Wild Child Freeschool
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DUE TO COVID-19 OUR PROGRAMMING IS cancelled until further notice

silicon valley & south bay programs

Register for Spring 2020

programs run weekly September - june


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We want Wild Child to be a place where kids can experience nature-immersion and full self-expression with super-awesome mentors, no matter what class they choose.  We have several programs available for kids, whether they want free-play all day, to learn bird language, or to pull invasive species!  

Our days run from 10am-4pm, and each program runs for 7,  1, or 21 week sessions, visiting different outdoor locations each week. ​

​Wild Child - Our classic play-based day in the wild.  Visiting a new park each week.  Hiking, tree climbing, mud-stomping fun. Crafts, games, and other activities are brought together with kid involvement, child-interest learning opportunities, and nature awareness. Children grow in social and kinetic awareness as they explore local habitats, play games, work on crafts and make friends. Children will learn outdoor safety as they are introduced to plants, animals and survival skills. Ages 5-12. 

Wild Skills - Emphasis is on survival skills like tracking, knife carving, friction fire, snares, knots, bird language and stealth, with plenty of space for free play. Wild Skills focuses on outdoor exploration and nature awareness while fostering social development and a sense of community. Older program kids are encouraged to become mentors and will have ample opportunity to do so.
Ages 8-15.

Wild Projects - For kids who want to be stewards of the wild places they love to visit. This group will have an opportunity to meet, work with, and learn from other conservation groups and organizations. There will be time for structured and unstructured activities. This program will allow kids to roll up their sleeves and dig into subjects that inspire them. We want to provide challenges, self-directed learning opportunities, collaborations and long- term projects. Children should be excited about working as a group as well as individual learning goals, and able to listen to a variety of adult instructors. Ages 8-15.


Silicon Valley & South Bay Locations

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For parents, Wild Child can involve a good deal of driving. That's why we try to group our days by geographical focus, encourage families to carpool, and have only 1-2 "far-flung" locations per 14-week session. 

We try to balance finding the best wild places there are in the Bay Area with the needs of families to have locations closer to home. So we might enjoy places in the heart of Silicon Valley (like Wunderlich, Arastradero, Rancho San Antonio and Stevens Creek County Park) several times per session. 

Places that take us way out there (like Bean Hollow State Beach, Sanborn Park, or Natural Bridges State Park) we visit less frequently, but value for the depth of experience that it brings to our program. We find that kids have fun in nature whether it's semi-urban or totally wild. But there's something to be said for the deep wonder and connection we find in the less-visited and more wild places of the Bay Area. 
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SILICON VALLEY LOCATIONS

Friday Silicon Valley Wild Child
Friday Silicon Valley Wild Projects

Peninsula-centric, ranging from Cupertino to Redwood City
**Note that Wild Child and Wild Projects may occasionally have different meeting points, which will be as close to each other as possible.


SOUTH BAY LOCATIONS 

Thursday South Bay Wild Child
Thursday South Bay Wild Skills
Thursday South Bay Wild Teen Development

Regular locations range from Cupertino to Morgan Hill


"What makes people smart, curious, alert, observant, competent, confident, resourceful, persistent - in the broadest and best sense, intelligent - is not having access to more and more learning places, resources, and specialists, but being able in their lives to do a wide variety of interesting things that matter, things that challenge their ingenuity, skill, and judgement, and that make an obvious difference in their lives and the lives of people around them." 

- John Holt, Teach Your Own 
Wild Child is a fiscally-sponsored project of the 501c3 tax-exempt organization
The Children Are Our Future.
EIN 85-0409005
2014 All Rights Reserved