At NBOG we start each day all together, celebrating nature and community with music and movement. Four days a year, on our Festival Days, we spend most of the day together participating cross-age buddy activities, whole community activities and seasonal crafts. The majority of our days are spent in age-alike groups. These age-alike groups feel a part of the community as a whole, but they also develop their own unique sense of identity.
For stability, the youngest group stays with the same teacher the whole year, where the older groups experience three different teachers throughout the year. Each teacher develops their curriculum based on student interest, parent requests, teacher passions, and current events in nature. Most NBOG students return year after year, so the curriculum is always changing, often spiraling deeper each year.
Below is a brief description of the age make-up of each group, with some of the themes of study explored recently.
Whistles
Whistle group students range in age from 14-17. Last year the Whistles studied local edible plants, listened to and discussed the travel journals of the great botanist David Douglas and took their own botany expedition with miniature horses. They practiced route-finding and organized an extended backpacking trip. They also studied empathy applied to humans, animals, and plants and mentored children in our youngest group.Owls
Owl group students range in age from 11-13. Last year the Owls studied camouflage, stalking, non-violent communication, shelter building, knot tying, tarp setting, journaling, storytelling, tracking, orienteering and backpacking skills.Recorders
Recorder group students range in age from 8-10. Last year the Recorders studied watershed ecology, the life cycle, anatomy and physiology of local steelhead trout, animal adaptations for winter, knot tying, and tarp setting. They also practiced working in partners and expressing feelings, both from their own perspective and from the perspective of others.Coyotes
Coyote group students range in age from 5-8. Last year the Coyotes studied animal and plant processes in the field, river ecology, shelter building, and working in partnership to solve problems. They played organized field games, told stories, pursued child-led theatre based on animal and plant life-cycles, and participated in awareness-based games and activities.