About Us
Miss Alicia
Hello!
My name is Miss Alicia and I am a the founder of Wild Acorns Learning Village. I am a credentialed teacher with a masters in education and a passion for educating children in a way that serves their mind, body, and spirit.
Having taught 9 years at a Waldorf inspired public school in grades 1-3 and completing yearly Waldorf trainings as well as the Foundations Course through the Rudolf Steiner College, I am forever inspired by these methods of teaching the developing child.
With connection at the core of what I do, I believe that building relationships with children is the foundation for their ability to learn and grow. My vision is to create an environment where children are met with respect, care, and a knowing that they themselves are a little seed with all the wisdom they need to grow. I am simply here to water and tend.
Wild Acorns Learning Village was birthed in 2020 from a need by the community to create an intimate and safe space for children to learn together as well as the manifestation of a dream growing in my heart to slow down and teach in a way that is in alignment with my values and beliefs.
Having run nature based seasonal camps since 2017, I feel very strongly about the need for children to be outside and learn from our great Mother Earth. This combined with my deep love of animals inspires the creation of a farm + forest program here in my new home of Nevada City. I also love to craft and create beauty both at home and with the children.
I am excited to create this vision with you, the Village!
Baruch Simon
Baruch is a holistic arts educator with a passion for outdoor adventure learning. He holds 16 years of Waldorf early childhood teaching experience throughout the charter and private Waldorf sector, including an outdoor adventure program in Colorado where he spent 5 summers exploring the trails, rivers, and mountains with young children.
Baruch also helped create a Waldorf forest Kindergarten in Colorado where daily fire circles, time at the river, sledding and nature crafts were all woven into the daily rhythm. In the summer of 2022 Baruch launched an outdoor program called Wild at Heart Adventure Camp for mountain biking and paddling in Nevada County.
Baruch is deeply committed to protecting, preserving, and promoting the innocence of young children. He creates sensory rich experiences and opportunities to build capacities such as resilience, confidence, and grit while at the same time expanding the imaginative realms of fairy worlds, nature altars, council circles, and meaningful outdoor experiences.
Baruch holds a California Multiple subjects teaching credential, a Waldorf teaching certificate and a Master's degree in education. Baruch is also First Aid and CPR certified.
Baruch also loves music and teaches piano lessons privately in his home. When not teaching, winter days will find Baruch snowboarding on the weekends with his children throughout the mountain west resorts. By summer, Baruch loves mountain biking, paddling, hiking, and swimming on the many rivers, lakes and streams of the area.
What is Offered
We aim to create a safe and warm learning environment for children to meet both their academic and social-emotional needs.
Our offerings include ~
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A Waldorf inspired farm + forest program for homeschooling families of children ages 2.5-9. We teach the children in small group settings to foster their individual and collective needs.
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Enrichment programs including handwork, painting, crafts, nature connection, child-centered interests
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Farm based learning by way of tending to our animal kin and learning to build a reciprocal relationship with those that generously give us fiber and food.
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Weekly forest adventure programs with day long excursions into the wild lands for deep nature connection and competence.
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Social-emotional learning through explicit social skills lessons, Way of Council, and Non-Violent Communication
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Community festivals to honor special times of year and seasonal celebrations: Autumn Gratitude Soup, Lantern Walk, Winter Spiral, May Faire, etc.