
Wildhaven is a vibrant, community-focused unschooling program on Salt Spring Island.
For the past 3 years, Wildhaven has been providing homeschooling families with access to rich learning adventures, field trips, special guests, intentional community, socializing, games, literacy support, and supplementary academic projects.
We have found a special niche meeting the needs of neurodiverse and sensitive children who have been unable to thrive in other learning environments.
As a Not for Profit Learning Foundation, our goal is to re-introduce an ‘attachment village’ style of education and pioneer fresh new ways to empower children on their journey of emergence.
We are…
a vibrant hub of “learners without borders.”
ambassadors for inclusion.
playful revolutionaries.
a cohort of young locally wise, empowered citizens learning the arts of democracy and connection.
We conspire to create wild, child-led learning adventures together.
It’s a pretty radical and yet ancient approach, locating a child’s education within the de-professionalized care of as many devoted adults, guides, and elders as possible.
We believe in the attachment village and we are pioneering an island-wide learning network of good folks who believe the same.
We are not a school.
Drawing from the inspiration of democratic free-schools and unschooling initiatives around the world, we are cultivating an atmosphere that aligns with the original intent of the word Scholé:
Restful learning. Leisure.
The goal of schole is not simply to acquire knowledge but to engage in the process of lifelong learning and personal growth.

What do we learn?
Last year, we:
observed seasonal rounds and the indigenous 13 month calendar.
wrote 3 plays and performed a talent show.
studied geography by inventing our own imaginative overlay of the Gulf Islands.
spent over 60 hours doing forest restoration ecology studies on Hwmet’etsum.
built a Johnson-Su bioreactor.
invented an epic math kingdom to LARP in (Live Action Role Play).
visited the Honey House and learned all about bees.
created a micro-commerce market buying and selling from each other.
practiced plant identification, dichotomous keys, scientific drawing.
foraged for mushrooms.
designed and led their own carnival game day.
filmed, acted, and edited short movies.
gameschooled with our massive stack of board games and invented their own
memorized the Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet and learned sign language.
farmed at Paradise, picking apples, tending strawberries, shucking garlic, juicing apple juice.
made our annual batch of ‘fire cider.’
did a day of beach garbage clean up.
played an endless amount of word and number games.
did lots of improv, hockey, basketball, skateboarding, and chess.
made and ate a ton of delicious, healthy food!
enjoyed 3 sing-alongs with Raffi.
watched and then re-enacted dozens of beautiful Waldorf stories.
sewed and stitched and crocheted and leathercrafted.
practiced speaking the indigenous place names of our island.
made corn husk dolls and learned about Three Sister permaculture.
powered up their math facts by composing funky skip-counting pop songs.
Year after year we revisit the foundation of ‘what matters.’
What is worth learning?
How do we each learn best?
How can we make our own goals and reach them?
We are continually adapting our trajectory of exploration in an upward spiral of knowledge and wisdom.
This year we have selected some beautiful curriculum prompts to begin our open-ended journey!
What are days like at Wildhaven?
Warm welcomes, good friends, lots of laughter, and sweet rapport with guides.
Soft start with games, crafts, and conversation.
“Flow of the Day” outlines all the options, electives, and activities to choose from.
Our spacious daily rhythm allows for bodily autonomy and lots of opportunity to self-regulate.
At Circle Time we practice group dialogue, decision making, and encourage kids to take ownership for the evolution of Wildhaven.
Twice a day we do Deep Dives, Power Hour, or Individual Project Time for more focused work.
Regular offerings such as book club, cooking class, actor’s corner, maker’s station, creative writing workshops.
“Passport to the World” curriculum will take us on a multi-cultural journey.
One-on-one reading support with literacy mentors to ensure everyone falls in love with reading.
One-on-one math tutoring is available, tailored to their level.
We receive elders, special guests and mentors in ongoing perennial rounds of relationship, building a deep and wide attachment village.
Earth stewardship is woven in as we pursue what it means to become indigenous to Salt Spring Island in practical ways.

Statement of Faith
Emergence is how life swirls and unfurls into its best shapes.
It is how starlings and bees and ants and mycelium organize with dazzling communal brilliance.
At Wildhaven we trust this emergence.
Our founder leans on the emergent grace and guidance of Jesus, Abba, Holy Spirit.
The foundation of our haven is radical love without agenda. Deep trust without dogma.
We uphold the sanctity of the child's emergent self as worthy of protection and respect and so maintain an unbiased curriculum within a worldview of wonder.
We stand for reconciliation by refusing to colonize the mind or spirit of a child.
Our aspiration is to soar as a murmuration. In sync with each others’ subtle wing beats, weaving a balance of individuality and wholeness.
Welcome to the communal dance of imagination and surrender that is Wildhaven: a flight pattern of relentless love.

Acknowledgment
At Wildhaven, we recognize that our work takes place on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Hul’q’umi’num and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples. We acknowledge the deep and enduring relationship these Nations have with this land, known as Tle’lhum and ĆUÁN, an island whose spirit has guided and nurtured its people for generations.
As we walk this land, we do so as guests, with gratitude and a commitment to learning and listening. We honour the wisdom and stories shared by the coast Salish peoples, recognizing that these teachings are not ours to claim but to respect and protect.
Our journey at Wildhaven is one of questioning, growth, and reconciliation. We strive to decolonize our minds and practices, understanding that true education includes recognizing and uplifting the knowledge systems that have thrived here long before us. In doing so, we hope to honor each child’s unique path while standing in solidarity with the Indigenous communities who continue to care for this land.
With this acknowledgment, we renew our commitment to actions that reflect our respect for the land and its original stewards. We seek to move beyond words, supporting the sovereignty and self-determination of the W̱SÁNEĆ in all that we do.
May we tread lightly, listen deeply, and contribute positively to the story of this land.