Utah County Homeschool

Start: 08/25/2023 - End: 05/24/2024
9a-12p, alternating Fridays,.
Highland Glen Park, Knight Avenue, Highland, UT, USA
For the past 8 years, our homeschooling classes have been getting kids outside and off of their screens. Join us for another exciting year of bushcrafting and outdoor fun.
Buy @ $432

Course Objectives

Students will develop bushcraft and survival skills such as fire-making, shelter-building, foraging, and navigation by practicing them in a safe and controlled outdoor setting. They will test their skills by completing tasks and challenges individually and in groups.

Students will enhance their social and emotional intelligence by participating in team-building activities, games, and exercises. To promote qualities such as communication, trust, respect, and empathy, students will reflect on their experiences and challenges in a supportive and non-judgmental atmosphere.

Students will identify the importance of responsible and ethical behavior towards nature and technology.

The instructor will provide constructive feedback and encourage students to embrace growth and improvement on an ongoing process.

Skills Taught

Sit spot

  • meditation
  • journaling
  • ecology
  • taxonomy
  • ethnobotany
  • morphology
  • biology

Survival skills

  • shelter
  • water
  • fire food
  • wood working
  • leather working
  • medicinal/edible plants
  • and much more

Wandering

  • nature-based games
  • navigation/getting lost and found
  • tracking and awareness
  • bird language
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About the Course

After our morning game, students will find their sit spot and enjoy solo time interacting with nature. From there, we will work on the skill of the day, both as individuals and as a group. To finish off our day, we will wander beneath the astounding Timpanogos Peaks.

We support students in taking an active role in choosing their own educational path. It is our job to have lessons and skills ready to facilitate that growth.

Please note the age limit for this course is 5-18, while 4 and under can attend and are free of charge. But students 7 years and younger need a parent to attend with them.

Meet Your Instructor

Dakota Shaffer

Dakota has been teaching professionally since 2011 and has an insatiable love for nature. His passion for teaching brought him from Missouri to Utah to delve deeper into his career. He is a proud father and enjoys spending his time trekking in the old ways and practicing the skills of the Mountain Men. He believes these skills connect us to our ancestors and their hardships in a way that brings new meaning to our own lives.

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Additional Information

Volunteering

This course will be for ages 5-18. Students aged 5-7 must be accompanied by a parent for every class.

Upon registration you will be asked which days you are availble to volunteer for (don't worry you can switch later with other parents). This is to encourage parents to stay involved in their childs experience with us. If you wish to participate more days than you sign up for check with our instructor they usually welcome it.

What to Bring

It is highly recommended that students bring the following to each class:

  • weather appropriate clothing and footwear
  • water (more than you normally drink at home)
  • food (high in protein and fat)

A backpack containing the following:

  • cheap tin cup
  • bandana or blindfold
  • knife (see here for requirements)
  • notebook
  • pen and pencil
  • personalized first aid kit
  • an unfinished skill (to be made during class)
  • bowdrill kit (to be made during class)

Helpful Link

Class Dates

August: 25th

September: 8th, 22nd

October: 6th, 20th

November: 3rd, 17th

December: 1st, 15th

January: 5th, 19th

February 2nd, 16th

March: 1st, 15th, 29th

April: 12th, 26th

May: 10th, 24th

Vacation Days

Fall Break: October 10th-14th

Thanksgiving Break: November 23rd-25th

Winter Break: December 18th-31st

Spring Break: April 3rd-7th

Course Location

Word on the street says

we’re pretty darn good at what we do.