EarthChild Explorers

Our Teachers

Karla:: founder, director, and lead teacher of EarthChild Explorers

Karla has over 20 years of early childhood education experience as a teacher, director, coordinator, and child development coach supporting quality early education programs. After completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Oklahoma she moved to Los Angeles and worked in a variety of early education settings. Once moving to Temecula 5 years later she went back to school for a Masters Degree in Education at Cal State San Marcos. She studied Multicultural Education where equity, diversity, cultural competence, and inclusion are intertwined in all the work and interactions that she is committed to living by.

Karla’s passion and mission is to support the development of children by empowering each child to be confident in who they are, to take risks on the journey of life, and learn how to interact and socialize with others. She believes that there is no amount of learning that can take place if we are not comfortable in ourselves and in building relationships. Learning how to communicate our feelings, thoughts, and experiences and to be able to honor and respect the feelings, thoughts, and beliefs of those around us is necessary in living a happy and healthy life.

She is a mother of two children under the age of 10 years old. Becoming a mother has been a journey of love and learning for the entire family. She has recently entered into the world of homeschooling and is loving the journey. Staying connected to her core values of family, kindness, and love all while in partnership with her soulmate is what keeps her grounded. She loves camping, hiking, scenic bike rides, and enjoys traveling and spending time with her family visiting new places.

Brenda Orwig:: co-teacher

Brenda has over 25 years of experience working in early education programs and nutrition programs as a mom, assistant teacher, substitute teacher, and nanny. While raising her son alongside the love of her life she spent his early years dedicated to being there to guide, support, and teach him while embracing his growing every step of the way. She is dedicated to the development of each and every child that enters her life. Her calm and peaceful presence sets the tone for building relationships and learning. Brenda has a way to connect and share in life that is open, honest, kind, and organic.

Testimonials

“School was a big deal for our granddaughter; she was nervous and excited to start. Miss Karla immediately put Cadence at ease with her gentle and welcoming personality. As a teacher myself, I looked at the classroom and staff not only as a grandma would, but as an educator. I have a critical eye and loved everything I saw! The activities, games, artwork, lessons, and everything else were all spot-on! Cadence loved going to school everyday and rarely wanted to leave. I wish my other grandkids would have been able to have the same wonderful experience with Karla.” -Arlene Corte, Grandmother of Student

“Karla Withrow is one of the best teachers I have ever worked with! She is a person who cares a tremendous amount for every child that walks through her classroom and puts everything she has into her work. She is someone that the parents looked to for guidance and direction when it came to their child’s development. Karla is a very knowledgeable educator, who creates early childhood curriculum that engages and teaches at all steps of the day.” - Becky Gonzalez, Preschool Teacher

“I had the pleasure to work directly with Ms. Karla for four years. As a preschool teacher/director, Karla always demonstrated a passion for nature. Her connection with children and nature were always evident in her interactions, making outdoor education fun and engaging for the children. She always made sure that natural science was part of the children’s everyday learning. She incorporated nature walks to the school garden and a variety of opportunities for the children to visit the school habitat. I know that Ms. Karla truly values building relationships with children and families with care for nature and community at her core.” - Perla Cazares, Preschool Director

Philosophy

EarthChild Explorers was developed based on the inspiration of the Forest School and the Nature School Philosophies’ where children engage with the outdoor world to construct knowledge while taking the lead in the learning process and building relationships along the way. We believe in the Reggio Emilia approach where children are viewed as capable, strong, and curious about their learning environment.

The many benefits of outdoor learning environments include the opportunity to build important physical, social, cognitive, and life skills that pave the way and support pathway connections in the brain for academic learning to take place. While the children at EarthChild Explorers are taught literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts, and physical development it takes place organically through play using hands-on explorations. The teachers are equipped with the background to support in providing both planned learning opportunities and the ability to follow the lead of the children where teachable moments can occur. Nature is the fundamental tool used in daily activities where child-led exploration is encouraged. Through observations and teacher interactions, planned and intentional activities are introduced to expand on the interest of learning of each and every child. Writing in the dirt, using rocks to make letters, problem solving how to move a tree branch, creating patterns using the natural elements, and observing the changes in the sky are just a few activities one might find in the outdoor learning space.

Research has found a range of remarkable positive impacts to the development of young children who are exposed to frequent, unstructured play in diverse natural settings. Some of these developmental gains include the ability to think critically, problem solve, collaborate, take risks, and build resiliency. Studies have found that children who attend outdoor schools have improved self-confidence, social skills, language development, communication, motivation, and concentration (O’Brien 2007). Social and emotional development is the foundation to early childhood development and is embedded in all that we do at EarthChild Explorers. Learning in the outdoor environment also improves health by reducing stress and increasing physical activity while building skills such as agility, balance, and coordination (Fjortoft, 2014).

Location

EarthChild Explorers meets in one designated nature space in Temecula Valley. We will share specific location information upon inquiry of our program. When we enter the nature spaces we leave them as they were when we entered. This teaches care and respect for our environment and communities in which we live.

About our program

EarthChild Explorers is now enrolling for the 2025-26 program year!

Join one our programs:

1. Monday class is geared towards children who are homeschooling and are part of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th grade age ranges.

2. Tuesday and Thursday class is geared towards children who are part of the preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and 1st grade age ranges. This program is a twice-a-week program.

We are a now vendor with Springs Charter.

Complete the [New Family Interest Form](https://forms.gle/KVsbQEh6ZnM8wq8E9) to be contacted with details, availability, and registration information for the coming program year. Or visit our website at www.earthchildexplorers.com to complete the interest form.

Our program embraces the foundation of relationships and community. This is at the heart of our program, and naturally, these things take time to build and cultivate. Our program is focused on the integration of learning with nature which includes the rhythm of the seasons and can only be observed and felt by attending the full year cycle with us.

Come explore the outdoors while engaging with nature to learn more about the world we live in through:

• art & music
• environmental education
• hikes, games, & physical activities
• mindfulness & reflection
• social and emotional development
• cognitive development

The mission at EarthChild Explorers is to deepen the natural love for learning. Building relationships, a sense of self, and understanding our emotions all while connecting with and taking care of ourselves, others, and the Earth is a daily practice. We respect, honor, and embrace each child for who they are. Through social interactions and gentle support children learn to self-regulate, build empathy, and to help one another as needed. We are dedicated and passionate in building on the interests and motivations of our children as this continues to build a positive sense of self and opens the door to learning. During the program hours children will be provided academic instruction based on their developmental level from letters, numbers, reading, writing, mathematical concepts, social studies, and science all while in connection with nature._

EarthChild Explorers believes strongly that families are the child’s first teacher and takes intentional steps to communicate and work with families to ensure that we are meeting their child’s needs every step of the way. Family participation is always welcome. I am available to provide informal and formal coaching to families on the topic of child development. Child development workshops for parents will be offered throughout the year.

Admissions

Join the EarthChild Explorers community in four easy steps:

1. Explore our website

We’ve provided information about our philosophies and offerings to help you decide if our program may be right for your family.

2. Tour our program

Come see what makes EarthChild Explorers unique. If we are currently hosting tours, you can request or schedule a tour at the top of this page. If we are not currently hosting tours, you’ll see a “Request Info” button at the top of this page; if you submit your information using this button, we will notify you when we start host tours again in the future.

3. Submit an Enrollment Application

If you would like to enroll, please submit an application! Note that we require tours for all prospective families. Please do not submit an application if you have not met with the director.

4. Enroll

After reviewing your application, we’ll send an enrollment invitation. Upon accepting your invitation you’ll pay your enrollment fee, fill out enrollment documents and review our Parent Handbook.