a day in the life of a forest schooler

The day’s activities at Exodus WildSchool forest schools are free-flowing and dynamic, as they depend on the ever-changing natural environment in which the program takes place (changing seasons, evidence of animals, emergence of new flowers, insect activity, effects of weather on the land etc.) & on the interpersonal relationships formed between the children and educators in the group. Educators add to the day’s learning by introducing provocations such as simple tools and natural parts to be used for building and creating! Curiosity abounds!

Our forest school educators follow the lead of the children, focusing on their interests and questions of the day, and allowing for independent play as well as collaboration.

We open and close each day at the Gathering Place, & throughout the day, we incorporate literacy activities such as prayer, stories, poems, songs, plays, sharing, artwork and music-making to expand on the children’s learning and discoveries.

On any given day, we spend almost every moment of our time outdoors, rain or shine!

our story

the humble beginnings of Exodus WildSchool

Exodus WildSchool began 30+ years ago, as a dream. A dream of a faith-based, nature-inspired homeschool that could be a shared journey with other homeschooling families. A dream in which children led the way in their own educations & pursuit of their passions! The desire for this dream was reignited in 2015, when our Director’s family moved to Nashville from southwest Florida. After much prayer, planning, researching, relocating, & reminding ourselves of the desires of our hearts that our Heavenly Father purposed for us…

…that dream became reality in 2021.

We are a fully-immersive nature-based homeschool collaborative co-op, located on multiple campuses in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, the Carolinas, Florida, & Georgia (with more to come).

We are humbly grateful to begin this journey with you.
Nature is an amazing teacher.

Join us.

the roots of our learning style

We believe that every child learns and retains best in an outdoor environment where they are encouraged to explore! We believe that the best classrooms are those without walls, and the best learning is done through unstructured play.

statement of faith

We believe in the authority and sufficiency of the Holy Bible, as originally written in Hebrew & Greek. We believe that the Scriptures were verbally & entirely inspired by God/ YHVH & are the product of Spirit-controlled men; therefore, they are absolutely trustworthy and without error. We believe the Bible to be the true center of unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creed and opinions shall be tried.

The following verse remains our standard with regard to doctrine:

“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of YHVH your God that I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).

Our main goal in incorporating our faith into our forest school program, is to not add to nor subtract from any Words of YHVH/ God, and to live out the Word as best we are able. We are not perfect in this goal; yet this remains our goal. We believe the best way to “guard” or “keep” God’s commands is simply to not add to it or subtract from it, to the best of our ability and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

YHVH/ God created mankind and we didn’t come about “by chance”. This also means that we are precious to Him & dearly loved. He created humans in His image & wants to make us just like His Son, Yeshua. We believe that God created us biologically as men and women, and we recognize & address biological males as boys/men, and biological females as girls/women.

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created them. Male and female, He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

In our program, we acknowledge that we are made in the image of our Creator, & we hope to cultivate creativity in our students and constant appreciation of the created world. We seek to worship the Creator, rather than created things, in all we do (Romans 1:18-32).

We believe the Scriptures teach that salvation of sinners is divinely initiated, wholly of grace, and accomplished only through the work of the Son of Yahweh who mediates on our behalf.

We can only be saved from sin by grace, because our hearts will never choose to walk in obedience without rebirth and a new Spirit indwelling us. We cannot ever stand before a righteous God and claim to have no sin (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is only by His grace and love for us that He sent His Son, Yeshua, to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross. We can only receive the gift of eternal life because of the sacrifice of Yeshua — not by our own good works.

We believe the Scriptures teach the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust. Believers by faith in the Messiah will spend eternity in the presence of God.