DELVE Children's Program

The DELVE Children's Program is a pilot program that utilizes hands on activities to guide children's natural curiosities. The children participate in projects on the property that focus on restoration, natural building, sustainability and organic gardening.  Children in DELVE benefit from a learning environment that is situated on 87 acres of land, that is immersed in an intentional community, and that partakes in active permaculture and sustainable living projects as they occur at Lost Valley. With the help of parents, interns and volunteer guests, the children explore aspects of permaculture and community living such as Herbs, Insects, Gardening, Building, and Making Friends. The day is a blend of project time and outdoor exploration.

The project time is spent: doing yoga, reading aloud, drawing, painting, writing, knitting, building with blocks and doing crafts.  Outdoor exploration includes taking herb walks, working in the gardens, building a wall out of clay and straw, digging berms, making homemade root beer, candle making, seed saving, mushroom gathering, weeding and planting.

Currently, the DELVE Program is a morning program for children who live at Lost Valley Educational Center.   We are raising funds to bring in additional staff, allowing the children even more flexibility to pursue their areas of interest. This summer we will be offering our first Lost Valley Permaculture for Kids Summer Day Camp.  If you would like to make a donation to DELVE, please visit our giving page.

The DELVE Children's Program encourages children to find their unique paths toward excellence in being who they are most meant to be. Based on the theory that all children are gifted in some area, the goal of DELVE is to allow the children to reveal that strength through a self-guided education model. The job of those staffing the program is to recognize each child's gift and to make it an avenue to master yet other areas of learning. Individual and group community service projects will provide opportunities for children to grow in understanding and to share their understandings with others.

The environmental actions that we have incorporated into the curriculum benefit the local community by protecting our watershed, fostering wildlife, and restoring our local creek.  Interns in the program gain applicable skills in alternative educational philosophies.  Ultimately, we believe that the very act of allowing children to discover themselves and the world around them will positively impact not only the local community, but also the planet.  DELVE is a unique offering to children of a rich package of comprehensive education that is fun and applicable to an ever-changing world of social, economic and environmental complexity. Inspired by a team of parents who have committed their own lives to positive change by joining Lost Valley Educational Center, we chose DELVE as an ideal learning environment for our own children.  Our goal is to provide the framework of social, agricultural, and interpersonal practices and values that will ensure the well-being of future generations as they create new sustainable lifestyles.  

• To provide children with a rich learning environment in nature and in a human community
• To involve children directly in ongoing adult projects in the areas of ecology, sustainable agriculture, human-made environments, personal and spiritual growth, and interpersonal communication
• To provide a balance between free exploration and guided education, recognizing each child's individual strengths and inclinations and building upon those interests
• To involve the children in demonstrations of right livelihood and sustainable economics, and in stewarding the land to sustain the earth for them and for generations to come 
• To increase the children's knowledge and understanding of, and interactions with, children from cultures around the world, promoting their awareness of themselves as global citizens

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