Wildwood was born after years of research into self-directed education and play based schools. Wanting to veer away from mainstream education for our own children, we desired to create a community of parents and kids that would learn through life experiences together, create deep and meaningful relationships, and allow our children to have the freedom and opportunities to learn and grow in their own, unique ways.  Everything we do at Wildwood centers on the belief and pursuit in fostering and supporting self-directed education and personal development. Our goal is to instill in our children a love of learning, centered in nature, with a focus on personal development rather than academic outcomes as the criteria for measuring success.  We believe that the qualities of being lead to productive doing and that when this is put first, academic and creative successes arise more easily and naturally for children. Ultimately, we seek to create a place that connects children deeply to nature, providing a refuge for meaningful learning experience while preserving and celebrating the wonders of childhood.

The Guides at Wildwood are not traditional teachers, but rather facilitators and mentors, responsible for feeding the children's innate curiosity and inspiring them to become lifelong learners. We believe the learning experience is much richer when the guide offers insightful questions and facilitates hands-on learning. This enables to children to learn in the way that best suits their individual needs and keeps them in control of what they want to learn and how they learn best. Guides are also intentional observers, creating emergent curriculum choices around learner interests. We have a ratio of 1 guide to 6 children.