Yes, you will gain instant access to all products included in your membership. However, we do strongly recommend following the 6-week Mother Wildflowers course schedule (including Learning through Play) before moving on to the homeschooling courses.

In order to best support true play-based learning, many things are required:

1. You need a deep understanding of what play is and why it matters in the early years.

2. Your child needs to be able to play independently for 5-8 hours per day.

3. You need to establish a screen-free rhythm that maximizes child development and minimizes challenging behaviors.

4. You need to practice parenting with confidence and authority so that your child will respect you and cooperate appropriately for your homeschool lessons.

Mother Wildflowers is the essential foundation to Nurture Wildflowers, regardless of your child’s age, play abilities, or screen-time habits. Laying this foundation now will make homeschooling a breeze. Trust me on this!

Nurture Wildflowers currently aligns with PK-2 state standards for math and language arts. 3rd grade main lessons and science, history, and social studies inspiration coming 2026.

In choosing Nurture Wildflowers, you are choosing a slower, less stressful, more developmentally appropriate approach to early childhood education for your child. You can expect your child to be "behind" their school-attending peers, especially in terms of reading, until about age 9 or Grade 3. This isn't specific to Nurture Wildflowers but aligns with a Waldorf approach to language arts.

With that said, it's important to commit to the Nurture Wildflowers 6+ Curriculum for the full 2-3 years before transitioning your child to a more traditional school. During these years, your child will not receive "less" education than their school-attending peers. They'll meet the exact same learning standards (or very similar if outside the US), just in a different way and at a different (better) pace.

This approach to learning requires a leap of faith, but it works! Trust childhood, trust yourself. You can do this

Nurture Wildflowers was designed for parents and caregivers of children ages 2-9. It is currently geared towards Pre-K to Grade 2 homeschooling families, but is also beneficial for parents and caregivers who are concerned about early academics and eager to learn how to give their young children the best cognitive foundation possible.

Nurture Wildflowers is also appropriate for early childhood educators interested in learning about whole child development and The Reggio Approach.

You can begin this approach to early learning at any point between ages 2 to 5. 

2 to 4 year olds need unstructured play, not schooling. However, many parents feel pressured to support early academics in toddlerhood and worry about their littlest ones falling severely behind.

Whether using this course as a Kindergarten alternative or as a guide for toddler and preschool learning, this course will give you confidence and encouragement that your child is indeed learning and developing through play and day-to-day life.

Play-Based Homeschool Basics is ideal for preschool and Kindergarten (ages 2-6), but younger siblings will be welcome to join most activities.

Most children will be cognitively ready to begin the Nurture Wildflowers math and literacy curriculum in first grade, or age 6 turning 7.

The information in Learning through Play is relevant to all parents, caregivers, and educators of young children. However, this approach to homeschooling is best-suited to primary caregivers who work less than 15-20 flexible hours per week from home, or those who can recruit other caregivers to help carry out their homeschooling efforts. 

In Play-Based Homeschool Basics, you’ll find a comprehensive shopping list and a thorough breakdown of our recommended toys and learning materials. The total cost of materials for ages 2-9 ranges from approximately $400-$2000.

This price varies greatly depending on which items you already own and how much you’re able to invest. Keep in mind that traditional homeschool curriculum costs an average of $600 per year, per child. These materials will support all of your children, through the early years and beyond! Plus, they have fantastic resell value when you're finished.

I have compiled a comprehensive list of milestones for birth through second grade (age 8) in the areas of Language, Reading, Writing, Counting, Measurement, Geometry, Operations, Science, and History based on California, Arizona, and Common Core state standards for ages birth through Grade 2. These milestones will be applicable to you regardless of your state or country.

The goal is to help you understand exactly which skills your child should learn by the end of second grade (age 8), despite the likelihood of them hitting these targets later than their school-attending peers.

Temporarily, yes! It's important to know that, in participating in Nurture Wildflowers, your child will likely be academically "behind" their school-attending peers until about age 8 or 9, especially in terms of reading. If choosing this slower and less stressful academic journey for your child, it's best to commit through second or third grade. Once your child has "caught up" and has proven to be cognitively ready for more direct academic instruction, you might consider other school options at that point if desired.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that your child won’t learn how to read. Quite the opposite, in fact! It means they will begin phonics instruction in first grade, or age 6 turning 7, when they’re cognitively ready to do so. It means they’ll learn at a slower, less stressful, and more organic pace. And it means that, by age 8 or 9, their thirst for reading and knowledge will be only beginning, while many of their school-attending peers are becoming increasingly more burnt out.

I strongly believe that a self-paced, interest-driven, hands-on, screen-free education is even more important for neurodiverse children.

You'll do a morning language routine and main lesson 4-5 days per week (20-60 minutes each, age depending), plan a few weekly opportunities for things like messy process art, seasonal magic, and interest-based learning, and protect lots of free time for things like daydreaming, working with loose parts, building and creating, playing outdoors, and inventing games.

The goal with this approach to education will be to slow down, to make time for conversation, to ask open-ended, thought-provoking questions, and to let young children be little.

Through casual observation, you’ll be able to recognize what your child is trying to uncover or demonstrate through play, which will allow you to provide just the right amount of support and take their learning levels higher, without interfering in play.

This program is not meant to complement other math and language curricula or programs. Nurture Wildflowers is designed to be a direct replacement for today's prevalent early childhood education options that are not developmentally appropriate for young children. The goal of Nurture Wildflowers is to slow down - to withdraw our children from the race of childhood, protecting the crucial stages of early brain development and allowing early academics to unfold at a more appropriate and organic pace.

As of September 2024, I've officially decided to retire the online community aspect of Raise Wildflowers. I've attempted different versions of online communities for about three years, and I just can't seem to keep up with it (or feel good about it) despite my best intentions.

As much as I can see the benefits to members being able to share encouragement and bounce ideas off one another, I also know, on a very deep level, how all-consuming mothering and homeschooling can be, and how little time we have for chatting with strangers on the internet.

True to the Raise Wildflowers brand, I want to encourage you to consume the information I provide you with in my courses, then block out the noise of society, turn inwards, and practice slowing down and implementing these approaches with your own family, without burdening yourself with the endless thoughts and opinions of others.

My personal belief is that online communities are toxic no matter the niche, moderator, or quality of members, and my stomach does a bit of a somersault every time I think about providing an online space that steals your time, attention, and potentially mental well-being. 

My goal is to spend as little time as I possibly can on screens, and as much time as I possibly can being present with my family and making real-life social connections. My hope is to eventually create some sort of meet-up system to help members connect with other RW families in your area, but for now, I feel that no online community is for the best.

Comments remain open on Nurture Wildflowers courses and newsletters, so members are always welcome to continue to ask questions and leave comments under relevant lessons and posts.

Nurture Wildflowers is 100% secular.

I have over 15 years of professional experience working with young children as a preschool teacher, preschool director/owner, nanny, and early childhood research assistant. I hold a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction, a Bachelor’s degree in Family and Child Development, and an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education.

I am trained in assessing high-quality early learning environments as well as assessing developmental milestones in young children. Pre-pandemic, I proudly owned a thriving Reggio-inspired toddler school and I have also received professional training in Reggio-inspired documentation.

I have a unique understanding of child development and a genuine passion for protecting play and empowering mothers.

Nurture Wildflowers is currently a digital product. You will not automatically receive any tangible products in the mail. However, you will have the option to purchase The Leaning Journal for $39.99 + shipping (available to members only).

Yes, Nurture Wildflowers can be applied in any English-speaking country where homeschooling is allowed. Some families have also applied Nurture Wildflowers concepts to teach reading and writing for other first languages at home.

Many families have had success in using charter funds for Nurture Wildflowers. In this case, the annual option is ideal. If your charter has questions about the program, please direct them to [email protected].