CURRENT PROGRAMS
Nature Days Curriculum
Frog Creek Adventure School is committed to supporting the growth of the whole child with attention to their physical, social, and emotional needs. Nature Days is an outdoor program for 6-12 year olds in the South Bay of Los Angeles, which includes time for unstructured exploration and play, as well as journaling, enriching activities, and storytelling.
NATURALIST AND ECOLOGY STUDIES:
Students will have an opportunity to cultivate a deep connection to nature. They will be exposed to regional plants, trees, birds, and mammals. Through mentoring, students will use observation, nature journaling, and field guides to develop knowledge about the local ecology. Students will gain information about animal tracking, patterns, and behaviors while exploring the ecology and wildlife landscape.
WILDERNESS AWARENESS:
Through sensory awareness games, journaling, safety assessment, mapping, and exploring, students will have the opportunity to orient themselves to the region and develop comfort with the wilderness environment.
LANGUAGE AND WRITING DEVELOPMENT:
Storytelling will be used to share nature information as well as to develop language. Students will have the opportunity to share stories with the group and develop writing skills in their nature journals.
NATURAL CRAFTS AND ART:
Mentors will expose students to art through nature journaling, simple drawing, and painting. Students will use natural materials to create crafts and art.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:
Students will be physically challenged throughout the semester. They will be exposed to many games that include running, jumping, crawling, and other physical challenges. Students will hike and explore in different terrains and weather which will help with their balance, body awareness, and physical development.
PERSONAL AWARENESS AND EXPRESSION:
Students will be supported to develop their passions and skills in the natural setting. They will be supported in developing comfort and confidence in their self-expression and in conflict resolution.
Froglet Nature Days & Frog Creek Adventurers
Froglet Nature Days (for ages 3-10) and Frog Creek Adventurers (for ages 6-12) include time for unstructured exploration and play as well as journaling, enriching activities, and storytelling. Frog Creek Adventure School is committed to supporting the growth of the whole child with attention to their physical, social, and emotional development.
Adventurers World Explorers
Adventurers World Explorers is for the oldest students at Frog Creek (ages 11-15). Our World Explorers program provides an opportunity for young teens to explore their identities, interests, and potential for effect on the world. It is a child-led, project-based program; this means that the group as a whole will choose our path forward, and our path will involve setting and achieving SMART goals.
We will choose one big project or several small projects to complete in the course of a semester, set with specific parameters of completion, and facilitated by capable and knowledgeable mentors. Projects can range anywhere from building a treehouse, creating a short film, fundraising fun (yet educational) field trips, or anything else we dream up. This program costs a little bit more than the others in order to cover entry fees and project materials. We will have a budget and learn to work within the means of - or otherwise find creative ways to increase - our budget. The only limit to our capabilities is our
imaginations!
Afternoon Art
Frog Creek Afternoon Art is an outdoor art program for 4+ year olds. The nature art series is a weekly art project in a natural setting. Potential projects include: tie-dye, sand art, scratch paper, flower fairy & gnome houses, splatter, spin, & pour (messy paint techniques), paper maché bowls, sun catchers, and lanterns, leads & string (paper bead making, jewelry, friendship bracelets, lanyards), stamp & print making, bookmarks, wood burning, nature art, and animal sketching.
Frog Creek S.T.E.A.M.
Our new [Art + S.T.E.M.] class is a is a project-based class for 4+ year olds. Building on our original outdoor art program [Afternoon Art], this class adds S.T.E.M. projects into the mix.
Participants will have access to a different weekly art project, a STEM project, and can also choose to enjoy free play in nature. Potential STEM projects include: Gardening, composting basics, tinkering, Fall, Winter, & Spring “Tastes” Lab, Simple Machines, and more.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
FALL SEMESTER BREAKS:
Native American Heritage Week Break is November 25th to November 29th
Winter Break is December 23rd to January 3rd
SPRING SEMESTER BREAKS:
Spring Break is April 1st through April 5th
Each class meets for 17 weeks, rain or shine.
In the case of potential unsafe weather (flooding, lightning, etc.) we will do our best to offer
class in a safe location but it may be cancelled or shortened and refunds will not be given. ______________________________________________________________________________
How to enroll: $200 deposit is required to hold your spot with the completed enrollment and medical release forms. The deposit is non-refundable and will be applied to tuition. Enrollment is not guaranteed until $200 deposit, forms, and/or screenshot of your enrichment request has been received.
Sibling discount 10% for additional kids in family. Monthly payments are available, when needed. We strive to make Frog Creek accessible to all interested families. Please reach out if you would like to discuss a sliding scale or a payment plan.
Frog Creek Adventure School is an inclusive program. We welcome children with a wide range of developmental, behavioral, and learning abilities. Our mentors may find some children need more support than we have designed the program to offer. In order to offer a safe and supportive program, we may ask parents to secure additional support for their child so they can continue the program.