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Ocean Lesson

A Community of Passionate Educators and Learners

Located in Playas del Coco, Costa Rica, this alternative school builds student-lead curriculum on three pillars: the Earth, the Community, and the Ocean (ECO) for a holistic learning experience, exploring environmentalism through nature and technology.

morning meeting

ENROLLMENT IS OPEN

School Day at NdS

8:00 am - 3:00 pm

(optional 9am start for younger students)

Welcome families! Currently we are accepting enrollment for the 2020 school year.  In order to hold a place at Niños del Sol ECO School, each student needs a completed registration form and payment of the registration fees.  Early Registration starts October 16th and ends November 1st; we are offering a 5% discount off registration fees for all early registrants.  Registration will close on November 16th, and we can not guarantee a place with NdS after that date.  Please advance to our Admissions page.

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The NdS community provides an alternative education for families seeking a program to support their children to advance academically at their own pace while exploring the outdoors with lessons focused on ecology and the ocean.

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At present, we  have four Scholarships available. Please inquire at ninosdelsolcr@gmail.com to begin the application process. 

LEGO Robotics Team

WHAT'S NEW

New programs start in 2020. Have a look at  what's new on our blog page.

Each year we add new classes and clubs to our program.  Past offerings include Dance Equations, LEGO Robotics, and Rock Band.  Please follow the blog to find out what will be available in 2020.

 

Our blog posts keep families informed of events past and present, and as we continue to develop our facility, we will post photos and updates to the blog as well.

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Ask about our award-winning teaching staff and follow us on social media

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KID CLUB

After School Programs

Break'n, Ballet, Karate and Yoga

Announcing KID CLUB! This year we are trying something new, and in partnership with Coco Yoga & Wellness, we are offering an after school program for only $28/month. Yes, only one price and students may attend all KID CLUB activities at the yoga studio. 

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Currently, Coco Yoga & Wellness offers classes in Break'n  (Mondays), Ballet (Tuesdays), Karate (Thursdays), and Kidding Around Yoga (Fridays). All classes run 4:00 - 4:45 pm at the yoga studio.

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Click her for more details. 

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2020 School Year

Begins February 2020

Niños del Sol ECO School's curriculum and guidelines follow both North American and Costa Rican standards. We have organized our grade levels into developmental groups: Explorers, Architects, and Innovators. Within each of these groups students may operate at different levels:  Junior, Senior,  or Master.

 

Our curriculum follows a three-term cycle where concepts are introduced, explored, and mastered.  We design each term's lessons around an overarching themes to create cross-curricular learning and unity within the program. For example, topics studied in mathematics will  link with topics in art or science.

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To keep reading about our program visit our Mission page.

WHAT’S COMING UP?

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2020 STUDENT HANDBOOK

Here you can find all the information you need to know before you enroll.

OUR MISSION

Changing The Way We Educate

 

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Thoughts from the director, Joshua Wittman and the future of education at Niños del Sol.

THE PILLARS WE STAND ON

COMMUNITY

A Place to Thrive

At NdS we make it a point to do something with our local community. This is a time to integrate what we have learned or down during our weeks' lessons and activities to our community. Be it volunteering in a local business or just taking a bowl of fruit from our garden to a neighbor for some friendly Spanish conversation, community outreach is the most applicable means to the authenticity of an education!

EARTH

Mindful Growth

Devoting care and awareness to our garden shows the student how to be gentle and empathetic to that which has no voice. We take meditations and quiet moments of reflection while water or sitting with our plants or eating together. We are creating a permaculture garden with the end goal to produce enough food for our school's snack time and lunch every day. We hope that Niños del Sol can become an example to the larger Playas del Coco community in creating a community garden.

Earth, Community, Ocean

E.C.O.

WATER CONNECTION

Dive Right In

Playa Ocotal is just a ten-minute walk from our school.  This makes it possible for us to incorporate a beach visit twice a week. We teach tide pool exploration and include technical swimming and snorkel biology adventures into our lessons. This constant engagement with the natural environment of Costa Rica instills a deeper connection to the Earth as their home, life source, and place they can always return to for center, peace, and learning.

STEM

Robots and More

Technological fluency resonates among our school. Living within the technological age, it is imperative that students are able to research information for themselves, design and engineer projects of their own with the newest technologies available. Computer programming, coding, 3-D imaging and other advancements are continually becoming a part of our curriculum. LEGO Robotics was one of our first endeavors and we received third place in Open Class at the national LEGO Robotics competition in 2018.

We are on the road to Ocotal Beach close to Playas del Coco. Look for the corner with our big sign in the yard! We're only 40 minutes from LIR Airport.

(506)8648-5117

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