Wild Roots Open House: Saturday, April 25th- 10am-12pm. Location: 5020 Cleveland Ave, Stevensville MI
〰️
Wild Roots Open House: Saturday, April 25th- 10am-12pm. Location: 5020 Cleveland Ave, Stevensville MI 〰️
Stevensville, MI
Where learning takes root and fun runs wild!
Welcome to Wild Roots! We are a secular, outdoors-focused educational program providing unstructured free play and individualized academic instruction.
Secular- We celebrate all walks of life and do not integrate any religious teaching into our school day.
Outdoors-focused: Excluding thunderstorms and school closings for extreme cold, we spend at least 1.5 hours per day outside, every single day.
Individualized academic instruction: Students are not taught based on their “grade”, instead taught at their instructional level to promote steady progress.
Students are taught in small groups based on their levels for math and ELA. Some students may be at a “Level 2” for ELA and a “Level 1” for math. We focus on progress, growth, and meeting students where they are.
Limited technology! There is strong research showing the importance of paper/pencil work with academic growth and so much data showing the downside of 1:1 devices in the classroom. At Wild Roots, our students do not have personal devices. Our teachers use a computer and projector when teaching phonics lessons, but our technology use is very minimal.
Home/School Balance- At Wild Roots, we are homework free. We believe time outside of school should be spent enjoying family and refueling from our busy school day. We also want to allow families the opportunity to enroll in community classes, such as gymnastics, music lessons, sports, etc. without feeling the pressure to complete homework. Reading and additional math practice outside of school is always beneficial, but students do not receive homework assignments from their teachers.
Wild Roots Timeline
2021: Mrs. Rhodes started Muddy Puddles Preschool for students 3-5 years old
2024: Mr. Rhodes left Lakeshore Public Schools and joined Muddy Puddles Preschool
2025: Wild Roots began with Kindergarten-2nd grade students
2026: Wild Roots will expand to Young Fives-4th grade. We are also registering as a 501c3 and a non-public school.
We have been planning Wild Roots for many years. We plan to continue to grow each school year, adding additional grade levels and ensuring the right educators join our team. We always have the goal to maintain a small, family feel program.
Are you interested in joining our educator team? Please reach out to Angela at miwildroots@gmail.com to talk further!
Interested in Wild Roots?
If you are interested in attending Wild Roots, please join us at our open house at The Anchor Church (5020 Cleveland Ave, Stevensville) on Saturday, April 25th between 10:00am-12:00pm.
Please email Angela and Ricky Rhodes at miwildroots@gmail.com if you have any questions!
Our Philosophy
We believe that learning is an adventure—one best experienced through curiosity, creativity, and a connection with the outdoors.
Our daily schedule provides a balance between outdoor, exploratory free play and small group academic instruction catered to each learner.
Learn more about our educational philosophy that encourages students to explore, discover, and experience the FUN of Wild Roots.
Interested in Muddy Puddles?
Check out our preschool program!
Muddy Puddles Preschool is available for students 3-5 years old. We are a mixed-aged classroom and have 14 students and 2 teachers.
We are already full for the 2026/2027 school year, but please follow our facebook page for details regarding registration for the 2027/2028 school year. We typically post in February of that year when our open house will be, and registration follows.