Forest Children Collective at Earthaven Ecovillage

"The Forest Children are truly children of the earth. In our world today, unstructured free roaming play is an almost obsolete choice for many kids. Yet these children emanate with a kind of light, laughter and health that reminds one of the true beauty and magic of what childhood can, and should be. They are living examples, seeds of life, and of light."

What is the Forest Children Collective?
The Forest Children Collective is a group of parents living at Earthaven and the surrounding areas who have come together to hire a tutor to provide homeschool enrichment for their children. We are an Earth-based community creating an integrative homeschool resource and enrichment activities for our children. We take advantage of our natural setting at Earthaven Ecovillage in the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina, encouraging each child to develop a deeper understanding of the cycles of nature and sustainable stewardship of the earth.

We currently have about 8 children, ages 5 through 10. Our multi-age setting encourages the older children to mentor the younger ones, and inspires new levels of social learning. Our day includes time together as a whole, and time divided into different age groups.

The Forest Children Collective facilitates an individualized learning journey for each child, using each child's own aptitudes and interests as the starting point. We emphasize each child's strengths. The children love to learn, and they take charge of their own learning. Each child learns something new every day, and we've created a caring community that supports social, emotional, and academic growth.

Weaving together individual homeschooling and supplemental experiential activities, we have developed a unique collaborative opportunity for homeschool families. Our structure provides each child with individual attention and focus in specific areas due to our excellent student-tutor ratio.

Forest Children Collective Vision
We envision a world of people living sustainably, thinking independently, making decisions cooperatively, nurturing healthy children, families and communities, and allowing the flow of divine spirit through everything.

Homeschool enrollment with the state
As required by North Carolina law, if your child is seven or older, they must be enrolled as a homeschooler with the state.

How to visit the Forest Children’s Program

1. Brief observation: Parents interested in the possibility of joining the collective in the future may observe for a short period (up to half an hour) from the “sidelines,” and are asked not to get their children involved in the activities. Call or email the Administrator (828 669 0997 or ) to schedule the day ahead of time, and attend only after receiving her approval.
2. Visiting day: Parents seriously considering joining the collective for the upcoming session may attend for one free day. The purpose of a visiting/observation day is to assess the collective and evaluate whether or not it can meet your family’s needs. The child(ren) participate in activities and the parent stays with the group to observe . Call the tutor ahead of time to schedule the day, and attend only after receiving her approval. Bring your own lunch for you and your child.
3. Further visiting: If the parent desires another visiting day to further assess the compatibility with their child, a drop-in fee is requested for each child (see rates below).
4. Other drop-ins: Generally, one-day drop-ins (other than above) are not allowed, but with the tutor’s prior approval, exceptions are sometimes made. The drop-in charges are $38/day per child.

Contact information

For more information call the Administrator, Tanya Carwyn at (828) 669 0997 or email her at

Forest Children Program
Attn: Tanya Carwyn
1025 Camp Elliot Rd
Black Mountain NC 28711