the schoolhouse way

We Nurture Good Humans

We believe open-hearted children become open-minded adults. This vision and our Core Values are the foundation of everything we do.

Schoolhouse of Wonder provides award-winning outdoor day camps, teen service and leadership training, and field trips for young people throughout the Triangle. But we’re much more than a place where kids get outside and have fun. Schoolhouse is a place where each person can play, learn, and grow toward being their best selves!

We prioritize genuine connection and empathy.

We work hard to create an environment where everyone is heard, respected, and encouraged to share their authentic selves from our youngest camper to a CIT, staff member, or parent. By keeping social-emotional learning (SEL) at the heart of our programs, we grow self-awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making skills and more as we explore the forest, climb a tree, splash in a creek, or listen to a frog. We are committed to becoming our best selves and helping others do the same.

Our core values guide how we interact with children, grown ups, and each other. We model and cultivate open and thoughtful communication, mutual respect, and deep listening.
We believe in controlled risk-taking.

Schoolhouse camps include activities that some folks consider risky. Throwing a tomahawk, whittling with a pocketknife, jumping off a rock into the river, or running through the woods aren’t routine activities for most kids these days. We believe exposure to controlled risk is essentiall to children’s growth and development – building cognitive skills like problem solving and decision making, physical skills like coordination and sensory awareness, and emotional skills like reslience and knowing your limits.

These skills grow when a camper decides whether or not they want to touch a worm, jump off of a boulder, climb a tree, or hurdle over that fallen log as they run through the forest playing a game. Your camper may come home with a scraped knee or be the one-camper-per-summer who breaks an arm. We don’t ever want that to happen, but we (and the research) know that risky play is essential for kid’s growth and development.

That beign said, safety is out absolute top priority and we have guardrails in place to manage the real risks of our activites – actively engaged staff, scaffolded skill development, training and safety protocols. We take a proactive approach to identify and manage risk, not to supervise from the sidelines or to react after a situation occurs.
Building relationships and connection is our first behavior tool.

Schoolhouse doesn’t employ a traditional approach to engaging campers or managing behavior. Our fundamental commitment to child development and mutual respect means there’s no place for time outs, public shaming, humiliation, and other forms of punishment.

Instead, we first connect on an emotional level through a combination of listening, relating, and teaching that we call a “reroute.” Our staff stays positive, proactive, and curious about what each child is trying to communicate with their behavior. What’s the root cause? Are they feeling hungry, angry, lonely, tired, or bored? Is there conflict between campers?

Behavior is, after all, a form of communication, and behavioral challenges are just that: challenges that allow for learning and growth. When children (and adults) feel heard and respected, it is much easier to redirect and refocus them toward acceptable behaviors. Read more about our behavior philosophy and strategies here.
Nature provides the perfect landscape.

We’ve found in our 35 years of working with kids that nature is the perfect place to spark curiosity, grow kindness, and build confidence. We’ve long known being outdoors can have a profound impact on children, teens, and adults alike and there’s now the research back that up. A child’s increasingly fast-paced life, the pressure of high expectations, the constant directing of attention, a fewer chances for undirected free play are all soothed by time in nature. At Schoolhouse we remain dedicated to connecting to the land as we learn and grow through shared experiences of hands-on, outdoor, adventurous play.
Our Inspirations
We’re inspired by our staff’s years of experiences working with kids, by Coyote Mentoring and Nature Awareness Schools, by child-development and neuroscience books such as The Whole Brain Child, by the environmental and outdoor education movements, and by our own lessons learned while spending time in nature.

Here are some resources we’ve found inspiring since Schoolhouse began and more recently:

The Whole Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson

The Art of Mentoring by Jon Brown

Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Cornell

Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature by Jon Young, Ellen Haas, and Evan McGown

If you’ve read something great, drop us a line. We love recommended reading lists!

Traditions

Morning Circle

Morning circle is a tradition dating back to the very beginning of Schoolhouse. Campers and staff start their day sitting in a circle with their camp group to start the day together. The air is filled with the scent of cedar smoke as we pass around the cedar bundle, allowing the smoke to waft over our bodies. In this silent time, we can hear the forest awaken around us – the calls of birds, the rustling of leaves, and the sounds of the forest. After passing the cedar bundle, each person has the chance to share their name, pronouns, and what they’re grateful for. Morning Circle serves a mindful pause, a time to slow down, be present, and transition into the day grounded in gratitude.

Closing Circle

Each camp day begins and ends in a circle, where campers and staff gather to reflect on their experiences. For Closing Circle, a small natural item, often discovered by a camper, serves as our “talking object.” When someone holds this object, it signifies their opportunity to speak. Campers and staff share their favorite moments from the day, allowing everyone to reflect on games played, critters encountered, challenges overcome, and the various highlights of our individual and collective adventures.

Family Circle

Family Circle is our celebration and closing of our camp week. Each Friday afternoon, we invite grown-ups to join us for a special closing circle. Campers, family members, and staff share the highlight of their week. Following the circle, campers and their families have a chance to enjoy the company of the camp group and staff, enjoy a snack, and check out our camp store.

Growth Rings

“Growth Rings” is our system for acknowledging and celebrating growth in some of our core skills. Campers, CITs, and staff who choose to challenge themselves in areas like primitive fire making, plant identification, whittling, and snake identification and handling are offered escalating benchmarks. We use these “Rings” to encourage positive growth and development by setting appropriate goals and practicing follow through in a supportive environment.

We’re on a mission to shape kind, curious, & confident kids through nature-based outdoor adventures.

Camp Finder

Find our camp handbook, details about what to bring, when to drop off and pick up, and more.

Guidebook

Dirty, Tired, Happy Guarantee

DIRTY, TIRED, & HAPPY. Every single day.® Or your money back. It’s really that simple.

We will return your child dirty, tired, and happy – or we will refund your child’s remaining camp registration.*

Our camps present a unique opportunity for children to grow and learn. While we’re confident and proud of our camps, we realize that no one community is a perfect fit for every child. So we offer you our Dirty, Tired, Happy Guarantee to build trust. We don’t know a better way to demonstrate the confidence we have in our programs than by putting our money where our mouth is.

If you and your child decide that our camp is not the right fit and choose to not return, we’ll refund your camp registration for the remaining days of the camp week.

To obtain a refund under our Dirty, Tired, Happy Guarantee, all you have to do is send us a written request within a week stating that our camp is not a good fit for your child and that you would like a refund for the remaining days of the camp week. It’s that simple. Guaranteed.

We recognize that we might not be the right fit for your camper now, but as they grow and change, we may be a great fit in the future. Any camper who receives a Dirty, Tired, Happy refund is welcome to give camp another try at least one year (or more) after the refund.

*Our Dirty, Tired, Happy Guarantee provides a prorated registration refund to any child who chooses to not complete their registered camp week, with the exception of those who have been asked not to return for a violation of camp rules. We will take your registration payment, divide by the number of camp days for a daily rate, multiply by the number of days your child will not be attending, and refund your credit card.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We believe that every child, regardless of their background or identity, deserves a safe and welcoming camp experience where they can connect with nature and one another. Many campers and their families have shared how the Schoolhouse experience has provided them with a sense of belonging and acceptance—something they often haven’t found in other programs. While we recognize there’s still more work to be done to ensure all children feel welcome in our programs, we take pride in our daily efforts to embrace each individual for who they are and to celebrate our differences.

Our Non-Discrimination Policy

Schoolhouse of Wonder is committed to creating a supportive environment for all marginalized groups including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people by promoting collaboration within our organization and community. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, disability, national or ethnic origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Our Approach to Sensitive Topics

We’ve received more questions about our approach to complex topics such as racism, politics, religion, gender identity, and pronoun use. We want to be transparent about our values and how they guide our discussions on these important issues at camp.

We have been intentional about handling sensitive conversations at camp for many years. Our staff are trained to redirect conversations about sensitive issues (e.g., politics, religion, sexuality, gun control, abortion, vaccines, war, etc.) to more neutral topics during the camp day. We also encourage campers to bring up sensitive topics with trusted adult figures outside of camp.

Racism, Politics, & Religion

At Schoolhouse, we celebrate the richness of diverse thoughts, backgrounds, and experiences. We welcome all perspectives that honor the humanity of others.

Our commitment is unwavering: we strive to ensure that every young person in our care—and their families and communities—are treated with fairness, dignity, and compassion. We will not tolerate any form of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or cultural background.
Transgender & Nonbinary Campers and Staff
Pronouns

During our morning circle, campers have the opportunity to introduce themselves by sharing their names and pronouns, if they choose. Our staff model this practice, reinforcing that both sharing and not sharing are perfectly acceptable. We emphasize to campers that their choices will be respected and valued throughout their time at camp.

In our experience, this approach not only supports our trans and nonbinary campers and staff, but also provides a welcoming space for those whose gender expression may not align with traditional masculine or feminine norms—such as boys with long hair or girls with short hair—to clarify their pronouns if they wish.
Changing Names or Pronouns at Camp

Sometimes a camper asks to be called by a name or pronoun that’s different than the ones provided on their camp registration. At Schoolhouse, we respect that choice and use the name or pronoun that makes the camper feel most comfortable.

We recognize that families may have different approaches at home. As a child-serving organization, our commitment is to foster communities where everyone feels safe and welcomed. This does not imply that we delve into the complexities of gender identity during camp; rather, we focus on creating an inclusive environment for all.