Our Approach to Teaching & Learning
We are living in a precarious era marked by unprecedented environmental shifts and critical social change. As parents, families, and communities we are called to respond to these changes in new ways – for our children, and future generations.
We are called to be Brave.
Nature is a teacher.
Cultures around the world believe that nature (including the human species!) already holds the answer to its sources of resilience and survival. What does it look like to let nature be our teacher? Can we learn to listen? What does it mean to share space with other lifeforms? What might paying attention and taking these relations seriously mean? What could we learn about living well together?
Learning is relational.
At Brave Nature School, we believe that learning is relational. Another way of saying this is that relationships ignite learning! Caregivers are a child's first teachers, they provide the very foundation to a little one's lifelong learning.
Learning is also intergenerational. Some of the most practical skills and meaningful lessons a child will learn have been passed down by elders, generation upon generation. As children step outside their family nests, their worlds rapidly expand. Experiences with community members, peers, and the natural environment further develop their understandings and broaden their perspectives. We invite you into the process of sharing bioregional, intergenerational and multicultural knowledge.
Learning is emergent.
Knowledge isn't simply given or received. Knowledge is actively exchanged and co-created as teachers, families, and the land come together. We believe that children are active protagonists in their own learning journeys and our curriculum and pedagogy are designed to be responsive. As each cohort is unique, no two programs will ever be alike.
A values-driven teaching and learning experience.
We are decidedly consent-based, anti-bias, and decolonizing in practice. We invite one another to engage in the process of unlearning any biases we may have acquired, while equipping ourselves with skills that promote body awareness and autonomy, collaboration, and reverence for our natural world.
We partner with Indigenous educators, micro-schools and organizations as we collectively work to break down barriers for community-based knowledge systems and re-center our relationship as an interconnected part of nature. In this way, we model a Brave, lifelong learning ethic while contributing to a truly relevant and individualized experience for each child.
Consent-Based Learning
Brave Nature School believes children are rights-holders – autonomous humans, with the right to be heard, respected and trusted; to make independent decisions; to bodily autonomy; and to freedom from manipulation and coercion. They are also active and capable protagonists in their own learning journey.
A consent-based learning environment not only offers freedom of movement, it also equips children with age-appropriate body awareness and safety skills so that they will come to trust in their own instincts, pursue their own curiosities with confidence, and direct their own learning experience.
Anti-Bias Community
Anti-bias education is about creating a safe and supportive learning community for all children. It is the practice of actively identifying and opposing harmful forms of bias towards marginalized identities and communities including but not limited to racism, homophobia, and ableism.
Nature teaches us the value of living in an anti-bias community. As ecosystems evolve, they organically become more diverse – this diversity creates more resources (not less) in a system. This is because plants and species need different nutrients to thrive, and they each generate abundant resources to share. Plants, trees, animals, and insects all understand that they can gain what they need by creating cooperative relationships. Instead of drawing all their resources from the soil, they start exchanging resources with other species or plants. Being a part of an anti-bias community means that we recognize we are all different, we are all connected, and we all have critical roles to play. In fact, our survival and thriving depends on everyone playing their unique parts.
Our Community Agreement
We commit to the practice of unlearning our biases, cultivating a consent-based environment, fostering little ones' self-trust and connecting deeply with one another and our place, while honoring our multicultural traditions.
Year-round Programming
Our programs run year-round, in all seasons and weather. This offers a unique opportunity to learn from the seasonal changes of the land, as well as the multicultural traditions that our community celebrates.
Children thrive in all weather types, as long as we prepare with the right gear (we'll provide a gear guide and offer a gear library for folks to borrow from if needed). We will meet outdoors come rain, snow, or shine.
Of course, exceptions will occur such as thunderstorms, heavy winds, or snow and ice that could make arriving to the program hazardous. Families will be notified in advance if a class needs to be rescheduled.
FAQs
What is the long-term vision for Brave Nature School? Our vision is to provide families and children with equitable access to full-time, year round programming with part-time and weekend options by Autumn 2025.
Tell me more about BNS values for social and planetary justice: At Brave Nature School we trust children. We respect the innate dignity, autonomy, and personhood of children. We believe in universal human rights including children's rights, the collective liberation of all peoples, and that all life forms and ecosystems are worthy of rights, care and deep respect. We stand with the #LandBack movement.
At Brave Nature School, we strive towards an abolitionist mindset and practice. We live this out in a variety of ways, including by integrating conflict transformation rather than a punitive disciplinary approach. An abolitionist mindset intersects with our consent based approach as we are mindful of power dynamics and avoid coercive language. When there is conflict, playworkers model and guide children through steps for transformative justice.
Do you have medical requirements? Brave Nature School requires a Health Assessment Form to be completed by a child's pediatrician for all drop-off programs.
FAQs Continued...
Are you hiring? We are currently accepting applications for playworkers!
Can I intern or volunteer? Yes, it truly takes a village to offer quality community-based care and education! Please send your resume and letter of interest to bravenatureschool@gmail.com.
Other questions? Please contact us at bravenatureschool@gmail.com.
