as a multigenerational community of Seawolves.
 

Metalsmithing and Jewelry making: an 8 week workshop for students interested in learning to work with semi-precious, precious, and base metals to make wearable or sculptural objects. Wire, sheet metal and soldering techniques will be taught with the potential to explore small scale welding.
 

Learn the skills of Olympic Style Weightlifting. Gain the skills necessary to accomplish the movements effectively. We will potentially attend a local weightlifting meet. Become more confident and develop camaraderie with your peers.  
 

Ever wanted to play in or learn to play in a rock band?  Come join other emerging TA rock band musicians in jamming and learning together to create a unique set list (all music types welcome) and potentially play a final concert for the school at SpringFest or ASM.  Instrumentalists, vocalists and fans are all welcome.  Don’t have an instrument?  We’ll find you one.

We will learn guitar tuning, basic chord shapes, some strumming patterns, and to play some songs while eating some yummy New England-produced pastries. Partnering with some local bakeries and doughnut shops, we will experience local cuisine while consuming from the best of the South Coast, Cape Cod, South Shore, and Rhode Island. No guitar playing experience required (it’s actually preferred that you have none!). Bring a guitar and an appetite! 

Have you ever wanted to learn how to play golf?  You can do so within the confines of Tabor’s campus by utilizing the school’s simulator and indoor putting/chipping green.  Plan to spend eight sessions learning the fundamentals of all shots, ranging from the full swing to the putting stroke.  The ultimate goal is to have participants take their newly-acquired skills to a real golf course for the final session. 
 

Learn fishing in the fall. Learn to skate in the winter, novice skaters only. Learn to golf in the spring. 
 

Learn a brief history of the tintype photo process, and engage in the process itself: build a camera, build a mobile dark room, make Tintype photographs, develop, and create a show of the finished product.
 

Learn the basics of badminton, get some exercise, and make some friends at the same time!
 

Learn the basics of baking!

Learn the basics of chess and some intermediate strategy. 
 

Are you interested in the world of programming? Do you want to learn more about computer science while having fun? In this club, you will learn to use programming skills to solve problems. There are opportunities for both new and experienced participants. We may participate in the USA Computing Olympiads or make our own questions. 

Hike in nearby natural areas, preserved forests, wetlands, and coastal areas.  Learn about the value of open space and land conservation. Discover the biodiversity of our local natural resource.  Learn about trail safety, and basic outdoor skills including first aid and navigation. Feed your mind, body and spirit by getting outside together and experiencing the challenges and the wonders of the non-human made environment. Community and friendship build naturally when sharing unscripted time together in the beauty of nature.  The Outing Club tradition of having breakfast or lunch at restaurants/diners near our hiking destinations will continue.  
 

Creative writing at its best—with snacks! Hone your writing and push your story-telling skills through writing prompt exercises, quiet writing time, brainstorming, critiques, and other activities designed to awaken the creative spirit. Try your hand at haikus, microfiction, flash fiction, short stories, and more. For those interested in a longer term project, there's also an option to engage in the NANOWRIMO Young Writers Program to work toward developing a novel. Each session includes delicious snacks and baked goods to fuel our creativity. 

Develop the skills to renew your wardrobe. You will learn how to sew, put in buttons and zippers, change elastic bands, and most importantly, make your fashion design come true without buying anything new. Upcycling promotes environmental awareness by reducing the textile waste and water pollution of quick fashion. Join us!
 

Adventure is out there, but at times it can be tough to take that first step if we don’t feel prepared for the outdoors. This program will teach you a wide range of skills involved in the planning and execution of a successful trip into the outdoors! We will learn basic wilderness first aid techniques, walk through how to choose a campsite and set up a tent in the outdoors, test some camping meal recipes, and much more! Whether it’s a day on your local trails or a weeklong backpacking trip in the backcountry, after this program you will be prepared to enter the outdoors and plan whatever adventure you would like to tackle.  
 

Experience the thrill of horseback riding at a local facility. This program is for beginners as well as experienced riders.  Care and upkeep of a horse will be included as well as the basics of riding. Sessions will include instruction in caring for a horse, prepping the horse for riding and then time in the ring as part of a group instruction. After the lesson, students will cool off the horse, store equipment, and do any stall cleaning that is needed.