About Kroka Expeditions

Kroka Expeditions was founded by Misha Golfman and Lynne Boudreau in 1996, as a year round adventure school affiliated with Hilltop Montessori School in Brattleboro, Vermont. The initial emphasis of the program strived to combine elements from the "American Outdoor Tradition" (to which both Lynne and Misha were a part of as an Outward Bound instructors and guides at Mahoosuc Guide Service) and the "Russian Outdoor Tradition" (in which Misha was raised and educated). Other aspect of Kroka came from both partners seeing a need to change both traditional outdoor education (to make it less contrived and more real, and to bring stronger and lasting connection to nature) and traditional environmental education (to make it more engaging, inviting dynamic and real for children).

The actual conception and curriculum of Kroka were the theme of Misha's master's project at Antioch New England Graduate School. Kroka's founding principle was to bring children into nature using the very dynamic modern pursuits of White Water Paddling, Climbing, Caving and Mountaineering. Our curriculum of natural sciences, traditional and indigenous craft skills, arts and music, and the philosophy of simplicity are brought into the experience in measured doses as participants become ready for them. The focus in teaching is always on positive change in the world, special human contributions to the society and wonders of nature, rather then on negative effects of human activity on the environment. Elements of Waldorf Education were included in the curriculum starting in 1997 by Lynne, who was teaching at Morning Song Waldorf School at that time.

The summer adventure program grew from its humble beginning of 35 students to be 240 strong, reaching into areas of sustainable small building design and construction, forestry, farming, fiber arts, subsistent hunting and ocean exploration in our hand made giant canoes. Soon, Misha and Lynne were approached by Johanna Gardner, one of Kroka's field staff with an offer to move the operation to her 100-acre Trollhaugen Farm in Newfane, VT.

In 1999, Kroka was approached by the Waldorf School of Baltimore with a request to develop programming for the school. This marked the beginning of second arm of Kroka: Outreach Programs that supplement the Waldorf School curriculum. Each year dozen Waldorf schools from around the country come to Kroka to participate in learning expeditions and wilderness skills programs. Over the past nine years Kroka has developed wilderness skills and adventure curriculum for Waldorf grades 6 - 10, with many programs directly connected to the participating school's themes of study (Geology, Astronomy, Odyssey, etc).

Five years ago Kroka made a decision to become a Waldorf Inspired school. Waldorf teacher training is now an integral part of our staff training along with the study of singing, eurhythmy and other Waldorf inspired art and movement forms. Experienced Waldorf educators join Kroka programs each summer to share their teaching experience and learn how we work with children in the outdoors. In 2006, Lisl Hofer, an experienced Waldorf teacher, joined Kroka as a first ever Semester Programs Coordinator.

From it's beginning Kroka founders and later staff have worked with groups of local youth as an after-school adventure program. Participants of this program have later formed a core of Kroka's advanced paddling, climbing and wilderness team. Those young people also became Kroka's first apprentices laying a foundation of what is to become an apprenticeship program that has one or two year-round apprentices and a dozen seasonal apprentices.

As long time public school educators, Misha and Lynne have witnessed struggles of many bright and talented youth, who are not able to succeed in the confines of the traditional classroom. Misha always recalled his struggles through school, engineering and two teacher colleges, one in Russia and one in the US. Lynne, as a special education teacher observed how some of most difficult students, when taken out of the classroom into active outdoor and home like environments thrived. At Kroka summer programs, students who were identified with ADD and ADHD often performed exceptionally well. At the same time as Kroka was growing, so was Lynne and Misha's family. Through raising four boys, partners further learned of different learning styles and needs. Through years of teaching and guiding they have also observed the continuing decline in "willpower" amongst young people. This is how the idea of practical education was born.

With support from Kroka's youth club members and their parents on one side, and clarity of the needs of youth on the other, Kroka began the development of the Vermont Semester Program, which ran successfully in 2004 for the first time. The ideal of Kroka education is to teach all academic subjects in direct correlation to practical living needs of the students. It is accomplished through running the semester as a continuous extended wilderness expedition by ski and canoe, the kind that will inspire youth with its breadth and sense of adventure and purpose.

Year 2003 brought a new and wonderful direction to Kroka: We began a lasting partnership with Palugo, a sustainable dairy farm near Quito, Ecuador, operated by former Ecuador Minister of Agriculture Francisco Dammer. From that partnership grew the exchange of teachers and apprentices between two entities, summer programs in Ecuador and eventually a Vermont - Ecuador semester program which ran for its first time September - December 2007.

Development of residential semester programs and sustainable construction programs also contributed to the development and stability of our campus village: First there was a garden, then the farm animals, then beautiful indigenous dwellings from around the world. The need for additional farmland and room to grow campus into sustainable village, where students and staff families live and work side by side, as well as our desire to be in close proximity to a Waldorf School prompted the decision to move. In June of 2007 Kroka Expeditions purchased 75 acre Seven Oaks Farm in Marlow, New Hampshire and moved its entire operation in October of the same year with the help of 85 enthusiastic volunteers.