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Cowichan Wolf Teens
Ages 12 - 15 3 days per week Sept-Dec in Cowichan , 6 week winter semester in Yucatan/Belize, March-June in Cowichan Fall Semester - September 12- Dec 14 Winter Semester- January 9-25 (Cowichan) February expedition trip (dates to be finalized) Spring Semester - March 20 - June 21 Mondays - 10am - overnight Tuesdays - overnight - 3pm (or optional bridge program) Wednesdays - 10am -3pm Thursdays - Home study day The Program The Teen program will start with the Foundational Naturalist Training Program and build on the foundation of comfort and knowledge of the natural world to focus on self sufficiency skills, tracking & awareness and wilderness survival with the attitude of an earth steward. Games, We endeavour to create an educational environment that helps homeschooled teenagers engage their natural intelligence and awaken their innate abilities to perceive and connect with the world around them. Students will immerse themselves in intensive, experiential studies of nature from both scientific and indigenous perspectives. Why Study Nature? For millions of years, humans have lived in direct contact with the natural world, and our senses developed to attend to its rhythms and sounds. It is only in the last couple of hundred years that we have insulated ourselves from nature with things like buildings and cars and pavement. One unfortunate result of this separation is that our senses atrophy from lack of use. With no reason to pay attention to birds, we don’t even see them as they fly by. We don’t hear the deer or raccoon as they sneak away through the bushes. And we slowly grow deaf to our own intuition and instincts which guide and connect us to the world. What happens when young people expand their awareness of the world around them and pay attention to their inner voice, their intuition, and their heart is truly remarkable.These students gain an understanding of the natural flow of things that puts them in better balance with themselves and the world around them. As their confidence grows, they find themselves firmly on the path towards developing into physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually centered people. We consider ourselves Mentors rather than Teachers. We shy away from lecturing students about facts they should know, and instead emphasize helping students to find their interests and gain the skills to question, investigate and explore the world around them. The Art of Mentoring is a delicate dance, and every student presents unique gifts and challenges to us. As a result, close personal attention is crucial for successful mentoring. Our approach to studying nature combines modern scientific understanding with the more first-hand connections that ancient cultures had with the natural world. Over the course of a year teens will focus on many topics, including:
To this experiential understanding we add a cognitive component as our students research the current topic through books, field guides, videos, lectures and other resources which will be provided though our online learning community program that students can access at home and will form an integral part of the learning program. The Montessori program for the young adult from age twelve to fifteen is very different from that of traditional school. Dr. Montessori felt that because of the rapid growth, the increased need for sleep, and hormonal changes, it is useless to try to force the adolescent to concentrate on intellectual work. She recommended an Erdkinder, or Earth school, where children would live close to nature, eat fresh farm products, and carry on practical work related to the economics of supplying food, shelter, transportation, and so forth. Intellectual work is still done, following the child's interests, but without pressure. We will be accepting 12 students into the program. Tuition Program Costs Cost of the basic fall and spring semesters as well as the 3 week Cowichan program and programming in Yucatan/Belize is $4000 for the year which can be paid in 10 monthly installments of $400 beginning on Sept 1 2015. Additional costs will include food for the overnights, traveling costs for the winter excursion trip and optional bridge and driving (for pick up and drop off possibilities). Please contact us for more information |
program deposit
$300 deposit for Teen Earth program