As a program that offers adventure-based learning for 5-11 year olds, School of Wonder restructured our offerings last summer by separating the Wonder Kids into two groups: Wonderers (grades K-2) & Adventurers (grades 3-5).

Now arriving at the end of our first full-calendar year of split age group offerings (and our first graduation!), here are some reflections on how we made the decision and what we’ve learned along the way.

You are a Wonder Kid. Your mom drops you off at 9am, and you find a cozy spot on the “living room” (a picnic blanket) to keep your snacks and backpack. Chill music is playing in the background, and you decide to start the day with watercolors. You paint what you see — some kids are climbing trees, others playing Elemental Tag, others building a fort out of sticks.

Gaia sends the Wonder Kids two enchanting visitors who leave behind trails of creativity and musical notes that linger like whispers in the frosty air.

Puppetry creates a container in the forest in which care, kindness, and social interaction is encouraged.

“Something that I've learned from this opportunity has been that social emotional growth can happen and it's way faster than I would have thought” - Nicole (5th grade teacher)

Essayist, poet, and wonderer Maria Popova speaks at the New York Society of Ethical Culture in Manhattan, and School of Wonder reports back on what we learned.

Using the map to find the portal, the group reaches the back end of the Wonder Village. A black squirrel scurries across the group—Gaia is sending the group a guide to the portal! The Wonder Kids follow the squirrel, crossing beyond the previously set Wonder Village boundaries into a newfound freedom together.

Everyone runs over to the Temple and starts to envision what the space could look like. The most immediate realization is that there are no flowers in the Temple. With paint brushes and watercolor palettes, the Wonder Kids decide to bring the Temple of Flowers to life on paper.

Our outdoor after school program takes place in the “Wonder Village” - a whimsical forest in Prospect Park where kids go on missions that lead them to play together and build relationships.

Here we explore with child psychologist Julia Durruty the benefits of imaginative play in child development. Providing a space for experimentation, imaginative play allows children the ability to explore and resolve aspects of life through their imagination to create a better understanding or way to being happy.

Environmental education, social emotional learning, experiential learning, outdoor education, creativity, sustainability, mindfulness, community engagement… isn’t it all we’ve been talking about in the last years? We’re making it happen in Fort Greene Park