We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful WonderHere. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.

Alright, Tiffany thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

Teaching in public schools for years, WonderHere founders Tiffany and Jessica experienced the slow, systemic changes created by an unhealthy educational culture: children sitting in desks for hours, completing arduous tasks in the name of “rigorous” instruction without regard developmentally appropriate expectations or the simple joys of childhood. Determined to make learning both fun and meaningful, Tiffany and Jessica researched and reimagined the idea of “school”. Starting out with a few free pop-up classes in 2016 to growing a full elementary school, WonderHere Education Foundation has partnered with thousands of families over the 8 years of service to redeem childhood.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Teaching in the public school system for years, Tiffany and Jessica experienced the slow and systemic changes created by an unhealthy culture disguised as accountability and progress monitoring. Children unable to play outside for long stretches of time. Little ones in desks, sitting and completing paperwork for hours on end. Experiencing arduous tasks and the push for more rigorous instruction without regard for developmentally appropriate expectations or the simple joys of childhood.

Feeling passionate about education and determined to discover better practices for making learning both fun and meaningful without the nonsense, Tiffany and Jessica teamed up to research and reimagine what “school” could look like.

Thus, WonderHere was born.

Starting out with a few free educational pop up classes in 2016 to now a full fledge elementary private school on 10-acres of countryside in South Lakeland, WonderHere Education Foundation and Schoolhouse has partnered with thousands of families over the 8 years of service to redeem childhood and make learning fun again through a non-traditional private Schoolhouse, summer camps, homeschool enrichment programs, curriculum, and other special community events.

At the end of the day, the thing we are most proud of is that we get to wake up each day and see our dream of joyful, meaningful education become a reality.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When transitioning in our roles of public school teachers to educational entrepreneurs/rebels, we basically had to unlearn everything. We had to shift our belief from “let’s keep kids from falling behind in learning” to “every child learns at their own pace”. We had to shift our belief from “reading and math are the most important things” to “art, play, projects, science, history, and rest are just as important.” We had to shift our belief from “school needs to happen 5 days a week, 7 hours a day, in one classroom” to “school can happen 4 days a week, 4 hours a day, anywhere.”

And we have challenged and tested these ideas daily for the last 8 years. We’re finally getting to the place where we know who we are and what we believe and that it works, and we’re ready to share it all with the world.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As for all of us, 2020 was a year of incredible uncertainty. We were half way through our fourth year of WonderHere and felt like we finally had some footing. Then the world shut down in March. And this way of learning we had been perfecting for three-and-a-half years – this incredibly hands-on, play-based, project-driven learning that happened 100% in person – was now in jeopardy. We then realized we had no choice but to pivot or die off as a company. Yes, we had to shift to remote learning, but we made it fun with at-home project kits, fun virtual learning challenges, drive through curriculum pick-ups, and working tirelessly to remind our community that they were not alone. We were all still in this together.

We didn’t know it at the time, but this season showed us how important access to nature and outdoors is for children. This realization led us down the path of moving from what was once known as our urban Learn & Play Studio with no green space to our now 10-acre Schoolhouse and Farm where kids get to enjoy nature each and every day. And for that, we are endlessly grateful.

Contact Info:

• Website: wonderhere.com
• Instagram: @wonderhere

Image Credits
Megan Hill Photography Desiree Board Photography