Adventure/Outdoors Camp,
Backpacking Camp,
Creative Writing Camp,
Day Camps,
Environmental Camp
Student-Teacher Ratio 9:1
Wilderness Survival 5-8.5 and Ancestral Survival 9-14; Ratio 9:1
The BEan In Nature Naturalist Mentoring program offers students the unique opportunity to interact with the natural environment through many real-life and creative ways that are adventurous, challenging, exciting, and promote inquiry and observation skills.
A strong guiding principle behind this program is to provide quality “dirt-time” experiences that allow learning about nature to happen by interacting with it. This process allows students to build positive relationships with the earth, and to gain confidence and competence that will serve as a foundation for their own realization that they are not separate from the natural world and their actions can make a positive difference.
This is a full immersion, hands-on program. This means that our classroom is the forest and our teachers are the redwood trees, dragonflies, shifting winds, and tracks on the ground. Rain or shine, wind or heat, our classroom is the perfect learning environment.
As a field-based program, our structure helps guide our days, yet we allow for the unknown events of nature to weave in and out of our daily rhythm. These moments often provide us with the best opportunities for growth and understanding of our surroundings.
Our job, as earth educators in BEan In Nature, is to support, guide, role model, create safety for the multi-aged students to engage, grow and learn; to role model boundaries; and to set safety parameters within the environment of the program day. We do know there will be conflicts and difficulties at times. This is bound to occur.
One of our many jobs as earth educators is to support and guide the children within our program as they grow into their appropriate social-emotional development, learning positive conflict resolution, forming positive relationships, and learning how to deal effectively with conflict as it occurs.
What they will learn?
Students learn critical thinking and stewardship in small-group, nature-based lessons that are safe, engaging, fun, and memorable. The core program is held and woven together by Marisa Bean with her thoughtfully chosen teachers.
Who can participate?
Participants include homeschooling families interested in participating in a nature-based program that fosters respect for the earth and a deepened awareness of the interconnectedness of all life.
Each year we create a team of phenomenal nature educators– each with his/her own inspirational life experiences and primitive and naturalist skills to share.
Our Teachers/Earth Educators undergo a background check.
Each Earth Ed teacher has taken mandated reporter training by abuse prevention systems and is fingerprinted.
The Teachers have completed at least one of the following if not multiple: NOLS Wilderness First Aid Training; Red Cross CPR; basic First Aid (including EpiPen administering).
Teachers are prepared to run camps in pre-established groups from 12 to 20 campers.
Our teacher-to-camper ratio is (1:9), WITH every teacher supported by 1 or more Co-Teachers, 1 or more Teen Assistants, and 1 or more Teen Leaders in Training per camp who have taken our TEEN Leader camp certification training pre camp time.
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Fledgling Forest Outdoor NatureLed Summer Camp
Ratio 6:1
How We Teach:
- Small groups
- Hands-on projects
- Guided exploration
- Stories, games, writing activities
- Student centered activities
- Acute observation and inquiry skill
- Low instructor-to-student ratios
Fledgling Forest Outdoor NatureLed Summer Camp, designed for children ages 3 to 5. Your kiddo must have the 3 Ps, I can Pack, Poop and Play. 12 children can attend.
Fledglings are dropped off, to our Teacher. We explore natural settings such as Anderson Lake Park and Stevens Creek park. We start our day with a morning circle with stories, songs and snacks to bring us into our adventures and explorations of the day.
What if it rains? We put on boots and rain gear! Extra clothes are always kept available so the children can change into dry things after wet or muddy adventures. We might even bring out the fire wood and cook over an open fire.
