See, Touch, Discover an Outdoor Education - KLTV.com - Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |ETX News

You won't find any students sitting at a desk or reading a textbook at sky ranch outdoor education. "I've been here petting the horses and looking at the donkeys," says Corey Aviles, Frisco fifth grader.

What you will see are entire classes, mostly from the Dallas Metroplex, learning social studies and science through a hands on approach.

"We've been catching some fish and some maybe clams and just looking around," says Jake Utley, a Frisco fifth grader.

Jake learned aquatics Thursday, one of 12 courses Sky Ranch offers. There, the 5th graders from Frisco explore the pond with nets.

"We set our classes up to be very academic and they come out here and we talk about the scientific method," says LuAnne Ashley, Outdoor Education Director.

Most of the kids that come to Sky Ranch Outdoor Education don't know what it's like to be on a real ranch but when they go there they can actually see the animals and learn about them at the same time.

"It actually explains more than from a textbook sometimes you don't get the right feeling of what it is really like," says Carolyn Shannon.

"Here (Sky Ranch) you can actually experience the fun of doing things that you've never tried before," says Aaron Powell, Frisco fifth grader.  Like feeding a bull, or riding a horse.

The interaction with the farm animals also teaches students how the animals fit into their lives and a few oddities along the way.  "I learned that rabbits teeth always grow," says Kenna Easter, Frisco fifth grader.

And each year 8000 students ride away with knowledge and an appreciation of their natural environment they might not have gotten without an "outdoor education."

Dana Dixon Reporting.