About
Our approach:
The Northwest Mind Body Soul Youth Program philosophy is based around the principle that our children deserve to be taught how to live happy healthy, well-adjusted lives and to be shown how to positively engage with the real world.
Currently many of our schools are failing to provide our children with all the tools they need to navigate this rapidly changing world. Heavy focus on testing, reduced funding, cutting of programs seen as less important, and low-wages for teachers and support staff all has an impact on our children. We can’t expect for the education system to do it all, and many of us parents are experiencing a time deficit and are not able to fill in the gaps.
Seeing the areas of greatest need is what drives the curriculum for our programs. We choose activities that will compliment the current education model to provide a more holistic and well-rounded education. Below are our main areas of study; within each category, there is a wealth of other skills vital to living a happy life.
Our approach to education draws inspiration from various alternative education theories including Montessori, Waldorf, Unschooling, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, Habits of Mind and Plum Village. Since what we know about how to educate is always evolving, we feel it's important to incorporate a variety of perspectives. Our own love of learning and exploration allows us to be in process with our students, gently guiding with respect for their own internal direction.
Appreciation of nature
Mindfulness
Physical exercise
Creative expression
Community building
Core concepts:
Low ratio
We believe kids need as much individual attention as possible, so our programs do not exceed a 1:5 ratio.
Respect
We teach respect for the plants, animals, our families, our community, self and for the first people of the land we inhabit.
Exploration
Exploration is an important part of our approach to learning, so we prioritize that over specific goals so that kids can get excited about what they are doing.
Current and relevant content
We believe in using current tech, and modern interests alongside folk craft to engage different learning styles, and introduce a variety of approaches to a given subject.
Accessibility
It's important to us to be accessible to families regardless of income level, so we make scholarships available for families, and are willing to negotiate trades. We also are open to working with kids that have special learning needs.
We’d love to hear from you!
Tel: 360.763.3424