Off the beaten path: A deep dive into nature homeschooling

Erik Cheng & Mandy Mah

Wake up. Go to school. Attend classes. Go home.

This is the typical day in the life of a high school student in the U.S. Wake up. Play a game. Sing a song in the morning circle. Develop a relationship with nature. Play another game. Listen and share thoughts of gratitude in a circle at the end of the day.

This is the typical day of a homeschooled student participating in a Nature Homeschooling program.

Organizations like the Riekes Center combine nature and education to provide a space for homeschooled children to develop bonds with each other and the environment around them.

Outside of their core curriculum, students of all ages attend the programs once a week for exercise, and to develop a set of outdoor skills.

"There were tons of different activities that went on in a day. They would range from games or group skills such as knifework, rope making, and other such crafts," said Nikhil Srinivasan, a homeschooled student and attendee of many outdoor homeschooling programs.

To better facilitate the bond between nature and students, programs are set in large, remote outdoor spaces like Huddart Park to allow students to immerse themselves in the environment.

There, students are encouraged to explore off the trail and examine the local flora and fauna. The freedom and encouraged exploration allowed former program attendee and current Carlmont freshman, Annie Ievers, to cultivate her independence.

"All of these programs were run with the mentality of 'do what you want but don't get hurt while doing it,'" Ievers said. "The nature programs helped me develop a strong sense of self because they let you make your own choices."

Another distinguishing feature of the nature programs is the sit spot. Students are given a portion of every session to separate and find a spot in nature. The isolation allows children to observe nature changing around them.

"It's the mindset and awareness that you cultivate in sit spot that was inspired by the daily life of indigenous people. In a huntergatherer society, you had to be paying attention to the most intricate layers of how nature was unfolding, and we want to have our students to do the same," Kate Peters, the director of Nature Homeschooling at the Riekes Center, said. with animals while attending the program to fuel their future career aspirations.

Through the observational skills developed in sit spot, students can even witness the life cycle of an animal from birth to death firsthand, giving them a deeper insight into humanity's impact on nature.

"We once tracked a gray fox for a full season through the mud. We eventually found her hit by a car," Peters said. "The impact of seeing an animal and tracing it to a human-caused death will lead a person to consider how they are impacting nature and how humanity is impacting the planet's climate."

This new perspective on life allows Ievers to apply her experiences to higher educational dreams.

"I want to go into biotech, and that has 100% been affected by all the nature programs I have been in. At this point I need to be connected to nature in some way," Ievers said.

"I heavily believe that these nature programs sparked my interest in premed or veterinary medicine. These programs even helped me get a job at a goat farm, allowing me to develop my interest further," Srinivasan said.

Ultimately, the weight of deciding the educational path of a student falls on the parents. Certain parents might recognize that their children need a different environment to learn, but may not be willing to give up the stability of traditional education that has been built upon for years. However, these organizations do not only strive to provide another educational path, but also to teach its students how to live life to the fullest.

"The greatest potential of the human spirit is very present in the Riekes Center. I think it's a loss that most people have not been encouraged to view their life as an incredibly magical adventure where they could expand into the person who they could be," Peters said. l