Bay Area Rangers Guild: Outdoor Homeschool
A Weekly Nature Immersion Course for Homeschoolers
Nature is Our Classroom
Ages 6-8 & 9-12 For most of human history, hunter-gatherer cultures raised their children competently, aware of their roles, and aware with their senses. Spending nearly every moment out-of-doors they were completely connected to nature through their lives and livelihoods.
Our homeschool programs move beyond conventional schooling and returns to this timeless way of learning that is both collaborative and rich in experience. This hands-on program reclaims adventure from TV and video games by creating participatory experiences that guide the senses, offering an opportunity for parents, children, and instructors to fully explore our own rich stories.
Join the Ranger's Guild
Train stealth, tracking and wilderness survival skills. If you ever loved the books My Side of the Mountainor Lord of the Rings the Rangers Guild is where you want to be. Rangers may build a shelter, learn to carve wood, safely make fire with no matches, craft simple bows or train outdoor fitness arts through fun stealth games. Rangers are also master naturalists, they know the language and sign of all birds, beasts and plants that live in wild.
Seasonal Session Sign up for one season at a time. Monthly payment plans and limited scholarships avialable. Contact Us for more information
Fall Sesions September 13-December 21, 2010
Spring Sessions January 10-May 23, 2011 (includes overnight camp out, dates TBA)
Taster Day Sign up for the first day of class, no commitment. Then sign up for the full session. Please note that if you enroll after the taster day, seasonal tuition is still full price in addition to the taster day tuition.
Please read every word on this page together with your child. Especially "A Good Fit?" at the bottom.
Register for Rangers Guild Home School Fall 2010
| Add to cart |
Ages 6-8 & 9-12
$650
Berkeley "Outdoor Explorers" Sept 13-Dec 17, 2010 every Monday 9:30am-3pm Tilden Park |
| Add to cart |
Ages 6-8 & 9-12
$650
Fairfax "Dirt Time" Sept 13-Dec 17, 2010 every Monday 9:30am-3pm Lake Lagunitas |
| Add to cart |
Ages 6-8 & 9-12
$650
Mill Valley "Coyote's Path" Sep 17-Dec 17, 2010 every Friday 9:30am-3pm Oakwood Valley |
| Add to cart |
Ages 6-8 & 9-12
$650
Redwood Regional Sep 17-Dec 17, 2010 every Friday 9:30am-3pm Redwood Regional Park, Oakland, CA |
| Contact Us to register |
Ages 6-8 & 9-12
$50
Taster Day First day of seasonal session 9:30am-3pm |
Our Teaching Philosophy
We give students a holistic understanding of the natural world and our place as humans within it. It is our goal that students gain confidence, camaraderie, self reliance, and a strong connection to nature. Our experienced staff of instructors is there to facilitate a process of discovery for each participant. Our low instructor to child ratio of 1:5 allows for a rare individualized learning experience.
Rangers Guild Homeschool Instructors: Greg Sommer (Berkeley), Mia Andler (Fairfax), Spencer Nielsen (Fairfax and Mill Valley), Kiea Spake-Wright (Mill Valley)
Ages 6-12 Rangers Home School includes
Wilderness Skills Learn from our best traditional skills instructors. As we craft simple bows out of local wood or practice the essentials of wilderness survival.
Outdoor Safety From lost-proofing to poisonous plants and hazardous animals, we practice staying safe in the wilderness
Naturalist Awareness Track herds of wild deer, and discover the daily routines of local coyote packs and Great Horned Owls and move in the forest silently. Learn lessons of ecology and biology through adventure and play.
Tending the Land Participate in the delicate balance of nature through restoration and learn how to tread lightly on the land
Village Building Become a tribe with your fellow homeschoolers. Lessons of team-building and peacemaking are invisibly interwoven into each day.
Ethnobotany and Permaculture Learn the uses of local plants and how to grow them
Ecological Arts and Crafts Join the artisans guild in the magic of creating natural plant dyes, clay pots and musical instruments
Skills of the Sea Visit our Mariners Guild each session to discover the joys and skills of sailing and learn about ocean life
A Good Fit?
Before you register PLEASE READ the critical information below to help you decide if your program is the right match for you or you child. TrackersNW invests in families and students dedicated to maturity and accountability as a team. The experience of your child is heightened as these filters insure a safe, supportive and competent collaboration with both our instructors and all other team members (including students).
This program is a good fit for the child and parent who...
• trust one another
• are interested in and empathetic to the natural world
• crave a different way of experiencing and seeing both natural and modern world
• want to have fun
• possess a sense of adventure
• make intelligent choices
• display competent autonomy when needed
• can make and keep clear agreements concerning safety
• can help insure the safety of their peers and collaborators
• works diligently toward adult accountability, consequences and responsibility
• will come dressed appropriately to stay warm, dry and healthy
• is okay with being muddy, cold and wet at times
• can be a real kid
• shares well with others
This program is NOT a good fit for children who...
• are not interested in nature & scout awareness
• are not empathetic for the natural world
• are being forced to come to camp
• cannot display competent autonomy when needed
• cannot make and keep clear agreements and choices concerning safety
• is kept inside all the time so may be uncomfortable
• will not dress appropriately to stay warm, dry and healthy
• is not okay with being muddy, cold and wet at times
• has trouble working with others and respecting the needs of other participants
Please note that if your child is positively working on behavior, we are willing to work with them and you with clear agreements
We help children to feel like that group of kids wandering country backyards 50 years ago: independent, tired, muddy, wet and happy from the woods and wild. We are acutely aware of full and real hazards of the out of doors after years of working in environmental education. We try to move away from the highly structured and limiting tolerances of conventional environmental education while keeping kids truly safe but not encapsulated from, or phobic of nature. We are deep patriots to the value of offering guided yet very free and transparent experiences for kids. We believe it is okay to be thirsty at times, cold at times, and wet at times. It builds empathy and care for the gifts of life. It fosters adventure and sincere accomplishment. We also believe it is critical to feel supported and cared for as they truly explore their passion and responsibility. And through a healthy life immersed in nature, they test the limits and great potential of the often untapped physical and emotional resiliency they possess
Follow us