We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.
“Nostos” by Louise Glück
Our Values
The magic of childhood - its boundless curiosity and special sweetness - are what The Field School nurtures and celebrates. Caring educators, immense natural beauty, and rich Mediterranean culture are the foundation of our offering and approach.
Through our curriculum, children look, wonder, and look again at this inexhaustible world. From the realms of science, math, art, and the humanities, they amplify their natural propensity for awe.
This program is not “summer school.” Rather than propelling children towards certain learning milestones - an essential, but exhausting function of normal school - our program cultivates the desire to learn, activating the multiple benefits that children draw from time spent in nature, collaborative play, and creative pursuits. There are no worksheets, no textbooks, and no screens.
Program Overview
Schedule
The Field School offers 35 hours per week of child enrichment. It is a drop-off program, beginning at 2pm and ending at 9pm, Monday through Friday, in the summer months. Dinner is included.
We choose this unusual schedule to align with island rhythms of life while still meeting families’ needs. The atmosphere that emerges after sundown on Hvar is an essential pleasure of summers here. Our schedule allows families to enjoy later nights with slower mornings. This PM format also offers at least partial support to parents working on both EU/UK and American time zones.
In the fall session, the program runs from 10am-5pm, Monday through Friday. Lunch is included.
Friday evenings are family beach night in the summer, with pizza included, and will transition to campfire nights in the fall. Saturdays will include optional family service opportunities, such as grape and olive harvest or trail restoration. Read more about our whole-family activities in Community.
Typical Day
2pm/10am: After a welcome ceremony, a typical day begins with a context-setting tutorial, such as a presentation of buoyancy or the water cycle, which sets the scene for subsequent hands-on activities.
3pm/11am: The sea or ridgeline calls children to outdoor activities like sailing, rock climbing, fishing, and hiking, depending on the season.
5pm/1pm: Time to cook and chow down! During meals, children also take turns reading and discussing poems, stories, or essays. Finally, all children help with clean-up and composting.
7pm/3pm: As the day winds down, children turn to crafts, gardening, or visit cultural attractions. In longer sessions, interested children will have the opportunity to build a traditional wooden boat from scratch.
9pm/5pm: After a brief goodbye ceremony, children may join their parents for a summer stroll on the riva (waterfront promenade) or reconvene after dinner for a fall soccer match or play at the local theater.
A Field Journal
At the outset of each session, every child receives a journal and writing implements. We encourage children to use these tools as an extension of their thinking. A place to capture observations or favorite quotes, or to reason through words, numbers, and diagrams.
The use of journals is well-supported by research as a means to build focus, core academic competencies, and self-confidence through mindfulness.
After children leave The Field School, they keep their journals as a detailed memento of their friendships, favorite moments, and the way they felt on the island.
Meals
All children in our program cook their own meals from local ingredients. Each day includes a cooking workshop led by an acclaimed zero kilometer restauranteur and food educator in a private courtyard garden and outdoor kitchen in historic Stari Grad. Children give thanks before each meal, then assist in clean-up and composting. They sometimes fish for their supper and will often help tend the organic garden which provides most of the ingredients for their meals.
These activities not only promote a joyful perspective on food and community, but provide our group with myriad opportunities to apply and study academic concepts.
Age Groups & Ratios
The Field School of Hvar serves children of all ages. Our youngest participants attend a parent-accompanied early childhood program that is 20 hours per week. Babies and toddlers enjoy water play, nature walks, songs and movement, sensory crafts, and open-ended play. The ratio of children to educators is 6:1.
Older children attend a drop-off program that is 35 hours per week. Children ages four to six have a student-teacher ratio of 6:1. Three-year-olds may attend this program if they are potty-trained and are comfortable away from their parents.
Children ages seven and older have a student-teacher ratio of 7:1. Two or more adults are always present in any learning environment. We keep our ratios low to ensure safety, enable individualized learning, and promote strong bonds between Guides and children.
In total, the program serves 6 infants or toddlers, 6 kinder-aged children, and 21 older children in each session.
Location
The Field School mostly takes place outside on beaches, forests, orchards, and in our local villages. Our “home base” is a learning center in the Fontana Resort (see more about accommodations), a 220sm classroom with a wraparound terrace overlooking the sea. Families are welcome to use this space as a playroom outside of program hours.
The food program takes place in the historic town of Stari Grad, 10 minutes from Jelsa by car. We use a trusted, private shuttle service for transportation.
