We've all heard that it takes a village to raise a child, but sometimes a good village is hard to find. Villagers Microschool is here with a mission to develop more "villagers" for the world -- bringing up young people who are dedicated to improving their skills and contributing to their communities, and who are capable of caring for themselves and being accountable for their responsibilities and relationships.

We want to answer these questions:

• What knowledge and skills do adults often feel they are lacking, whether academically or in other areas, and wish they had learned while growing up?

• What would help kids to feel capable and like they have a place in the world, and that their skills and gifts are valuable and needed?

• What would help parents feel like having kids actually makes their lives easier, the way it used to for generations, instead of harder?

We do this through the following:

• academic foundations (a strong focus on reading, writing, and math, leading to connections across science, history, social studies, geography, civics, etc)

• analog skills (handwriting, public speaking, etiquette) balanced with tech literacy (internet safety, healthy screen-time habits, critical evaluation of sources)

• life skills (meal planning and prep, indoor and outdoor space stewardship, time management, executive functioning, healthy communication, critical thinking, learning about how to learn and how to teach, patience, mindfulness, goal-setting)

• a secular environment that teaches values (nonviolence, resilience, moderation, self-improvement, compassion, intellectual rigor, attention to detail)

• individual mentoring as part of the schedule for every student, every week

• students will also pursue projects and business ideas they're interested in, and get connected with outside resources as needed

We strive to make families' hectic lives easier so everybody can slow down and be present with each other:

• preparing meals and snacks is part of the curriculum, so no need to pack lunches unless your kid has very specific dietary needs/allergies

• academics are self-paced and mastery-based; homework assignments focus on ways to be helpful to the family and community

• our full-time schedule supports working families and/or those who want the strengths of homeschooling within a supportive community; our part-time schedule is conducive to homeschooling families or those who participate in other programs on Mondays and/or Fridays (theater, nature schools, art classes, other project-based schools, etc)

We currently serve students in grades 1-5, or ages 6-11, but hope to expand into K-12 in the future as our resources grow.

Our future goals include: a coworking space allowing parents to work remotely onsite; a retail store for books and household goods that the kids help stock, manage, and run; expansion to more grade levels so that older kids and teens take on the role of helping to mentor and educate the younger kids; apprenticeships, work experience, and college credit for teens.