Learning Circles Retreats
Intentional Gatherings on the Homeschool Journey
For families and children
Warm. Connected. Outdoors. Heartwood is where families come back to themselves — through nature, expressive art, music, and the simple power of being together without an agenda.
For parents and caregivers
This is for the parent who is ready to bring awareness to their own triggers — especially the ones rooted in a broken education experience or a childhood that didn't feel safe to learn in. There is hope here. And healing.
What This Is
A reflective, restorative retreat for homeschool parents to reconnect with their own inner landscape and find inspiration for the path they're building.
What This Is
An immersive creative arts retreat held outdoors, where children and caregivers explore expression, connection, and curiosity side by side.
What to Expect
Guided reflection, expressive arts, and honest conversation — space to have compassion for yourself and return home with clarity and renewed sense of purpose.
What to Expect
Time in nature. Art-making. Songs around a fire. Gently-led experiences that help children and parents feel — and feel seen by — one another.
Who It's For
For parents and caregivers on alternative education paths who are ready to do the inner work that makes them the learning guides their child or children need.
Who It's For
Families with children of all ages who are ready to slow down, gather, and reconnect on the road less taken.
Heartwood
We created this program for our kids and yours. The outdoors is inherently grounding, and we'll invite participation to engage in expressive prompts for emotional awareness & connection. We include intentional time for open-ended exploration and play. We utilize whatever outdoor space we're in, whether wooded trails, gardens, or open land. Heartwood aims to improve the emotional connection with the self and the living world around us.
Every learning space and community is a little different. We have the flexibility to adapt to your needs—whether you're envisioning a single gathering, a weekend retreat, or an ongoing program woven into your existing community, we'd love to talk about what Heartwood could look like for you. Reach out to start the conversation.
Self-Led Learning™
Sharon developed the Self-Led Learning™ framework and retreats for parents willing to explore a sometimes uncomfortable inquiry: Who is showing up when I sit down to learn with my child?
IFS, Internal Family Systems, is an evidence-based framework developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz that helps us understand the different "parts" of our inner world.
IFS teaches us that we all carry parts: patterns and protectors shaped by our own experiences of childhood, school, and being seen (or not seen). The perfectionist. The anxious do-er. The part that needs it to go a certain way. These parts aren't problems. They're doing a job. But when they're running the show, we can sacrifice connection for performance. Self-Led Learning ™ is a powerful framework rooted in the belief that you can have and deserve both — the connection with your child and a chance to reconnect with yourself along the way.
When a parent finds their way back to Self, calm, curious, and compassionate, something shifts. Not just in them, but in the child beside them. Self-led learning isn't a curriculum or a method. It's a quality of presence. And it can be practiced, returned to, and deepened. This retreat creates space for exactly that.