Pinecrest Camp Rebrands Field School, Still Offering Great Homeschool Education
Pinecrest Camp and Retreat Center in Moscow, Tennessee has changed the name of its monthly Field School for Homeschool programming to Tiyak Field School. In the Chickasaw language, Tiyak means pine (tree) and Pinecrest believes the word better represents its ongoing commitment to bringing greater awareness to the people, the science, and the history of West Tennessee.
The classes have focused themes and use seasonal nature and environmental education as the foundation for reinforcing core subjects. Learning is done outside, and classes are rain or shine. During inclement weather, classes will be held in an indoor space. Pinecrest follows a dual instructor model, which allows the instructors to gear the classes to a wider range of learning levels. Programming is geared toward students in second through seventh grades, but children outside of those levels are welcome to participate.
Advance registration for the full spring semester is $80 per student for eight classes and $12 per student for single classes. Students paying in-person for a single class will pay $15.
Tiyak Field School will have focused themes and be held on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the following dates:
February 4, 2025: Winter Wilderness: Understanding our place among the ecosystem of the Pinecrest wilderness setting. We’ll embark on a learning trek of approximately one mile, using our senses, thinking routines, and analytics to deepen our local connection.
February 18. Our Earth: From an individual organism to a whole biome, we’ll analyze animals and plants in their habitats and how living organisms interact with their community. Today’s journaling exercise brings us deeper awareness of these interactions.March 4. Light and Dark: It’s time for a change! A time change, that is. We’ll make sense of seasons, night and day, and how dark and light affect the ecosystems on our blue marble. Our journaling exercise will help us notice seasonal changes.
March 18. Amphibiains: What is a wetland and why are they so important? Don the waders and follow us on an adventure! This is the perfect time to observe amphibians, mainly Upland Chorus Frogs and Marbled Salamanders, in their larval stage. Journaling today uses our herpetologist brain in detailing our observations.
April 1. Land and Water: How do plate tectonics relate to Pinecrest? What else affects our landscape? The interaction between water and Earth give us a glimpse into the geologic and hydrologic dynamics of our ever-changing Earth. Bring the journal to diagram our lesson of the day.
April 15. Spring Plants: Spring plants have been waiting patiently all winter, storing their energy, often underground. Forest flowers, green leaves, ephemeral emergence… let’s find what interests you and we’ll undertake our scientific analysis through dissection and population plotting while journaling our chosen microhabitats.
April 29. Insects and Invertebrates: The buzz of spring is a timeless phenological (natural changes over time) joy. Powerful, energetic, and essential, we’ll compare some of the unique abilities of invertebrates with our own. We’ll also take time to look at qualities shared among different groups to help us understand the variety of their divisions and journal our charts.
May 13. Reptiles!: Visit with Doodle the Friendly Noodle, Pinecrest’s snake ambassador. We’ll look around for additional examples of the reptile world and make observations that help us identify their characteristics. What can we do to help ease our fears, or help others? How are reptiles related to our ecosystems? Journal our examples while we observe their natural environment.
Admission is $10 per participant with one adult free per family, and $5 each for additional guests. Registration required and a minimum of three students is needed to hold the school. Students are asked to bring a field journal for the program. E-mail Charity Siebert with any questions and to register.
Participants are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and stay and play after the program.
All proceeds benefit the environmental education mission of Pinecrest Camp and Retreat Center.
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