Maybe it’s because I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and miss being close to nature, or maybe because it’s now technically spring but still acting like winter (it snowed today), or maybe because there is just something enchanting and primitive about camping and being lost in the woods, but I would really love part of Lucius’s education to include a deep understanding of the outdoors and the natural world. I even have some direction on this one!
In a recent e-newsletter from Sparkle Stories, they recommended a summer camp in Vermont that really encourages the kids to explore and get to know nature. The camp is Kroka and they have a lot of neat looking programs for ages 6 through adult. Exploring their website led me to a list of schools they partner with for annual overnight excursions, which sound both to be very educational and a lot of fun. Unfortunately the only school in NJ is not anywhere near convenient. So I’ll squirrel these links away until Lucius is a little older.
This led me on a brief search to see what else exists out there. I stumbled across one which focuses not on primitive survival, but modern survival and ease in the woods. It’s actually the only one I’ve found so far that is for families. It’s based in Virginia or Oregon. So probably not one to keep in mind. Minimum age is 10, so we have a few years anyway.
And then there’s the Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, WA. I’ve decided if we ever end up moving back to Seattle, I’m enrolling Lucius and Howeberry#2 in this school. They offer programs for home schooled kids ages 4 – 18, as well as weekend and after school classes so classroom-bound kids can participate too. Honestly, it looks like a lot of fun and like a great community (even if their promotional videos give a strong hippie vibe). I may have fallen in love with the program, which I should know by now never to do until after reading 3rd party reviews.. Oh well!
Back to the here and now, we’ve decided to enroll Lucius in a Montessori preschool in the fall. If all goes to plan, Lucius will be attending the Madison Montessori School which is comfortably less than a mile from Drew University. The plan is Jason will take Lucius to school when he goes to work in the morning and I’ll pick him up. We’re still waiting for the official paperwork to complete his enrollment, but we’ve applied, attended a one-on-one evaluation with the director, and she was charmed by him. The director was impressed with his skill and speed at figuring out the cylinder blocks (“How old’s he again?”). She quickly discovered Lucius’s passion for trains when we all heard a nearby train during the evaluation, which literally derailed his focus on exploring the classroom. With a little effort she was able to bring his focus back by sharing an awesome book called Freight Trains. At the end of the evaluation she said they’d love to see him in their classroom this fall – that she’d just need a stash of puzzles and trains, and they’d be good.. at least for September.
I’m still trying to figure out how the preschool will work with the possibility of homeschooling him in the future. It’s an option we’re entertaining, but have several years to work out and decide. If anything, having Lucius in school, even part time, will allow the new baby and myself some time to bond and figure each other out. All I hope for is a smooth transition.