Are you looking for a homeschool enrichment opportunity that:
- Allows children to learn, play & grow outdoors?
- Teaches hands-on skills?
- Inspires teamwork and leadership?
- Includes work on Science, Math, Social Studies, Language Arts, Personal Development and Creative Arts?
Enrich your child’s knowledge and connection with the natural world. Join us for outdoor adventures and wilderness skills with an incredible community of homeschoolers.
Activities & Skills Include:
- Environmental Sciences: Seasonal Changes, Animal Habitats, Plant Studies, Geography, Ecosystems
- Wilderness Skills: Plant Medicine, Knife Work, Tool Use, Fire Building, Navigation, Shelter Building, Cooking, Tracking
- Math: Patterns, Symmetry, Engineering, Spatial Relationships, Estimation, Measuring, Practical Math Use
- Language Arts: Literature, Storytelling, Journaling, Group Discussion, Vocabulary
- Creative Arts: Songs, Crafts, Storymaking, Music, Journaling
- Personal Development: Community Agreement Making, Teambuilding, Group Games, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
- Physical Well-Being: Natural Movement, Aliveness, Agility, Awareness, Quiet Reflection, Sensory Development
- Social Studies: Civic Involvement, Group Decision Making, Team & Community Building, Natural History, Anthropology
2023-2024 Nature Skills I
A wild and adventurous crew! We will build shelters, learn the language of birds and plants, forage for wild snacks, read stories, create arts & crafts to deepen learning, play cooperative nature games, and revel in the experience of being outside together.
During the ages of 5 and 6 years old, children are exploring their complex emotions, social relationships and strategic thinking. They like to play with friends, but then might be challenged with group rules, they are still using play as a primary means of learning, and do best with short periods of focused time. Nature Skills I class meets the specific needs of these 5 and 6 year olds. Through lots of small projects to deepen their science, math and environmental understanding, fast paced games, and time to practice social interactions, emotional expression and group decision making, these children are allowed to grow and learn through their passions at their pace.
Ages
5-6 years old. Children must be 5 years old at the beginning of the school year to enter the program, children may be 6 when starting this program.
Days & Times + Locations
Monday 9:30am – 1:30pm at Green Point in Agnew
Dates
September 11, 2023 – June 7, 2024
Tuition
1 Day Enrollment: $175 per month
Registration
How to Sign Up
All registrations are processed through Jovial.
At the time of registration a $100 program deposit is due.
For more information view our Enrollment Policies.
Tuition Assistance
Olympic Nature Experience has tuition assistance available for low-income families. Tuition Assistance applications are due June 1st, 2023. You will find the tuition assistance application as a part of the registration process. The Tuition Assistance Committee will announce TA awards mid-June.
2023-2024 Nature Skills II
The thrill of reading the tracks of our animal neighbors in the mud, the competence to create shelter and fire from nothing, the wonder of catching a glimpse into the life of a wild animal, the feel of being safely among a community of friends. It is the knowledge of place, the feeling of being at home in the world.
Through exploration, projects and play children work with science, mathematics, literacy, and wilderness skills while delving into month-long themes and projects. Skills practiced include fire building and tending, navigations, animal tracking, tool making and using, shelter building and plant identification and use. Students will develop intrinsic motivation, empathy, social communication skills, independence, confidence, and a deep connection to the natural world.
Ages
7-10 years old. Children must be 7 by the start of the school year, and are recommended to have been in Nature Skills I or Summer Sessions Skills if they are only 7 years old but it is not required.
Days & Times + Locations
Friday 9:30am – 1:30pm at Green Point in Agnew
Dates
September 11, 2023 – June 7, 2024
Tuition
1 Day Enrollment: $175 per month
Registration
How to Sign Up
All registrations are processed through Jovial.
At the time of registration your last month’s tuition will be due.
For more information view our Enrollment Policies.
Tuition Assistance
Olympic Nature Experience has limited tuition assistance available for low-income families. You can read more about our tuition assistance program here. Tuition Assistance applications are due June 1st, 2023. You will find the tuition assistance application as a part of the registration process. The Tuition Assistance Committee will announce TA awards mid-June.
Open Houses
FAQS
Safety is our highest priority and we are constantly aware of the environment and all changes that are happening including the children’s abilities and energies as well as the weather and location.
Our instructors are specially trained to recognize forest and nature dangers and prevent unnecessary risks while children play in the forest. We teach children to recognize and asses their own safety levels and ensure that the boundaries around their play are clear and followed. Some inherent risk occurs while children play in the forest, however, we feel that this risk is developmentally appropriate and satisfies children’s need for challenge and growth of their physical and emotional selves.
In the modern world, we have been taught that learning is solely didactic education of a teacher “teaching.” This means that unless a students is being talked to, given an obvious lesson, they will not perceive their own activities as “learning.” In our coyote mentoring model, it’s common for a child to say or think, “I didn’t learn anything.” In reality they are deeply immersed in nature, becoming more knowledgeable about their place, skilled in being part of a community, and deeply connected to one another. Additionally, they are practicing skills that will set them up for a life time of learning: critical thinking, problem solving, perspective taking and observation.
Through self-directed play, children engage with the natural world on their own terms. This helps them create an authentic connection to nature that comes from within oneself. Our skilled teachers keep children safe, and create opportunities that appear spontaneous and random to the students, but are ways to deepen academic concepts such as math, science and literacy skills.
Yes. This is a drop off program, and parents are welcome to stay and observe or volunteer, but you are not required to stay on-site.