For many years my out of the box family has been fortunate enough to live a life creating and exploring art, music and much more with young and old alike. I have enjoyed hosting creative classes and workshops out of our home studio locations. I have also been able to work with many amazing schools […]
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What is The Muddy Schoolhouse
You can think of us as a mobile one-room schoolhouse infused with the flexibility of a partnership with Be Life Farm for a co-working farmschool space. The Muddy Schoolhouse is a space where homeschoolers who wish to engage in collaborative, self-directed learning are encouraged to share and explore the subjects they are passionate about. At the Muddy Schoolhouse everyone is both a learner and a teacher, everyone is fully valued for who they are, and everyone has a meaningful voice in creating our learning opportunities. Our mixed-age learning environment embraces choice and freedom along with collaboration between peers, facilitators, and the local community. At the Muddy Schoolhouse, we believe that children deserve to be empowered to pursue their own individual interests. We accomplish this through our flexible use of Agile learning tools and practices. These are adaptable to any space and situation and help to shape the culture of our learning community.
At The Muddy Schoolhouse Children:
*Find support, inspiration, and freedom to pursue their own passions and interests *Cultivate their intrinsic motivation while engaging in choice-driven learning experiences *Have the opportunity to socialize and collaborate with others in a multi-age setting *Connect and engage with the community at large *Have access to a wide variety of learning/creative experiences, or “offerings” (classes, workshops, projects, outings, etc.) provided by those within our group and in the larger community who have skills, knowledge, and interests to share *Learn to use agile tools to access resources to support them on their knowledge quest *Participate fully in the co-creation of community practices and culture, and have a real and meaningful voice in the group decision-making process.
Partnership with Be Life Farm:
Be Life Farm is home of Mike & Mary Jordan, their 3 daughters and a vast assortment of feathered, furry and hooved family members. Mary and Mike specialize in 'wellness programs' where they partner with the animals on the farm to assist others in animal assisted mindfulness activities as the life long journey of 'Self Uncovery'. The farm is also home to the nonprofit Mary founded called "I AM HERD" where horses help humans to 'hear their own hearts'. Mary works with her herd of formerly wild Mustangs to help others uncover their authentic 'Wild I AM'. Mary's workshops are empowering and insightful and she is an excellent facilitator for bringing about a powerful self awareness of the personal journey we are all on. The natural partnership between The Muddy Schoolhouse and Be Life Farm came about after Laurel lost her former Muddy Muse Studio site to flooding and she needed a place to start over. It took a while for this seed of an idea for a school program to take root. Mary stepped into the picture with Be Life Farm and had the land and encouragement to help it grow. From there we just fed our mutual desire and realization that we could combine our passions for facilitating happiness and a better life for children and adults. With our varied skill sets teaching and training and resources of land and labor to create a beautiful space for personal and creative connection and creative growth we knew we had to go for it. We both strive to foster an environment where our own children and small groups of students and families can slow down, listen to their emotions and kindle a lifetime passion for learning through arts,storytelling, farming, animal care and much more.