A forest school is a method of outdoor education, in which the students engage in natural spaces to dive into social, interpersonal, and physical skills that are highly applicable in our 21st century world. The history of learning from nature is as old as humankind, yet the pedagogical model of forest schools emerged in Europe and Scandinavia in the mid 1900’s, and eventually made it to the U.S. in the 1990s. EverWild's forest school model places emphasis on observation, natural inquiry, environmental stewardship and engagement with place as a source of strength, wisdom, and growth. The rhythm of our day presents a predictable and safe container for children to explore freely within. An emergent curriculum allows for children's curiosity, interests, and engagement with nature to lead the day. EverWild mentors model their own curiosity and engagement with nature while providing materials and tools to take these observations and inquiries to deeper discoveries. With the focus on what is showing up for us on the landscape, projects and activities organically coincide with place-based learning, ecological literacy, and the Next Generation Science Standards.

We recommend starting your Forest School journey as soon as feasible for your family. Many EverWild families begin by enrolling their child in a Forest Preschool or Kindergarten. After graduating at age 6, many forest schooling families begin homeschooling through an online charter school or a Private School Affidavit. Homeschoolers often enroll in EverWild's Nature Immersion Homeschool Enrichment Program 1-4 days/week on a monthly basis. To discover more about Homeschooling and EverWild's partnered charter schools please visit our Homeschool Resource page.

Apart from the magic that unfolds at each class our day is best explained by the rhythm of the day. We utilize project time as a way to dig deeper into the group’s interests and explorations. View a few project and activity examples here!

Encompassing forest-school and place-based learning philosophies, children spend 100% of their day outdoors, immersed in the local environment and alongside nature-based mentors. Children are guided by nature as they play, explore, discover, and create. EverWild enhances children's social and emotional development, 21st-century skills, and ecological literacy.

EverWild supports the development of the Whole Child. We recognize 21st century skills as collaboration and teamwork, creativity and imagination, problem solving, and critical thinking skills.

Mentors develop projects based on children's interests, naturally occurring events in nature, environmental stewardship skills, and Next Generation Science Standards. This organic approach to inquiry based learning in nature develops children’s understanding of Earth’s living systems and their relationship to all living things. This is known as ecological literacy.

Children direct and manage their own learning while inspiring and learning from one another; experiencing all roles from leader, supporter, expert, apprentice, and friend.

EverWild mentors are trained through Wilderness Awareness School’s Coyote Mentoring. Our mentors are role models for your child, trusted leaders, and are often looked up to as magical wizards that know how to capture your child’s curiosity and engage them with their natural gifts. Nature will challenge your child as they take the long way through Los Angeles’ canyons, beaches, and wetlands to experience a journey all their own. Your child may often come home beaming from a day of excitement and riveting with stories, but when asked what they learned they will often find the answer difficult to grasp. This is a sign that they are fully immersed in an “invisible school”. To give you a window into our day together, mentors will post photos and a description of the day to our private facebook group. Families are encouraged to review the photos with their child to learn more about their experiences at EverWild. With each class your child will expand their awareness and their understanding of the world around them. With nature as their teacher and alongside EverWild mentors, your child will go further into their experiences developing a deeper relationship with themselves, others, and the natural world with each adventure in the wild.

Our number one priority is your child’s physical and emotional safety. All mentors are required to be First Aid and CPR certified. We perform FBI background checks, professional, and personal background checks on all mentors prior to hire. There are several policies that we have put in place to support your child in safe exploration and risk-taking in a group setting. EverWild provides in-depth training of these policies and protocols and ongoing professional development opportunities to retain highly skilled mentors. We provide a low student to mentor ratio of 6 children to 1 mentor to ensure we are available to support your child’s needs in a group setting.

Learn more about EverWild mentors, administrators and founders here.

We understand that the first few days of Forest School is a transitional period for children and families. We encourage new families to enroll into a Tour Day to help introduce the program.

We work with families to support children with drop-off by meeting them where they are at. Although not all children are alike, we often see that children do best when they are given the opportunity to say goodbye and then handed off to the mentors to receive comfort and reassurance. Once we get moving in the van and our mentors start storytelling or song, children often settle, become engaged and get excited about their experience. Our mentors will often text families to let them know how their child is doing following drop-off.

For the Finches in SCV (w/ van) - The EverWild Van can be a new experience for many children. We encourage all families to allow their child the opportunity to ride in the EverWild Van on their first day so that they can get familiar with the flow of the day. Our mentors are well equipped with helping children in their transition. We have the van stocked with books, stories and music to help children feel comfortable and excited for the day! Please connect with the Mentors if you feel that your child might need to be driven by you to the locations for the first few times, we are happy to accommodate a slower transition for children who need it.

Why can’t parents attend?

At this time we require families to follow our drop-off policy. Although parents attending can be very beneficial (such as helping parents to gain an appreciation of our philosophy, creating meaningful memories, and building a deeper relationship to nature alongside their child), it has also proven to change the class in many ways that make it difficult for us to provide these unique experiences that our classes aim to achieve for the children.

Having only mentors present helps the children build trust with the mentors and their peers and autonomy in their own decision making and safe risk taking. Without additional adults present, the mentors are more focused on the children and addressing their challenges. Additionally, we require all adults present to complete a background check and to be trained in EverWild's learning philosophy, policies and procedures. For these reasons and more we encourage your family to attend our Orientation Day scheduled for the beginning of the school year & enroll into a tour day.

While we cannot adequately accommodate all learning differences, we are able to meet a range of needs following inclusionary classroom methods. Where we are unable to meet a child’s needs, we are often able to direct families to programs or experts that can best support their child including Nature-based Occupational Therapists.

Learn more about EverWild’s connection with nature-based therapists here.

Children must come prepared to each class with all items in the required list. Having the proper gear will support your child in being comfortable and prepared for all weather and terrain conditions.

Required

• Proper fitting backpack (over both shoulders)

• Water (two bottles, one can be frozen)

• Lunch & snack

• Change of clothes

• Towel (hand towel/Turkish towel)

• Sunscreen (applied before drop off & packed in backpack)

• Weather appropriate clothes

Recommended

• Bandana

• Journal and Pencil/Pen/Colored Pencils

• Personal First Aid Kit (Bandaids/antibacterial cream)

• Tools for exploring (Binoculars, compass, bird whistle, magnifying glass, bug catcher, catch and release container ($10 on Amazon)

Rainy Day Packing List

For the Body:

• Layers. No cotton if possible! Cotton takes a long time to dry and will not insulate. Choose merino wool or synthetic base layers.

• Fleece Jacket with Hood.

• Waterproof Jacket with Hood and Waterproof Pants.

• Wool Socks. They make all the difference!

• Rain Boots. Look into insulated rain boots for extra cold. (Likely not necessary in LA)

• Cozy Hat and Gloves.

For the Backpack:

• Rain Cover. A trash bag or poncho will also work!

• Packable Towel for drying off.

• Change of clothes in a waterproof bag.

• Umbrella

For the Belly:

• Warm Soup in Thermos.

• Hot Tea/Cocoa in Thermos.

There are several policies that we have put in place to support your child in safe exploration and risk-taking in a group setting. Read all of EverWild’s Policies & Protocols here.

School year enrollment option- Monthly billing only

Monthly enrollment reserve’s your child’s spot for the duration of the school year (September-May). Automatic payments are scheduled to be charged on the 1st of each month. The cost of enrollment is pro-rated when enrolling mid-month.

Cancelling Enrollment

To cancel your monthly enrollment please contact our office (info@everwildla.com) before the last working day of the month. We are unable to provide refunds when withdrawing mid-month. 

What is the cost of this program?

View EverWild’s 24-25 Class Catalog for current pricing

After graduating at age 6, many forest schooling families begin homeschooling through an online charter school or a Private School Affidavit. Homeschoolers often enroll in EverWild's Nature Immersion Homeschool Enrichment Program 1-4 days/week on a monthly basis. To discover more about Homeschooling and EverWild's partnered charter schools please visit our Homeschool Resource page.

Charter Schools & Funds:

EverWild’s Partnered Charter Schools:

• Blue Ridge Academy

• Heartland Charter School

• iLead Exploration Charter School

• Sage Oak Charter School

• Golden Valley Charter School

• Aveson Charter School

• Epic Charter School

• Elite Academic Academy

• Gorman Learning Network

• SunCoast Preparatory Academy

• Compass Charter School

• Granite Mountain

Each charter school has its own set of guidelines when submitting for funds, Please be sure to speak to your charter teacher regarding enrollment in EverWild and Charter Fund use.

*iLEAD currently only allows enrollment in 1 day/week in classes that do not use a van for transportation.

*Compass Charter will cover the cost of classes using a van but will not cover the cost of transportation. Please contact our office to determine the cost of your child's enrollment without van transportation

Aveson Process

1. Parents pay out of pocket

2. Parents submit an invoice and reimbursement form to Aveson

Aveson contact for parents: Blanca Hernandez blancahernandez@aveson.org626-797-1440 x160

How to pay using charter school funds:

Children enrolled in our partnered charter schools may use enrichment funds to offset the cost of classes.

1. Enroll through EverWild’s HiSawyer Registration system and at checkout, enter the promo code that matches the charter school your child is enrolled in.

   Charter Promo Codes:

   blueridgefunds, ileadfunds, sageoakfunds, heartlandfunds, goldenvalleyfunds, epicfunds, gormanfunds, suncoastfunds, compasscharterfunds, granitemountainfunds

2. After enrolling, submit a Purchase Order (PO) through your charter school for the cost of EverWild tuition (this is the amount deducted from your HiSawyer order). To ensure we receive your funds by the 1st, we suggest submitting a PO 30 days in advance.If you are unsure of the cost of your child’s tuition please contact our office. If you need help with submitting a PO please contact your charter school teacher.

Monthly Billing automatically schedules payments to be charged on the 1st of each month. To pay with funds, EverWild must receive a PO 7 working days prior to the 1st of the month. We can not guarantee refunds for late PO’s.

Have questions about your enrollment and billing? Please contact our registrar office 424-210-7077 or email info@everwildla.com.

Experiencing an issue with HiSawyer? click here to contact them.

We believe in creating opportunities for all children to benefit from meaningful experiences in nature.

We know families who are seeking support are often over burdened by additional work to receive it so we are happy to provide an application that is based on the honor system, not on additional fees and third party processes. Scholarship amounts are based on EverWild’s scholarship fund availability, financial need, the household income and family size information according to the EverWild HUD 2023-2024 chart and additional details provided in your application.

Visit Charter Funds & Scholarship for more information and to apply.