Wild Communities Foundation is proud to be an official partner of Le Jardin Academy! We are excited to offer much needed opportunities for the students of O’ahu to play, explore, and connect in the wild. We are excited to invite LKA PK and JK students for a week of forest adventures, magic and creativity.
Program Info
Schedule: M-F 10am-2pm daily
Where: King Forest Hale (Adjacent to Campus) - Drop-Off at Main Loop (Admin Building) on LJA Campus
Cost: $300 for the week (please pay by check or cash).
Spaces Available: 15 (First-Come, First Serve)
Example Daily Schedule (Activities for each day will vary)
10:00 - 10:30a: Drop-Off and Snack, Walk to Forest
10:30 - 11:30a: Morning Circle + Activity (games, crafting, songs, exploring)
11:30-1:00p: Lunch and Quiet Story Time / Naptime
12:30-1:30p: Mele and Moʻolelo with Uncle M, Gardening and Pono Plant Activities
1:30-1:45p: Clean-Up and Goodbyes
2:00p: Pick-up (Same Location as Drop-Off)
Daily Packing List:
Backpack
Change of clothes
Rain jacket
Water bottle
Lunch and snacks
Closed toe shoes
Bug spray + sunscreen (in a zip-loc bag) *we recommend applying before drop-off)
About Wild Kids and King Forest
Wild Kids was started by a class of 6th graders at Le Jardin Academy in 2008. They convinced their teacher at the time, Christina Hoe, to take them to explore the forest adjacent to campus and, together, they designed a learning culture built on imagination, adventure, compassion, freedom and love of the land. Since then, each age group has been added as a direct result of bold young people demanding that they be included!
We now offer a variety of different programs intentionally designed to provide students with opportunities to grow alongside and connect with nature, in Hawaiʻi and Montana. Wild Kids is built around exploration, discovery and imagination. We encourage students to expand their comfort zones by trying new things and making mistakes. In our After-School Program (grades K-8), we spend 2 hours everyday exploring the King Forest, the land adjacent to Le Jardin Academy’s campus and enjoy mud slides, scavenger hunts, hiking, tree climbing, making up games, building shelters, creating nature-based art, camouflage activities, scouting for trails, tracking birds, and searching for the magical forest elves known as "Little Greenies." We are excited to share this forest magic with the youngest members of our community!
We are especially thankful to Susan and Paul King for their unwavering belief in our community. They have generously opened their land for all students to learn and grow; their commitment to the children of Hawai’i is profound.
The Forest School Team
Our Wild Guides are trained in best practices in outdoor education, are community oriented, have a deep appreciation for nature, love to play and explore, and most importantly, are so excited for next week!
All of our guides are also Wilderness First Aid Certified.
Please contact wildkidshawaii@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Max
Max is the Wild Kids After-School Program Manager, as well as a wild artist at heart. With a background in kinesiology, he is involved with all things outdoor education with Wild Kids and LJA.
Hannah
Hannah has been a part of the Wild Kids program since 2021 guiding both for the Hawai’i After School Program and Montana summer trips. Whether on land or in the sea, Hannah is always down for an adventure. In her free time she enjoys spending time in the ocean, hiking, traveling and making jewelry with her friends.
Avery
Uncle M
Avery is the Executive Director of the Wild Communities Foundation. He loves all things wild, whether plants or animals; he also runs the native plant nursery at LJA.
Uncle M, Mr. M, or Josh; he goes by many names, but is know to all as a musical maestro and master of mele as well as moʻolelo of our campus and the surrounding area. He is also the Dean of Experiential Education and Community Partnerships in the Secondary.