Outside School
Community SubscriberOUTSIDE SCHOOL: THE ONLY K-12 OUTDOOR SCHOOL IN THE EAST BAY
*Outside School is a masked/vaxx’d program.*
Celebrating nature, individuality, and freedom in the urban outdoors!
This alternative education model is all about relationships, with each other and with the land.
Learning is child led and teacher supported, with children learning through play, conversation, and direct experience. This developmental approach respects everyone for who they are and encoures growth in all realms: head (knowledge), heart (social and emotional), and hands (physical). Lessons are organic, weaving together my life and educator experiences, everyone’s strengths, challenges, and interests, and what our environment and needs provide us each day.
Hi! My homeschooling kiddos are at Outside School, an excellent Tues/Wed/Thurs program held in Alvarado Park, mixed ages, small cohort, one educator (who is super experienced, talented, kind, and thoughtful). They hike, explore, play in the woods, learn about nature, have deep discussions, navigate their social and emotional lives and interactions, observe wildlife, occasionally dissect small animals, read books at lunchtime... it's been so rich for my kids this year, and really steady during all the covid ups and downs. One of mine is also 8/3rd grade and it would be awesome for another to join! Feel free to be in touch with me directly for any questions about our experience, and I know Heather (who runs Outside School) is super available to talk. https://www.teachoutside.org/outside-school
Update August 2022:
Towards the end of last year, our experience at Outside School shifted and was no longer positive for my kids or for us as parents. If you'd like to know more, feel free to reach out.
Hi! My 5yo son attends Outside School in Alvarado Park/Wildcat Canyon and absolutely loves it. Heather Taylor, the school founder/teacher is amazing! We feel fortunate that our child is learning outdoors and experiencing things that would have never happened in a traditional classroom. School runs Tues through Thurs from 9am to 3pm. I highly encourage you to check out the links above to learn more, and feel free to reach out directly with any questions.
Jilliann
I have the perfect program for you: Outside School! It runs Tu-Th, 9am to 3pm, at Alvarado Park in Richmond, and can have 8 children attending (currently there are 3 kids, including my daughter, so there's room). It's all outdoors and masked with social distancing—and it's been amazing. The kids hike all around the park, explore, climb trees, learn about plants and insects, try to catch fish in the stream, whittle sticks, try to identify scat, take breaks for snacks and reading, and walk up to visit the cows and see the view across the bay—and much more. All of this is facilitated by Heather Taylor, who is a very experienced outside educator and all-around cool person. (I actually met her through her equally cool husband.) Every day Heather emails out a detailed report with photos and stories about their adventures—makes me wish I could ditch my laptop and join them. Currently, my third-grade daughter does the Berkeley public school curriculum all day on Monday and Friday, and from Tuesday to Thursday, she attends the morning Zoom meeting with her class before bounding out of the car and into the park. On those days, she does her regular schoolwork after Outside School, which is fine with the teacher just as long as she turns in her work before the end of the day. I'd be happy to talk with you if you have questions about any of this. Here's the website: https://www.teachoutside.org/outside-school-main
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