You will receive a list of what to bring to class in your welcome packet when you enroll. Please bring a backpack with a water bottle, packed lunch, colored pencils, weather appropriate clothing, and sun protection. Wear clothes that can get dirty!

Tides: Ages 6 to 14 welcome . All programs are mixed groups so sibling sets can join together. (Only Ventura has two separate age groups, due to high enrollment.)

If your child is 5, they are too young for Tides, but can join as soon as they turn 6, even if that is mid-semester. We do sometimes make exceptions for a mature and responsible 5 year old – especially if it’s a sibling of an older child who will join Tides. Please contact our support team for more information.

El Jardin: K4 through 6th (8th in Carp & Thousand Oaks). See website for specifics. 

Terrain: Ages 3 to 6 welcome. Child must be fully potty trained. 

Farm to Table: k-2nd grade, 3rd-5th grades

We do not share location details on the internet for security reasons. Please contact our support team for information regarding our specific locations. Thank you for your understanding!

Our programs are designed to engage students in a wide age range because many of our families want to enroll sibling groups together. This can be a very positive and beneficial dynamic for children. Also, our teachers are attentive to the children’s interests and maturity levels, and find opportunities to divide the group so that older children can learn more deeply, and younger children can be a bit more playful! 

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If you would like to come for a trial day, you're welcome to do so. There is a drop-in fee for this service. You must register on our website and email our admin team to schedule a trial day. You can sign up here

Thank you for asking about Farm to Table! Trial days are only available for parents who are seriously interested in this program. Farm to Table is our version of a  “one-room farm/schoolhouse” where multiple age groups are taught all the core subjects needed for a complete day of homeschooling. This program is only available in Carpinteria. 

Note: The reason the curriculum is pre-selected is so that our teacher is able to be an "expert" in supporting each child's learning that day. Our team did their research to select top-rated, tried-and-true, secular, and well-known curriculum that many families already use and love. 

Children are not permitted to share food in our programs. Please make note of your child’s allergies on the registration form and be sure to notify your teacher of any allergies on the first day. In cases of severe allergies, we ask that you contact our support team so we can work directly with you and your child’s teacher to make any necessary accommodations. 

Generally speaking, parents aren't super involved in this program because classes are drop-off classes. Parents are welcome to stay nearby and observe the program from a friendly distance, so as not to alter the dynamics of the class. 

We understand every case is unique, so we ask that you please contact our admin team at support@lanternsglobal.com so we can discuss your situation further.

Dyslexia, ADHD, Dysgraphia: We’ve had many students with these learning differences thrive in our programs. There is little to no writing and reading required in our programs. When nature journaling, children are welcome to draw instead of write, though labeling is encouraged.

Wheelchairs- Unfortunately, most of our classes take place outdoors in locations that are not wheelchair accessible.

Down Syndrome: Aide required

Sensory or Auditory Processing Disorder: This usually does not present an issue in our programs.We ask that parents provide teachers with some specific pointers to help the child be successful. 

Type 1 Diabetes: Type 1 Diabetes support depends on the child’s responsibility, maturity, and self-awareness. Teachers will need to connect with the parents to learn what is needed and what to do in an emergency. 

EpiPen: You must notify our admin team and your child’s teacher if your student carries an epi-pen. Please communicate with the teacher to be sure they’re comfortable and capable of utilizing an EpiPen in an emergency. 

Autism Spectrum: Due to the nature of our programs, our teachers cannot offer individual support during our program. A parent or an aide are welcome to come and assist the student (background check required).

Some families choose to enroll in a homeschool charter school. This is different from other charter schools, because it’s specifically for homeschoolers. Through the homeschool charter schools, families have access to state-distributed funding which can be used for curriculum and enrichment purposes. Once enrolled in a charter school, you can choose enrichment programs from the charter’s approved vendors, and pay using funds. We are approved vendors for many California homeschool charter schools, but not all. We are happy to try applying for yours if we’re not connected with them yet!

Lanterns Global is an approved vendor with over 20 charter schools.

Blue Ridge

Cabrillo

Compass

Dimensions charter

Excel

Freedom

Golden Valley

Granite Mountain

Heartland

iLead

JCS (Julian Charter School)

Ocean Grove (IEM)

Sky Mountain (IEM)

Pacific Coast Academy

River Oaks Academy

Sage Oak

Visions in Education

Yosemite Valley (Axia Group)

Monarch (Axia Group)

Suncoast Prep

Mountain Vista Academy

If you don’t see you charter school listed, please email us at support@lanternsglobal.com to let us know, and we will get started with the charter approval process with your charter school!

Please be sure to check under “Lanterns Global,” not under the specific program name (El Jardin, Tides, etc.). If we’re not an approved vendor yet, the parent will need to reach out to the school to initiate our connection with the school; and then the school will instruct us on how to apply. Our charter school liaison, Gigi, will cover it from there!

We offer a $50 sibling discount in our El Jardin and Tides programs. 

We have a zero tolerance policy regarding physical bullying in our programs. We have protocols in place to address instances of verbal bullying. Teachers will work closely  with parents of all the students involved in such instances to reach a resolution. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have further questions or concerns about this topic.

El Jardin: Our curriculum is created by our El Jardin manager, who is a career Spanish teacher with a CA teaching credential. Our teachers are native Spanish speakers with years of experience teaching, tutoring, working with children, and now leading El Jardin! Our teachers are responsible, fun, and amazing with kids! Our teachers do not all have CA teaching credentials; we do not require this for teachers in our program. They are experienced and wonderful, and we conduct thorough screening, background checks, and ongoing accountability and staff training. We love our El Jardin teachers!

There is one head teacher and one assistant teacher for each group level, and the age groups are limited to 14 or fewer students. Most classes have 8-12 students each week.

Tides: Our curriculum is created by our Tides managing team, who are experienced marine biologists and marine biology educators. Our Tides teachers are responsible, fun, and amazing with kids! Our teachers do not all have CA teaching credentials; we do not require this for teachers in our program. They are experienced and wonderful, and we conduct thorough screening, background checks, and ongoing accountability and staff training. We love our Tides teachers!

There is one head teacher and one assistant teacher for each group level, and the age groups are limited to 14 or fewer students. Most classes have 8-12 students each week.

We do background checks on all of our teachers. Also, our HR manager oversees the process of multi-step interviewing, contacting multiple references, training them, etc to ensure they're a great fit for our programs. We use LiveScan for our background checks, and follow all charter school guidelines to also uphold the safety standards of the schools we work with. 

Our outdoor enrichment programs seek to educate children not only through lessons, but also through experiences, connections, and active engagement with the material. We do not describe our programs as academically rigorous, but instead are designed to spark wonder and curiosity. The classes are not writing or reading intensive, and any “homework” assignments given are optional bonus ideas, and ungraded. The nature journaling time can be simply sketching and basic labeling if the child isn’t ready to write. The classes do not build cumulatively, so it’s seamless to jump in mid-session or miss one if needed. 

There is no homework, but teachers send out optional bonus activities occasionally.