A Homeschool Learning Studio · Hermosa Beach, CA
Learning that is hands-on, unhurried, and rooted in wonder.
Grounded is a homeschool learning studio in Hermosa Beach where children ages 5–7 explore, connect, and grow through real experiences, guided by curiosity and the rhythm of the natural world.
Now Enrolling
Fall 2026 semester
Our Philosophy
We begin with who children already are.
A learning studio built on a simple idea: children arrive curious, capable, and ready to make sense of the world.
Inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, we start from a simple belief: children arrive already full of questions, ideas, and a natural drive to understand the world. Our job is to guide and tend to that, letting curiosity shape what and how kids explore, rather than a fixed curriculum driving everything.
Academics are woven into everyday learning through a cross-curricular approach (where subjects connect and build on each other) that encourages depth over breadth. Literacy, math, and science live within this framework, and the arts and emotional wellness aren't extras added on. They are the heart of it.
Our Mission
To honor the wholeness of childhood while nurturing a lifelong love of learning, rooted in wonder, relationship, and the living world.
Our Approach
Six things we hold close.
The principles that shape every Grounded day.
Child-led inquiry
We follow children's questions and wonderings, building learning experiences around what genuinely interests and excites them.
Integrated, project-based learning
Academics, creative expression, social-emotional development, and time in nature aren't taught in isolation. They weave together through projects, conversation, and everyday discovery.
Art as a way of knowing
Drawing, building, storytelling, and making are not enrichment activities. They are core to how children process ideas, express understanding, and make meaning.
Rooted in nature
Time outdoors, natural materials, and the rhythm of the seasons are woven into our days.
Emotionally safe and deeply caring
Children learn best when they feel secure. We prioritize warmth, belonging, and a culture where every child feels seen and valued.
Small and intimate
Our small group setting means every child is truly known. Teachers can meet each child where they are, building trust and adapting to individual needs.
What Learning Looks Like
Active, engaged, and meaningful.
Deep understanding develops through hands-on experience, real-life problem solving, conversation, and exploration.
Active, engaged learning is how deep understanding develops. Through hands-on experiences, real-life problem solving, conversation, and exploration, children naturally engage with literacy, math, and critical thinking in ways that are meaningful and developmentally appropriate.
Our learning environment is carefully designed. Materials, activities, and teacher guidance are intentional, supporting language development, math concepts, fine motor strength, collaboration, and reasoning.
"This foundation lets children understand academic ideas deeply, rather than simply memorizing them."
We use the word rhythm intentionally: a day that is predictable, calm, and responsive to children rather than rigidly time-driven. When children are deeply engaged, we honor that momentum and let it continue.
A typical day at Grounded includes
- Daily movement, creativity, and play
- Project-based, inquiry-driven learning
- Time outdoors and connection to the natural world
- Clear rhythms and routines that support independence and focus
- Reflection, conversation, and relationship-centered learning
- Developmentally appropriate work in reading, writing, science, and math
Sample Daily Rhythm
A day that breathes.
Our days move gently between reflection and exploration. Predictable enough to feel safe, open enough to follow wonder where it leads.
- 9:15–9:30
Gentle Arrival
Choice-based art, reading, or building. A soft, unhurried entry into the day.
- 9:30–10:00
Community Circle
Calendar, movement, song, intention-setting, and a word of the week. The ritual that opens every day with connection.
- 10:00–10:30
Nature Exploration / Garden Visit
Inquiry walks, collecting, observing, and noticing patterns. Twice a week, children work alongside the garden coordinator to tend, plant, and notice changes in the South Park community garden.
- 10:30–11:00
Outdoor Snack & Read Aloud
A chance to slow down, share a snack together outside, and gather around a story. Books are chosen to support social-emotional learning skills.
- 11:00–11:30
Literacy Workshop
Small-group reading, writing, and word play, grounded in the Fundations program by Wilson Language Training.
- 11:30–12:00
Reflection & Representation
Children return to what they noticed throughout the morning through journaling, art, building, or conversation. This is where discoveries take shape.
- 12:00–12:45
Lunch & Free Play
Relaxed lunch and unstructured play. Time to rest, connect, and just be kids.
- 12:45–1:30
Closing Circle
The day ends as it began, together. Songs, breathing, and a moment to reflect on what we noticed, made, and learned.
Curriculum
Cross-curricular learning in action.
Here's how a single experience unfolds, and how literacy, math, and science naturally show up and deepen as learning extends throughout the day.
Lesson Snapshot
Exploring Seeds & Growth
Children are invited to explore a tray of seeds (sunflower, bean, pumpkin) along with magnifying glasses, small bowls, soil, and jars.
Teachers pose an open-ended question: “What do you notice about these seeds?”
Literacy
- Describing observations aloud, building vocabulary (smooth, ridged, tiny, oval).
- Labeling drawings and writing simple sentences in journals.
- Read-alouds (fiction and nonfiction about plants) that support comprehension.
- Shared storytelling: imagining a seed's journey.
Math
- Counting and sorting seeds by size, type, or color.
- Comparing quantities ("Which bowl has more?").
- Measuring plant growth over time using cubes, rulers, or hands.
- Creating simple charts and drawings to track changes.
Science
- Observing cause and effect: water + soil + sunlight.
- Asking questions and making predictions.
- Learning about life cycles through real-time observation.
- Caring for living things and noticing change over days and weeks.
Literacy · Intentional Skill Building
While much of our learning happens through exploration and projects, we also value intentional instruction to build strong foundations.
Phonics & Handwriting
- We use the Wilson Language Training Fundations® curriculum for phonics and handwriting.
- Short, daily small-group sessions (about 15–20 minutes).
- Focused on letter-sound relationships, phonemic awareness, and proper letter formation.
- Flexible, responsive groups that meet children where they are developmentally.
Our Space
Rooted in two special places.
Grounded is rooted in two special places in Hermosa Beach, each offering something different and complementary to our days together.
Hermosa Beach
Resin Art Studio
Our indoor home is Resin, the creative laboratory and gallery of Indivisible Arts, a local nonprofit dedicated to cultivating creativity, consciousness, and connection. It is our calm, grounding anchor for the day, where children arrive softly each morning, gather for community circle, work in small literacy groups, and return for our closing ritual. It is a space that holds creativity in its walls, and it feels exactly right for us.
Hermosa Beach
South Park & the Community Garden
Just down the street, South Park and its community garden is where so much of our learning comes alive. We spend a meaningful part of each day outdoors, on inquiry walks, nature investigations, and tending the garden alongside its coordinators. Children observe changes over time, connect discoveries to what they're studying, and develop a real sense of stewardship for the living world. This is where curiosity gets its hands dirty.
Together, these two spaces shape the rhythm and spirit of a Grounded day, moving between reflection and exploration, indoors and out.
Our Values
We are Grounded in…
Six commitments that anchor everything we do.
Community
Children thrive when they feel known, connected, and supported. Learning grows from relationships, shared questions, and lived experiences, and everything we do begins here.
Curiosity
Children are naturally curious and capable learners. We follow their questions as starting points for deeper exploration, trusting that wonder is the most powerful driver of growth.
Play
Play is a child's native language, the way they test ideas, build relationships, make sense of the world, and experience joy. We protect and honor it as essential, not optional.
Nature
Nature is both classroom and teacher. Time outdoors invites presence, wonder, and a sense of belonging to something larger, deepening the curiosity and play within it.
Growth
Academic, social, and emotional development are inseparable. We nurture foundational skills alongside confidence, resilience, and a genuine love of learning, honoring the whole child.
Patience
Childhood should feel calm, purposeful, and joyful. We trust that growth unfolds in its own time, and we honor each child's pace without rushing what is meant to emerge slowly.
Founding Team
Meet the founders.
Grounded was founded by three educators who believe learning happens through relationship.
Joanie Wagner
Co-Founder · Lead Teacher
A mother of two, yoga lover, and educator, Joanie began her career as an elementary classroom teacher, spending six years teaching, designing curriculum, and supporting children's academic and social-emotional growth. Ten years ago her passion for wellness led her to build a kids yoga and mindfulness practice. Grounded is the natural evolution of that work: bringing education and mindfulness together into a nurturing space full of love, connection, and joy.
Cindy Swenson
Co-Founder · Lead Teacher
An educator, yoga teacher, and mother of three, Cindy was drawn to teaching from an early age. She earned a degree in Secondary Education and taught junior high science and health, and raising her three children deepened her understanding of how children learn. Teaching preschool grew her love for early childhood, and yoga added a layer of breath and presence that led to her 200-hour training and certification in children's yoga and mindfulness. She believes learning, like nature, happens through relationship.
Heather Tuttle
Co-Founder · Curriculum & Vision
A special education teacher and kids yoga instructor, Heather has spent 15 years as a special educator in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, most recently at Meadows Elementary, where she was named Teacher of the Year for 2024–25. Her work centers on individualized learning that helps every child reach their potential. For the past 10 years she's taught kids yoga, and she's long dreamed of a space where children can express themselves freely and feel seen for exactly who they are.
With love and gratitude, Joanie, Cindy & Heather.
Family Partnership
Grown together, at a pace that fits your family.
An important and valued part of our learning community.
We believe strong learning environments grow from trust, shared care, and meaningful relationships. At the same time, we deeply respect the realities of family life, and we want involvement to feel supportive, never overwhelming.
Participation is always optional and designed to fit different seasons, energy levels, and interests. For the first semester, beginning in October, we're envisioning three gentle ways to be involved:
Lunchtime Support
Light & RelationalOffer an organized activity or sport during lunch and free-play time.
Project & Gardening
Creative & Hands-OnJoin during project or garden time to help support learning experiences.
Behind-the-Scenes Support
FlexibleLend a hand with seasonal events or community gatherings.
Calendar
2026–2027 at Grounded.
Enrollment is by semester, so children can settle into the rhythm of the program while families keep flexibility through the year. Enrolled families have priority for future semesters.
Fall 2026
Enrolling nowSeptember 9 – December 16
14 weeks
Winter 2027
Opens Nov. 2026January 5 – March 25
12 weeks
Spring 2027
Opens Feb. 2027April 13 – June 10
9 weeks
Grounded Roots · Fall 2026
- Ages
- Early elementary · mixed-age · 5–7 years
- Schedule
- Mondays & Wednesdays
- Dates
- Sep. 9 – Dec. 16
- Hours
- 9:15am – 1:30pm (flexible drop-off 9:15–9:30; program begins at 9:30)
- Class size
- Max 12 students · 2 teachers
- Location
- Resin Art Studio & South Park, Hermosa Beach
- Teachers
- Joanie Wagner & Cindy Swenson
Tuition
Simple, transparent, no hidden fees.
Tuition is based on a daily rate, charged only for the days on our school calendar, so your monthly total naturally varies.
$115
per school day
$250
one-time registration fee · covers a semester of materials
Our tuition is based on a daily rate of $115, calculated by the number of school days each month. Because we only charge for days on the school calendar, your monthly tuition will naturally vary. Payment is due on the first of each month.
Charter funds, when available and approved, may be applied as a monthly credit toward your balance. We are currently an approved vendor for Suncoast and are in the process of becoming a vendor for Taylion. Using a different charter? Reach out, and we're happy to explore vendor approval. (We can't guarantee charter approval, and families remain responsible for any balance not covered by charter funds.)
The $250 registration fee shown above is the only fee beyond tuition. There are no hidden costs.
| Month | School Days | Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 7 | $805 |
| Oct 2026 | 8 | $920 |
| Nov 2026 | 7 | $805 |
| Dec 2026 | 5 | $575 |
| Fall semester | 27 days | $3,105 |
Join Us
If this feels like the right fit for your family, we’d love to connect.
Our enrollment process is simple by design.
Apply
Complete our short interest form to tell us a little about your family. It only takes a few minutes, and we read every one personally.
Meet
We'll reach out to set up a call or a meet-up at the park. It's a chance to answer your questions and make sure Grounded feels like the right fit for everyone.
Welcome
Once it's a fit, we'll share enrollment details and a warm welcome, plus an invitation to orientation, where children and families visit the space, meet the teachers, and ease in before the first day.
Now enrolling 12 founding families for Fall 2026 · Hermosa Beach, California