Question 1

What is a Play Guide?

Accepted Answer

A Play Guide is the adult role in every Wild Child session - and it's deliberately different from a coach. A coach runs the activity, sets the rules, and steps in to resolve problems as they come up. A Play Guide holds the space and the safety boundaries, but doesn't direct what happens. Kids decide what to do, who to do it with, and when to stop. The Play Guide is there so that's safe to do-  not to manage it for them.

Question 2

What do kids actually do in a session?

Accepted Answer

Whatever they decide to do. There's no lesson plan and no curriculum - what happens in a session emerges from the kids themselves, not from an adult's agenda. That might look like building something, working through a disagreement, inventing a game with no assigned rules, or exploring on their own. The Play Guide sets safe boundaries and is present throughout, but the direction of play belongs to the children.

Question 3

Is this actually safe if no one's directing the kids?

Accepted Answer

Yes - it's differently supervised, not less supervised. Play Guides are trained in outdoor risk-benefit assessment: distinguishing genuine hazard from the kind of manageable risk (climbing, tool use, physical challenge) that's core to how kids build real competence. Every session runs inside clear, non-negotiable safety boundaries set in advance. What Play Guides don't do is resolve every bump, disagreement, or small failure for a child - because that's exactly the part that builds self-trust.

Question 4

Does "Wild Child" mean this only happens in the forest?

Accepted Answer

No. The name points at something in the child - their natural, untamed capacity to explore and figure things out - not a specific setting. Sessions run outdoors and are land-based, but the program isn't limited to forest programming; the same philosophy applies across after-school sessions, camps, birthday parties, and the rites-of-passage retreat.

Question 5

What age is this for?

Accepted Answer

Sessions are mixed-age by design, rather than split strictly by grade. Older and younger kids play in the same session on purpose - older kids naturally take on a mentoring role, and younger kids benefit from being around it.

Question 6

What if my child doesn't know anyone else there?

Accepted Answer

Mixed-age, drop-in sessions are actually built for this. There's no assigned team or pre-formed group to be an outsider to - kids join whatever's already happening, and older kids (including Junior Mentor Play Leads, where present) often help draw newer or quieter kids in.

Question 7

What is the Junior Mentor Play Lead Program?

Accepted Answer

It's a formal role for youth in Grades 7–9. Play Leads aren't junior coaches - they play alongside younger children as peers inside the activity itself, rather than directing from outside it. This gives older kids real responsibility (not a token title) and frees the adult Play Guide to focus on holding space and safety for the whole group, rather than managing every interaction directly.

Question 8

What happens if my child doesn't find "their thing" without structure?

Accepted Answer

That's fine. If a child doesn't land on one activity they love, they keep playing lots of things and having fun - that's a perfectly good outcome too. The goal isn't to produce a specific interest or skill; it's to give kids a real environment to direct themselves in.

Question 9

What do you do in bad weather?

Accepted Answer

Sessions run outdoors in all reasonable weather - the outdoor, natural setting is core to the model, not a backdrop.

Question 10

How much does it cost, and how do I register?

Accepted Answer

Info coming soon!

Question 11

How is this different from a regular camp or after-school program?

Accepted Answer

Most programs (sport, forest school, standard camps) are still coach-led or curriculum-led: an adult decides the activity in advance and steps in to keep things on track. Wild Child has no curriculum and is Play Guide-led, not coach-led. Nothing is planned in advance by an adult; what happens emerges from the kids. It's not a better version of a structured program - it's built on a different premise entirely.

Question 12

Is Wild Child a nonprofit?

Accepted Answer

Info coming soon!

Question 13

Where do sessions run?

Accepted Answer

Info coming soon!

Frequent Asked Questions

What is a Play Guide?

What do kids actually do in a session?

Is this actually safe if no one's directing the kids?

Does "Wild Child" mean this only happens in the forest?

What age is this for?

What if my child doesn't know anyone else there?

What is the Junior Mentor Play Lead Program?

What happens if my child doesn't find "their thing" without structure?

What do you do in bad weather?

How much does it cost, and how do I register?

How is this different from a regular camp or after-school program?

Is Wild Child a nonprofit?

Where do sessions run?