In the design of this five-day camp, we invite the Wonder Kids to imagine a future that is also hopeful rather than is just a story of despair, especially with relationship to climate change. We prompt them with questions like, “Are there different possibilities, and what could those be?” and encourage them to tap into their creative and imaginary selves as important skills for nourishing and building hope. Like most School of Wonder-based methods, we find ways to link real knowledge with wonder — this time prompted by a magical newspaper from the future.

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.

The first session of our Social Democracy camp over this past Spring Break led the Wonder Kids to (re)discovering the tenets of the U.S. Preamble, guided by the central question: what does it take to live in peace and freedom? In the second session, they were prompted to apply what they learned by creating their own Wonder Town. Want to take a tour around what they built?

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.