Wild Explorers (Ages 7-11)
2024/25 School Year
We have 1 Wild Explorer group on Wednesdays and 1 on Thursdays for the 2024/25 homeschool year. All are at Lake Farm County Park. These are weekly on-going groups that run between mid Sept through end of May. These are a weekly commitment for the entire session signed up for. If your child is in school and is interested in an afterschool option (early release day or other day) or weekend option, please email us letting us know your preferred days/times and frequency. We hope to provide this option in future for those interested, but first need to see if we have enough kids to do so.
Currently 1 spot open on Wednesday for a Wild Explorer
**We are expecting to fill and end up with a waitlist. We will honor first come first serve. Kids can join at anytime as long as their is space. If you are new to us you can do a 2 week trial before committing. It is $200 deposit for that trial period and that money will go towards your tuition if your child decides to join us for the entire session.
We start our day in a circle, including parents/caregivers that are able to make it (subject to Covid), share gratitude, sometimes sing a song, and definitely play a game. After opening circle we head out on our day's adventure. We come prepared with a variety of nature connection activities and we let the moment and the kid's curiosity and passion guide what actually happens. At 2:45 we circle back up near the parking lot and encourage parents to join us to hear the stories of what the kids did during their time on the land.
Our nature connection programs involve intentional mentored time in the outdoors. The foundation of our mentoring is finding each person’s curiosities & passions and asking questions to lead the learning. Our programs are designed to instill a sense of community; to deepen relationships to oneself, to others, & to nature; while bringing out natural powerful human attributes like empathy, happiness, & being truly helpful to name a few. Our hope is that each child/person will grow into their gifts and we design our programs to support this. We also design our programs to develop a caretaking approach towards the Earth, ourselves, & each other. Not only do people have a lot of fun and gain understanding and knowledge about the natural world, primitive skills, & primitive crafts, they also learn skills for life such as awareness, quiet mind, creative problem solving, peacemaking, good conduct, intentional action, reflective processes, etc.
Covid Protocols
We will pay attention to science, public heath, Dane County orders, and more importantly those who feel most vulnerable will take priority in our protocols regarding Covid. If you would like to participate and have needs around Covid precautions or any concerns please reach out to us. Our protocols are updated alongside current local and federal public health recommendations, community spread data, and recommendations from our grandparent council.
We are currently not wearing masks or distancing outside, although we are sensitive to the needs of each participant family. Each cohort has an agreement based on needs of participating families.
We ask that folks Stay Home: Please keep kids at home if they have knowlingly come into direct contact with anyone with Covid or if they themselves have cold or flu symptoms or if anyone in their home has cold or flu symptoms. Please contact mentors and [email protected] (Heather) to let them know and we will talk about next steps.
*Upon registering for any programs, you will receive a Parent Orientation that has a section on Covid and goes into a bit more detail.
2024/25 Information
Schedule
Fall Session starts: Wednesday Sept 18, 2024
Through Thursday December 12, 2024
1 week off for Thanksgiving
Winter/Spring Session starts: Wed Jan 29th, 2025
2 week Spring Break - weeks of March 24-April 4, 2025
Last week: May 21st, 2025
When & Where:
9am - 3:00pm at Lake Farm County Park
When & Where
2 Group Options:
1. 1 Group on Wednesdays, 9-3, Lake Farm County Park
2. 1 Group on Thursdays, 9-3, Lake Farm County Park
*When inquiring please state which day you are interested in. Note if you are available for the other day or not. This will help if we are full in any groups that we can hopefully support everyone in participating in a group. If you have a preferred mentor, please state that too. We will do our best to match that up.
Tuition
Sept-May
Sliding Scale 1750-2400
*$200 non-refundable deposit - toward trial period & tuition
*A note on our tuition.....How the Sliding Scale works, please pay what you can within the amount noted. If those who can pay more do so, then those who need to pay less can and we still get our financial needs met. We want our programs to be accessible for those who want to participate. We do not prorate for most pre-planned misses (ie, gone for 2 weeks of vacation). Sibling discounts are given for 3 or more children if needed. Offering a sliding scale allows you to take into consideration any pre-planned time missed or having more than one child enrolled with us. There are exceptions and special circumstances so please contact us if needed about this. If our sliding scale tuition is not affordable for your family, please contact us, and we can start a conversation to see what works. We may have assistance through our Community Supported Tuition Fund, we barter, have work trade, and in general work to find creative solutions to support people in joining our programs. We also offer payments plans.
2024/25 School Year
We have 1 Wild Explorer group on Wednesdays and 1 on Thursdays for the 2024/25 homeschool year. All are at Lake Farm County Park. These are weekly on-going groups that run between mid Sept through end of May. These are a weekly commitment for the entire session signed up for. If your child is in school and is interested in an afterschool option (early release day or other day) or weekend option, please email us letting us know your preferred days/times and frequency. We hope to provide this option in future for those interested, but first need to see if we have enough kids to do so.
Currently 1 spot open on Wednesday for a Wild Explorer
**We are expecting to fill and end up with a waitlist. We will honor first come first serve. Kids can join at anytime as long as their is space. If you are new to us you can do a 2 week trial before committing. It is $200 deposit for that trial period and that money will go towards your tuition if your child decides to join us for the entire session.
We start our day in a circle, including parents/caregivers that are able to make it (subject to Covid), share gratitude, sometimes sing a song, and definitely play a game. After opening circle we head out on our day's adventure. We come prepared with a variety of nature connection activities and we let the moment and the kid's curiosity and passion guide what actually happens. At 2:45 we circle back up near the parking lot and encourage parents to join us to hear the stories of what the kids did during their time on the land.
Our nature connection programs involve intentional mentored time in the outdoors. The foundation of our mentoring is finding each person’s curiosities & passions and asking questions to lead the learning. Our programs are designed to instill a sense of community; to deepen relationships to oneself, to others, & to nature; while bringing out natural powerful human attributes like empathy, happiness, & being truly helpful to name a few. Our hope is that each child/person will grow into their gifts and we design our programs to support this. We also design our programs to develop a caretaking approach towards the Earth, ourselves, & each other. Not only do people have a lot of fun and gain understanding and knowledge about the natural world, primitive skills, & primitive crafts, they also learn skills for life such as awareness, quiet mind, creative problem solving, peacemaking, good conduct, intentional action, reflective processes, etc.
Covid Protocols
We will pay attention to science, public heath, Dane County orders, and more importantly those who feel most vulnerable will take priority in our protocols regarding Covid. If you would like to participate and have needs around Covid precautions or any concerns please reach out to us. Our protocols are updated alongside current local and federal public health recommendations, community spread data, and recommendations from our grandparent council.
We are currently not wearing masks or distancing outside, although we are sensitive to the needs of each participant family. Each cohort has an agreement based on needs of participating families.
We ask that folks Stay Home: Please keep kids at home if they have knowlingly come into direct contact with anyone with Covid or if they themselves have cold or flu symptoms or if anyone in their home has cold or flu symptoms. Please contact mentors and [email protected] (Heather) to let them know and we will talk about next steps.
*Upon registering for any programs, you will receive a Parent Orientation that has a section on Covid and goes into a bit more detail.
2024/25 Information
Schedule
Fall Session starts: Wednesday Sept 18, 2024
Through Thursday December 12, 2024
1 week off for Thanksgiving
Winter/Spring Session starts: Wed Jan 29th, 2025
2 week Spring Break - weeks of March 24-April 4, 2025
Last week: May 21st, 2025
When & Where:
9am - 3:00pm at Lake Farm County Park
When & Where
2 Group Options:
1. 1 Group on Wednesdays, 9-3, Lake Farm County Park
2. 1 Group on Thursdays, 9-3, Lake Farm County Park
*When inquiring please state which day you are interested in. Note if you are available for the other day or not. This will help if we are full in any groups that we can hopefully support everyone in participating in a group. If you have a preferred mentor, please state that too. We will do our best to match that up.
Tuition
Sept-May
Sliding Scale 1750-2400
*$200 non-refundable deposit - toward trial period & tuition
*A note on our tuition.....How the Sliding Scale works, please pay what you can within the amount noted. If those who can pay more do so, then those who need to pay less can and we still get our financial needs met. We want our programs to be accessible for those who want to participate. We do not prorate for most pre-planned misses (ie, gone for 2 weeks of vacation). Sibling discounts are given for 3 or more children if needed. Offering a sliding scale allows you to take into consideration any pre-planned time missed or having more than one child enrolled with us. There are exceptions and special circumstances so please contact us if needed about this. If our sliding scale tuition is not affordable for your family, please contact us, and we can start a conversation to see what works. We may have assistance through our Community Supported Tuition Fund, we barter, have work trade, and in general work to find creative solutions to support people in joining our programs. We also offer payments plans.