Microschool for Wild and Curious Homeschoolers
Small-group, mixed-age, personalized learning.
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Knoxville, TN between Farragut and Hardin Valley
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Ages 5-9 (≈1st-3rd gr)
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2 day/wk drop-off program
Mon/Wed 10am-3pm
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$375/mo
for two day enrollment
Flexible, personalized learning centered on wondering, exploring, and experiencing!
Engaging Exploration
WonderWild is a kaleidoscope of exploration, combining creative projects, hands-on experiments, nature study, and sensory play, plus core academics including language arts, science, math, and social studies.
Authenticity & Autonomy
We’re a self-directed education (SDE) program where learners choose their own goals and how to spend their time. Our wealth of engaging options and supportive grownups let every child follow their passions and fall deeply into learning.
The Power of Play
Children learn best through uninterrupted, unmanaged play. We see kids for the creative, passionate, inquisitive people they are, and our space is designed with real kids and their unique needs in mind.
Made for Motion
WonderWild is designed from the ground up to welcome kids with busy spirits. We never require silence, stillness, and seriousness. Our learners approach learning with their full bodies, minds, and hearts.
Building Brains
There’s no rote memorization here! Our program supports the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative thinking at every step. This approach sets kids up for lifelong success across any subject.
Community Cooperation
We promote working together as a team. Kids learn how to cooperate as a community. They learn problem-solving skills, enjoy creative collaboration, and explore how to give and get support.
Is your child a wild and curious learner who wants to know everything?
Do they sometimes jump quickly from one activity to another and other times intensely focus on a single interest?
Are they loud, messy, or always in motion? Have they gotten in trouble for yelling? Wiggling? Talking too much or interrupting? Spacing out or ignoring instructions?
WonderWild is for kids who won’t settle for a learning environment where they have to sit still, be quiet, and follow directions. Our program and our space have been designed with both sensory-seeking and sensory-avoidant learners in mind.
We meet each child wherever they are on their individual learning path, and then we clear the way for their love of learning to soar!
I’m Issa Waters, founder, homeschooling mama of two.
WonderWild is inspired by my 6 year old who is wonderfully noisy, constantly moving, and full of ideas. It’s hard to find places built for kids like him, and we kept meeting other children who were treated like “too much”. These kids are wired for curious exploration, and I wanted a space where that spark could flourish and flow.
Before becoming a parent, I was a preschool teacher and later a parenting coach. From 2017-2022 I ran Wild Play Woods, a forest adventure playground. Most recently, I was a facilitator at Big Tree Knoxville, an Agile Learning Center. I’ve trained extensively in Nonviolent Communication, self-directed learning models, and non-coercive childcare practices.
Kids tend to like me because I don’t talk down to them or act like a perfect, all-knowing adult. I’m as curious and playful as they are! I’m direct, respectful, and “real”. I appreciate them for the whole people they already are.
My goal for WonderWild is to build a place where kids can learn with their whole bodies, hearts, and minds!
Read my longer bio, or read more about the role of grownups at WonderWild.
