Core curriculum is woven into all of our programs, from day-longs to immersions to multi-year groups, of both youth and adults. Our core curriculum is influenced by what we have distilled into five branches of living life as a whole, connected, and engaged human being. Each branch has its own set of questions that guide our awareness, practices, and programs (see Vision & Mission). In Elemental Quest, the focus is on Community & Identity, learning about wild nature and ways to engage with it, as well as social and emotional intelligence which grows from self awareness and group connection. These support the four realms of Elemental Quest’s Core Curriculum:
Nature Awareness: Watersheds and plant communities, geological formation of California/Point Reyes, Indigenous cultures and life ways, Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Earth Skills: Friction fire, fire tending, carving, basketry, brooms, pottery, bow making, herbalism, wild crafting
Inner Cultivation: Gratitude, mindfulness, intention-setting, ancestry, qigong, flow state psychology
Social Connection: Peacemaking, Non-Violent Communication, gender identity, context for rites of passage
Sustainability: regeneration of our planet and people, for ourselves and for future generations of all life.
Guiding questions: How to grow food and medicine? How to heal biosphere and care for Earth? What are best possible systems for all life?
Community: remembering our place (kin) in the web of life.
Guiding questions: Who lives in my watershed/bioregion? How can I survive in the wilderness? What ancestral arts and hand crafts can I make?
Identity: reintegration of our sense of self, our purpose, and our place in the cosmos.
Guiding questions: Where am I in relation to culture and cosmos? How does this body-mind work? What are my gifts and how to use them?
Vitality: reactivating our capacity for self healing.
Guiding questions: What is healing and self healing? How can I cultivate this force? Where is qi – inside and out?
Longevity: rejuvenation for wellness in body, mind, and spirit.
Guiding questions: What is life? How to care for my body and others? Why… is my body the foundation for liberation?
Sustainability: focus of Elemental Design.
Community: focus of Elemental Connection.
Identity: focus of Elemental Quest.
Vitality: focus of Elemental Energy.
Longevity: focus of Elemental Health.
NATURE AWARENESS:
Sense of place
Mapping and orienteering
Local flora and fauna
Mindsight practices
Mindfulness and nature awareness
Nature games
PERSONAL CULTIVATION:
Adolescent brain
Flow state psycology
Gratitude practice
Awareness – inner and outer
Body-mind (somatic) psychology
Gut-brain connection
Self-generated ceremony
EARTH SKILLS:
Debris shelter
Friction fire making and tending
Foraging edibles & medicinals
Pottery and basketry
Cordage and knots
Herbal medicine-making
Bow making & archery
Carving and knife skills
Flintknapping, hide tanning, and other animal processing skills.
SOCIAL CONNECTION:
Non-violent communication
Wise speech
Peace-maker principles and practices
Way of council
Race, class, power, and privilege
Gender, orientation, relationships
Testimonials
“Our family has known Spencer for more than four years. He has provided wonderful role modeling and support during our son’s transition into adolescence. Spencer’s gentle manner, combined with his knowledge and enthusiasm for nature, make him an ideal mentor and guide for children as they navigate their way through today’s complex world.”
-Parent, Elemental Quest
“Spencer has been our son’s teacher and mentor for many years and has honestly been one of the best people in our lives. Our son is homeschooled and has learned so much through his outdoor studies with Spencer. I am always so impressed with the knowledge that he shares and also with the way that he relates to the students in his groups. We are so lucky to know Spencer!”
-Parent, Homeschool program
We look forward to working with you.
ELEMENTAL QUEST 