Wood Lake Nature Center provides fun and educational programs for homeschoolers grades K through 12. There are three main programs designed to grow with your child as they get older. Homeschool Co-ops, associations, groups, and individual families are welcome! For more information check out the programs below or call Wood Lake's Homeschool Coordinator at 612-861-9193.
Science Explorers
This program is designed for elementary aged children 5 and up. Science Explorers is a fun and exciting introduction to science, natural history, and cultural history. Classes are once a month and follow a five year rotation. While the format of the class will depend on the topic, you can expect most classes to have a lesson, a game that ties into the lesson, and a craft related to the lesson. Classes are designed to be an active learning experience and the majority of the time is spent outdoors. Science Explorers Topics
If your child is younger than five, Wood Lake offers a preschool program, Nature Adventurers, designed specifically for your child's age. Please call 612-861-9365 for more information.
Junior Scientist Program
Wood Lake Nature Center's Junior Scientist Program is designed for middle-school aged homeschoolers. This program builds upon the knowledge learned in the Science Explorers program to perform real hands on research. The program provides hands on projects related to citizen science, resource conservation, and cool projects that a field scientist would experience. Students work on a team with other homeschoolers and are the driving force behind the program. This isn't a class, it's an experience! Junior Scientist Topics
Junior Scientist Leaders
Wood Lake's Junior Scientist Leaders is for high school aged students ages 14. The Junior Scientist Leaders assist in leading the Junior Scientist Program. Each leader will be in charge of a team of 6 students under the supervision of the homeschool coordinator. Leaders gain in depth knowledge of research techniques, receive experience interviewing for a job, and get their resume critiqued. They also gain invaluable leadership experience on the resume. Most importantly, however, they get to have fun! Junior Scientist Leader Topics
Minnesota Biomes Exploration
Wood Lake's newest program, it is designed for highschoolers ages 15 and up. This program will focus on one of Minnesota's four biomes each year. It is designed to be an introduction to ecology that will prepare high-school students for the terminology and labs they will experience in college. Student's will learn how to read and write scientific papers, they will learn about Minnesota's biomes, and will learn research techniques that they would perform in a college science lab. The class will culminate with a camping trip to a state park in the biome being studied. More information will be available soon!
For more details about how Wood Lake can meet your homeschooling needs, call the homeschool coordinator at (612) 861-9193.