“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach of us more than we can ever learn from books.”
~ John Lubbock
The world has been incredibly hard on children the past few years. There has been so much stress, Indoor time, disconnection to the natural world and too those around us. These things will have lasting imprints on our children’s minds, anxieties, and social abilities. Let’s allow them to break free and run wild once again!
Humans have been learning in nature since the beginning of time. The “Forest School” concept began in the 1950’s in Europe then quickly spread throughout the world. It can take place in any climate, terrain, and location, including our vast coulees!
Academy in the Wild is a program for children that aims to provide child-led, play based learning through repeated exposure to nature. Meaning the children get to pick the flow of each day.
SO HOW MIGHT THIS LOOK?
Everyday is different in a child-led world, they may see an animal track and want to follow it discussing what animal it’s from and brainstorm ideas of how it survives and lives. They may see sticks and the children will be inspired to learn how to build a shelter, or come across mud and sling it at targets. They might collect exciting and interesting pieces of nature and make an art project, or see fallen trees and want to test their limits climbing and jumping!
Our older programs (ages 6+) have the opportunity to also learn valuable bushcraft and survival skills, such as whittling, water filtering/purifying, natural navigation, building fire without matches, and shelter building. These types of skills encourage more respect for the environment and confidence not only in nature but in life as well.
Within our minimal structured time we open and close each day in a space where we may incorporate story telling, books, art, music, conversations, and “sit spots” all aimed to deepen their connection to nature, each other and expand on the days learnings, interests and discoveries.
There is a magic in the wild earth that cannot be replicated by man, a sense of peace, tranquility and belonging, igniting curiosity, wonder, and imagination. We provide our wildlings with the freedom to be fully immersed in it, experiment, play, create, engage in risky play and with each other to the best of their abilities. They will have the opportunity to grow their problem solving skills, creative thinking, self risk assessing, and communication all contributing to strengthen their emotional resilience.
We will be there to facilitate rather than teach, we have the skills, knowledge, tools and will provide opportunities as we see fit. The children have the interests, curiosities and the spark, we add the fuel to the fire!
We strongly believe that play is the work of the young child, and nature is the best teacher.
SO COME JOIN US IN THE WILD AND LET’S GO ON AN ADVENTURE!
“If a child grows up never walking in the woods, digging in soil, seeing animals in their habitat, climbing a tree, hiking, playing in a stream, or staring at the endless horizons, they may never really understand what there is to be lost. The future of our planet depends on our children; they need to learn to appreciate it. Children also need to learn how to work together. They need to learn to make friends, how to share and cooperate, how to treat other people. If they only interact in very structured settings, such as school or sports teams, they won’t — they can’t — learn everything they need to know.”
– Harvard Health –
Learn more about what we do in each program