2025 fall & full year registration opens may 13

IRVINE’S fully-immersive classes are designed to connect children engaged in homeschooling, unschooling, or distance learning with the natural world through hands-on, child-led experiences.

In Earth Friends Homeschool, all classes:

• engage in hikes, live animal encounters, and on-trail investigations across Irvine’s 211 acres.
• benefit from small group investigations with 12-17 peers and 2 or 3 wonder-filled guides.
• spend most of their time outdoors
• use ancestral practices to stay warm in the elements, like building/using shelters to protect from the wind and cold, engaging in movement, and enjoying fire and warm drink.

Trimester and full-year classes offered! Please see details below.

TRIMESTER-LONG CLASSES

Join us for the school year or 12-week Fall, 12-week Spring, or 4-week Winter miniseries. Develop and nurture strong relationships with the land and a regular group of peers and guides. All Earth Friends classes offer opportunities for play- and place-based learning. Irvine Days, the STEAM- Nature Style and our new Middle School Enrichment Series, classes also incorporate multiple areas of learning including math, science, social studies (natural history), literature, creative arts, and physical development. Classes also provide documentation to aide in homeschool portfolio reviews and offer one possible makeup class at the end of the trimester, in the event of any class cancellations. Our full cancellation policy is available here.

Health and Safety are paramount at Irvine. Weather appropriate gear is mandatory. This includes layers, snow pants, waterproof outer layer and boots, hats, and multiple pairs of waterproof mittens/gloves. Rainboots and raingear are strongly encouraged and needed year-round. A recommended gear list will be provided before class begins.

Pricing Information

• Irvine membership discounts apply! Homeschool families qualify for a $40 Educator membership, which gives you a 10%. View all Irvine membership benefits here. 
• A sibling discount is available to families enrolling more than one child in an Earth Friends class. Each additional child enrolled is entitled to 5% off. When registering, please select “Pay in Installments.”
• Earn a full-year discount when registering for all three trimesters for an additional 10% off. Discount will be applied to the full-year price. Full-year registrations must be completed before the first Fall class in order to qualify.

Please note, full year enrollment in a Wednesday afternoon class includes a change in time for the winter trimester to the morning (9:30-12:30). For winter only, all Wednesday classes will be held in the morning (9:30-12:30). If the morning time will not work for your family, please do not sign up for full year.

If interested in a full year class for your child but they will age out during that year, or if you are interested in registering for a program that is already underway, please contact Stephanie Holzman, Head of Homeschool Programs at HolzmanS@ExploreNature.org.

new mIDDLE SCHOOL ENRICHMENT MINI-SERIES: AN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION CLASS (AGES 11-14YRS)

Students learn about the challenges of managing and protecting our natural resources through hands-on experiments, discussions, and projects. Being green, advocacy, and climate action are all hot topics. But what does it actually mean to live green, to live with climate concerns, and protect wildlife? During each 3-week mini-series, students explore answers to these questions, broaden their environmental awareness, and take steps to lessen their ecological footprint. Each 3-week mini-series will zoom in on a particular area of focus.
Day and Time: Tuesdays, 1-4pm, offered twice in Fall and twice in Spring as 3-week mini-series
Price: $110 for each mini-series

CO-OP OPTION: Volunteer as a teaching aide for one class per season and save! Co-op participation is available to families that register for both the A&B mini-series in a season, and wish to serve as a family/caregiver volunteer alongside our dedicated educator for one of the six classes. In doing so, save 17% off program fee.

FALL:
A) Water Wise: Drop by Drop Offered: Tuesdays, September 30- October 14 (make up day Oct. 21) 
This exciting series will blend science, watershed and environmental awareness, and advocacy! We’ll conduct hands-on activities like building a mini watershed replica and tracing local water sources- starting at Irvine’s own headwater stream right on property as it flows to join the Jones Falls River. Exploring our personal and community water-use footprint(s) will empower us to think about real-world water conservation issues.
B) Chesapeake Wildlife Guardians Offered: Tuesdays, November 4- 18 (make up day Dec. 2)
Become passionate steward of turtles, frogs, ravens, and owls in the Chesapeake Bay region. Through observation and care of our animal ambassadors, on-trail habitat exploration, and advocacy training, students will gain skills to protect and preserve these incredible species. A guest expert speaker will inspire students and empower them to turn knowledge into creative team-based action.

SPRING:
A) Rethink Recycling Offered: Tuesdays, March 3-17 (make up day March 24)
(Class description coming soon)
B) Green Thumb Stewards Offered: Tuesdays, April 21-May 5 (make up day May 12)
(Class description coming soon)