2022 - 2023
Coastal Ecology
A weekly Day program for Middle Schoolers
Mugworts Middle School is a weekly day long program for 5th-8th graders geared towards enriching students in arts, nature, and being environmentally conscientious citizens. This year classes will be held on Tuesdays from 10:00am - 2:15pm. Subjects are taught in an interdisciplinary way because the world is not compartmentalized. To solve our most complex problems requires us to see the world through various problem solving lenses. This year's theme is looking at Southern California's ecology, from a science, social, and historical perspective. Our teachers will be teaching language arts, applied mathematics, botanical pharmacology/plant medicine and coastal ecology through this interconnected lens. The classes will be held at Irvine Regional Park and the Newport Backbay where students will be working on a boat and laboratory.
THIS IS A YEAR LONG COMMITMENT CLASS. The price listed is per semester. You will automatically be enrolled for the Spring. If you don't continue for Spring Semester there will be a 10% fee (of the cost of the class) to cover finding a replacement.
Course Descriptions
Coastal Ecology with Sama Wareh and Wendy Machovsky (2x a month)
Get ready for a learning environment that kicks up science to a whole new level. In partnership with CA Fish and Wildlife, our mugworts students will get to learn in the State of the indoor and outdoor Art Laboratory at the Backbay while conducting research and learning about Coastal Ecology. Students will get to pull up marine samples from the estuary, use high powered microscopes, run plankton pulls, raise abalone and trout, and learn how to care for and feed the many in-house marine species that call the Back Bay home. For anyone interested in marine ecology, this immersive, real-world experience will bring the world of conservation and biology to life.
Oh, and did we mention the boat?
Applied Mathematics with Wendy Machovsky (2 x a month)
Students will engage with the beauty of mathematics as they explore the intersection of math and nature. We will cover such fascinating topics as Fibonacci spirals, tessellations, fractals and even an in depth look at symmetry and bio-mimicry. This course will accommodate students with a variety of skill sets and have the opportunity to incorporate a number of math and observational skills while learning to look at math and nature in a new way.
Language Arts with Carla Taylor (2 x a month)
In this course students will explore Language Arts with a focus on the environment around them. Throughout the course students will have opportunities to create stories, write and analyze essays, engage in friendly debates, and present researched topics that they are passionate about.
These engaging activities will aid in learning and sharpening grammar concepts, 9 parts of speech, critical thinking and reasoning, and enabling students to become stronger communicators.
Course Activities include:
Explore the botanical world and find hidden food and medicine surrounding us. We will be exploring what nature provides. Discussions and activities around identification, ethics in harvesting, medicine making and the solvents we use and why. Plants have a widely varied compounds that we can use if we understand how, when and what to extract, and how to apply for it to be the most effective for our health. Feel more empowered and inspired to take care of ourselves, our families, and our communities.
THIS IS A YEAR LONG COMMITMENT CLASS. The price listed is per semester. You will automatically be enrolled for the Spring. If you don't continue for Spring Semester there will be a 10% fee (of the cost of the class) to cover finding a replacement.
Course Descriptions
Coastal Ecology with Sama Wareh and Wendy Machovsky (2x a month)
Get ready for a learning environment that kicks up science to a whole new level. In partnership with CA Fish and Wildlife, our mugworts students will get to learn in the State of the indoor and outdoor Art Laboratory at the Backbay while conducting research and learning about Coastal Ecology. Students will get to pull up marine samples from the estuary, use high powered microscopes, run plankton pulls, raise abalone and trout, and learn how to care for and feed the many in-house marine species that call the Back Bay home. For anyone interested in marine ecology, this immersive, real-world experience will bring the world of conservation and biology to life.
Oh, and did we mention the boat?
Applied Mathematics with Wendy Machovsky (2 x a month)
Students will engage with the beauty of mathematics as they explore the intersection of math and nature. We will cover such fascinating topics as Fibonacci spirals, tessellations, fractals and even an in depth look at symmetry and bio-mimicry. This course will accommodate students with a variety of skill sets and have the opportunity to incorporate a number of math and observational skills while learning to look at math and nature in a new way.
Language Arts with Carla Taylor (2 x a month)
In this course students will explore Language Arts with a focus on the environment around them. Throughout the course students will have opportunities to create stories, write and analyze essays, engage in friendly debates, and present researched topics that they are passionate about.
These engaging activities will aid in learning and sharpening grammar concepts, 9 parts of speech, critical thinking and reasoning, and enabling students to become stronger communicators.
Course Activities include:
- Nature Journaling
- Research projects ( introduce and build on research methods)
- Creative Composition Essays
- Analyzing written pieces (poetry, articles, and short stories)
- Drawing connections to their environment and and the writing pieces we read
Explore the botanical world and find hidden food and medicine surrounding us. We will be exploring what nature provides. Discussions and activities around identification, ethics in harvesting, medicine making and the solvents we use and why. Plants have a widely varied compounds that we can use if we understand how, when and what to extract, and how to apply for it to be the most effective for our health. Feel more empowered and inspired to take care of ourselves, our families, and our communities.
Tuesdays
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14 Weekly Sessions per semester
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MEET THE INSTRUCTORS
Click here for Bios
Ms. Wendy
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Ms. Shana
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Ms. Carla
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Ms. Sama
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TESTIMONIALS
My family has been a part of AWI since the very beginning. My children have taken classes with Sama Wareh, Nishat Ahmed, Sarah Hafeez, and many more teachers. The teachers bring so much love, passion, and creativity to their areas of expertise. They know how to bring the subject to life while also addressing the child's socio-emotional learning. I love the different teaching styles the various teachers have used and they have truly instilled the love of learning in our children.
Thank you for all the behind-the-scenes work, countless hours spent on lesson planning, and the compassion everyone brings to this platform.
~ Farah Ruknuddeen
The content offered by AWI is always unique and much needed areas that benefit the kids and the whole family! The teachers are amazing and so creative in keeping the kids engaged and loving the outdoors! I love how the children learn hands-on and more importantly apply what they learn. I’m so grateful to have a place like this for my kids and myself! Our homeschool would not be the same without AWI!
-SS
"Mugworts Middle School has been such an amazing addition our homeschooling line up. I can’t convey my gratefulness for AWI and the teachers for all the efforts they put into making each class fun and informative! Every week the teachers haul all their supplies having planned amazing lessons for that day and hold classes in the beautiful outdoors that have so many benefits for children’s brains. I have no words for how blessed our kids. Prayers also for the AWI staff for all they do on the back end to make all this happen. Every week when I pick up my daughter I see the kids all over the park engaged in activities that look so much fun, it makes me want to be a kid again. Appreciate you all!"
- Shazia Rahman
Thank you for all the behind-the-scenes work, countless hours spent on lesson planning, and the compassion everyone brings to this platform.
~ Farah Ruknuddeen
The content offered by AWI is always unique and much needed areas that benefit the kids and the whole family! The teachers are amazing and so creative in keeping the kids engaged and loving the outdoors! I love how the children learn hands-on and more importantly apply what they learn. I’m so grateful to have a place like this for my kids and myself! Our homeschool would not be the same without AWI!
-SS
"Mugworts Middle School has been such an amazing addition our homeschooling line up. I can’t convey my gratefulness for AWI and the teachers for all the efforts they put into making each class fun and informative! Every week the teachers haul all their supplies having planned amazing lessons for that day and hold classes in the beautiful outdoors that have so many benefits for children’s brains. I have no words for how blessed our kids. Prayers also for the AWI staff for all they do on the back end to make all this happen. Every week when I pick up my daughter I see the kids all over the park engaged in activities that look so much fun, it makes me want to be a kid again. Appreciate you all!"
- Shazia Rahman
