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Homeschool Nature Program for Kids
Youth School

Wilderness Awareness Youth School is a nature course for homeschooled children ages 7-12. Through creative play and exploration, Youth School participants work together in small groups, gaining nature awareness and knowledge of plants, mammals, tracking, birds, and survival.

During the year, there are field trips, three overnight experiences, and guest speakers and instructors in various topics.

There is a maximum group size of 9 students per instructor to ensure opportunities for individual attention and mentoring, so be sure to register your child early for this homeschool nature program.

2008-2009 School Information

Class Meets: (choose a section)
Section 1: Wed. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; (Ages 7-9)
Section 2: Thurs. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; (Ages 7-9)
Section 3: Thurs. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.;(Ages 10-12)

(*We are 15 min. from Woodinville, WA; 20 min. from Redmond, WA; 30 min. from Bellevue, WA; and 50 min. from Seattle, WA).

Classes start: The week of September 8, 2008
Classes end: The week of June 1, 2009

Tuition

Annual tuition: $2180. Non-refundable Deposit: $545, due upon registration (includes $25 place-holder deposit). Remainder payable in three payments due September 1, January 1, and April 1.

To Apply

Call our office: 425-788-1301.

Scholarships

If you require tuition assistance, we invite you to submit a Scholarship Application along with your application for Youth School (download a Scholarship Application in PDF format, complete it and mail it in).

The $545 non-refundable registration deposit is required to hold the place of all registrants, regardless of scholarship status. If, within two weeks of scholarship notification, scholarship applicants decide not to commit to the course, we will refund your deposit in full. (This is the only situation where the deposit is refundable.)

Our Educational Philosophy

At the core of our approach to educating young people is our concept of "Passion-based learning." This is the idea that every one of us has special gifts to bring to the world, things that spark our passions in life.

Our school's fundamental goal is to awaken this spirit in our students, and to help them identify and pursue their gifts. We believe that the most effective learning happens when young people are pursuing what they love, and so truly desire to learn.

Equally important is our philosophy that the most effective learning happens when students figure things out "on their own."

In their efforts to do this, they are individually guided by mentors who strive to create experiences and opportunities for students to discover their own answers.

We call this method Coyote Mentoring, a technique that encourages creative thinking rather than providing answers, and results in much deeper learning. It also stimulates the growth of problem-solving skills, and stretches the students into greater self-sufficiency in their living and learning.

Our Instructors

Laura Gunion is the Coordinator of Youth School, as well as a Coordinator and a lead instructor at Community School. She began her work for Wilderness Awareness School after completing our Residential Program, and came to that course with a wealth of experience working with people in the outdoors--as an instructor at Teton Science School, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, and the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education, among other courses. Laura received her B.A. in Child Studies from Tufts University in 1995, completed the National Outdoor Leadership School’s Semester in the Rockies in 1996, and finished a year-long Professional Residency in Environmental Education through Utah State University and Teton Science School in 2001. In her spare time you may find Laura splashing in the stream at her house, doing yoga, painting, dancing, learning how to make local plant medicines, or making cookies.

Sol Marie Doran is a Lead Instructor at Youth School. She is also a Lead instructor and Coordinator at Roots and Wings. She came to Wilderness Awareness School from southern California, where she worked with Wilderness Youth Project, ran an early childhood outdoor program, and earned a B.S. in Ecology. She currently studies naturalist skills with Kamana and herbalist skills at Ravencroft. Her other passions include beekeeping, ethnic dance, and gardening.

Johnny Miller is an instructor at Youth School, Monthly Programs and with Special Programs and Expeditions. He hails from the North Cascades, where he has worked for 11 years for the Forest Service as a Wilderness Ranger, trail builder, and a forest fire fighter. He has also trained with and worked for the Boulder Outdoor Survival School in Utah, taking adults on expeditions from mountains to desert with minimal gear. Johnny has a bachelor's degree from the Evergreen State College in Ethnobotany, and an A.A.S degree in Forestry from Green River Community College. Some of his passions are: rowing his boat amidst the beautiful islands of the Pacific northwest, walking in the wild areas of the world, and growing and gathering food from nature's bounty.

Cyndi O'Brien is a Coordinator and a Lead Instructor at Roots and Wings. She found her love for the natural world while attending summer camp as a youngster and being a camp counselor as a teen. After traveling Europe and attaining a University degree in Fine Arts and Crafts with an emphasis in Secondary Education, Cyndi found the work she loved--sharing nature with children. Cyndi has taught Environmental Education in Southern and Northern California for several years before and after graduating from the Residential Program in 2003. In 2006 after having adventures in Alaska, she returned to Washington and joined the Wilderness Awareness School staff to teach Youth School and Roots and Wings. Cyndi is excited about permaculture, canning food, sitting in her sit spot, music, learning more about nature and having wild adventures.

Laura Hersh is an instructor with Youth School and Roots and Wings. She is a lover of all things nature, and grew up by the Salt Marsh on Long Island where she spent many days in the woods fishing, catching frogs and just daydreaming. Laura has been an outdoor educator since 2001 with Nassau Boces Outdoor Education, Ferry Beach Ecology School, Touch of Nature Education Center, The Cache River Wedlands Center in southern Illinois, the SCA in Alaska - where she created a Junior Ranger program - and Nature Vision in Redmond, Washington. She is a 2007 graduate of Wilderness Awareness School's Residential Program. Laura loves mentoring children and learns daily through their wonder.

Lindsay Huettman loves her roles as Youth School Instructor and Outreach Coordinator for Youth Programs. Her primary passion is connecting humans to wilderness through the use of native plants. This inspired her to complete a degree at WWU in Ethnobotany Stewardship Education. This can include anything from eating Hemlock cambium and discussing its nutritional benefits, to making baskets out of Cedar roots and dying them with lichens! Other passions include leading wilderness survival, whitewater rafting and kayaking expeditions; writing and playing music, and creating dynamic environmental education curriculum for K-12. She has a background in organic farming, landscaping, horse packing & training, homeschool support and is an avid plant dork when it come to biochemistry. Most of all she loves to sit in the woods and watch the leaves uncurl each spring.