youth program participants // photo by Dave Hage
At Wild Tenders, the local ecosystem is the classroom — the woods, creeks, meadows, hills, plants, and animals come magically alive through exploration, interaction, story, and consistent contact through the seasons. This direct experience and meaningful play help our students to know themselves as interdependent, ecological beings.
As with all of our programs, Wild Tenders is simultaneously committed to education that cultivates earth intimacy and that interrupts the socialization of dominant, oppressive systems that have caused so many social, ecological, and existential crises that we face today. We do this work in service to our vision of a world deeply rooted in interrelationship, respect for life, and shared protection of the planet upon which we all depend.
Before applying, please read below about how each pillar relates to our youth programs. We present this information so you can decide if our approach aligns with your family’s vision and values. If you have any questions, please email us at youthprograms@weavingearth.org.
For an additional overview of our curriculum, please take a look at our Core Curriculum page.
PLEASE NOTE: For youth who are on the cusp of these age groups (6-turning-7 or 10-turning-11, e.g.), we like to have a conversation with the parents to decide whether the younger or older group is a better fit.
Each day of the Quail Covey follows the foundations of our 4 curricular pillars, described above. To read an overview of what happens in the Quail group, click the “Read More” button below.
Cultivating Creativity will focus on art and creative expression, wildcrafting, music, song, stories and storytelling, building the confidence to dream new worlds and futures, and much more.
To read an overview of how we approach education in the Otters and Bobcat cohorts, click the “Read More” button below.
We have some scholarship funds available and we prioritize supporting indigenous families, black families, and other families of color, as well as folx from other marginalized groups, single working parents, parents between jobs, parents with disabilities, et cetera. If financial assistance beyond the sliding scale would be supportive for you in joining this program, you can indicate that in your application. Once we have a sense of the overall need, we will do our best to accommodate everyone’s requests.
Weaving Earth is a vendor with two California Charter Schools. If you are enrolled with them, you may be able to take the Wild Tenders program as a 1 day per week enrichment class using Educational Support Funds. You can learn more about each school by visiting their websites, linked below. To enroll in one of these schools, contact the school directly and they will set you up with an education specialist.
From Compass Charter’s website:
“Compass Charter Schools is one of California’s leading WASC-accredited virtual charter schools of choice.”
From Heartwood’s website:
“Heartwood Charter School is a local, teacher led, community created independent study public school. We are proud to offer strong curriculum programs that provide educational choice to our families.”
Finally, we offer flexible payment plan schedules. The following options can be combined with either of the aforementioned financial assistance options to create a tuition program that works for your family. We will ask you to specify in your application what your financial plans/needs are for Wild Tenders, but please note that you will not be asked to sign an official financial agreement until after you have been accepted. For now, we want you to have this information for your planning purposes.
Some families choose to make a one-time full payment before the start of the year.
Many families elect to pay their tuition in installments. This option is available to anyone, including families who are receiving Charter School assistance or scholarship funds. We ask for payments starting in July to hold your spot and plan the program accordingly. Refund policies are outlined in the Financial Agreement you receive upon acceptance into the program. We offer two Payment Plans:
Under the Quarterly Payment Plan (QPP), you will make four equal tuition payments spread throughout the year. These payments will be due on:
Under the Monthly Payment Plan (MPP), you will make ten monthly payments starting on July 15, 2022 and concluding on April 15, 2023.
If you submit an application before Monday, May 2nd, we will consider your application as part of our first round of acceptance decisions. Submitting an application does not guarantee that you will be accepted in this first round. We will notify you of a decision on Monday, May 9th. If you are accepted, you will have two weeks (until Monday, May 23rd) to complete all of your registration paperwork and make a deposit to secure your spot.
If you submit an application between Monday, May 2nd and Monday, May 16th, you will automatically be placed on our Waiting List and we will consider your application as part of our second round of acceptance decisions if there is space. We will notify you of your updated status on Monday, May 23rd. If you are accepted, you will have two weeks (until Monday, June 6th) to complete all of your registration paperwork and make a deposit to secure your spot.
If you submit an application after Monday, May 16th, you will automatically be placed on our Waiting List and we will consider your application as part of our third round of acceptance decisions. We will notify you of your updated status within two weeks of receiving your application.
Please submit a separate copy of both applications for each child.