What to expect:

• Homeschool Physics, Ecology, Engineering, Environmental and Marine Science Curriculum
• Active Learning & Labs

FAQs:

ABOUT THE OUR WEEKLY CLASSES

Surf Skate Science is a weekly homeschool class that is designed to enrich your child’s school curriculum. Our co-op classes offer physical activity through surf and skate lessons. Plus, participants will also learn the science involved in Action Sports including marine biology, environmental science, physics and more.

WHY ACTION SPORTS & SCIENCE? 

​It's a fact... kids just learn more when learning is hands- on and they are having fun. Our co-op classes offer active learning opportunities where kids can learn the science behind activities they love. This is what we call Action Science. ​ 

Each week we will learn the Science of Surfing or Skateboarding. In our surf science classes, you will learn the science behind waves and get to know our local marine life. Students become not just skaters in a park or surfers in the water but scientists, talking about motion, Newton's laws, simple machines, and the environment.

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What is a co-op? 

A homeschool co-op is a group of families who meet together and work cooperatively to achieve common goals. structured groups of families who want to share some of the benefits of group learning opportunities. Activities and classes are led by parents and parent volunteers. The cost of our Surf Skate Classes is a shared expense determined by the cost of materials, board rentals and coach fees. Parents are encouraged to participate, volunteer, build friendships, support one another and have fun with us. This helps us to keep costs as low as possible and create a strong community. We also love to have parents surf and skate with the students, share their careers in STEAM, help organize field trips, suggest labs/learning ideas and help fundraise to help us lower the costs even further.

Why are we not a drop off program? 

The main reason is that we value community. Community is one of the main reasons we started Surf Skate Science. We all need each other! Our kids need friends but so do our parents. And in this homeschooling journey, support from others is everything.

Having more hands on deck not only keeps our costs low & increases safety in the park/lan/water, but allows parents to be part of the learning process. And….you may learn to love surfing and skateboarding as much as your kids do.

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With that said, some parents carpool, go for a run and get a needed break, relax and chat or even work while we do class....and that is absolutely ok with us!

How are our programs run? 

Families meet for one and a half hours each week. We spend about 45 minutes doing a hands-on STEAM focused lab and then spend 45 minutes surfing or skateboarding.  All classes are developed taking high school standards into consideration for physics, engineering, art, STEM, etc. Parents can choose to use Surf Skate Science a their child’s science and physical education credit when putting together their transcript. We will also provide materials to include in your students portfolio review including a syllabus, worksheets and more.

How long does each semester run? 

Each semester is 14 weeks. We alternate between one week of Skate Science and one week of Surf Science. Semesters run August to December and January to May. Families can decide to attend both (all 14 weeks) or choose just  Skate Science or Surf Science (7 weeks).

How are students grouped? 

We break our classes into age groups: 6 to 11 and 12 to 16. However, we know every kid is different. So if you feel your younger child will fit in with the older group better or prefer to keep your kids together, etc. that is up to each parent.

Volunteer opportunities students ages 16-18

Yes! We are always looking for student leaders. We will train them in coaching surf and skate. They will also learn how to assist in science labs and lead small groups. Plus, they will earn community service hours and a chance to win a scholarship for further educational pursuits!

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In addition, those who are committed can be trained to do private lessons and earn a significant income working flexible hours. Interested? Email us at info@surfskatescience.com

Do students need experience in surfing or skateboarding? 

Absolutely not. Our team has decades of experience teaching all levels of skateboarding and surfing. Just like science, both sports involve learning from your failures and trying again. Because all surfers and skateboarders are learning regardless of their level, they all fall sometimes…so there is no need to be afraid or embarrassed to try. We can laugh when we fall and celebrate together when we land those tricks!

Do students need a surfboard and/or skateboard? 

Surfboards and skateboards will be available for use, but students may bring their own.  For surfing we use foam top surfboards provided by Island Water Sports. These are the best choice for South Florida waves and the safety of our students. However, if you kid is an experienced ripper, then grab a short board and enjoy!  We have several loaner skateboards and let students borrow them for classes on a first come, first serve basis.  We strongly encourage you to not buy a board from a store like Target or Walmart. These boards are not worth the investment. Head to your local skate shop instead. We will also offer an option to purchase a skateboard, helmet and pads before class starts at a significant discount. Plus, if you are attending our fall session, each student will create a custom designed pro grade skateboard deck as part of the skate science program that they can keep. We will offer low-cost ruck packages for them to build a complete skateboard to use.

What do we need to bring to class? 

All lab materials are included in our class cost. We will provide pencils, notebooks, etc.  For Skate Science, please wear proper footwear, bring a skateboard helmet (different than a pointed bike helmet) and pads.  For Surf Science, please wear a modest bathing suit with a rash guard, a towel and sunscreen. Bring a towel and reef-safe sunscreen!  ALWAYS BRING A REFILLABLE WATER BOTTLE TO STAY HYDRATED!

What does Action Sports have to do with science anyway? 

The focus of Surf Skate Science is to create a condition and setting where students want to and are able to learn. Surf Skate Science 3 purposes we hope to facilitate in each student:

• PERSONAL: Help students identify their passions, then turn these passions into valued skills. We hope to enable students to engage with the world within them as well as the world around them.
• SOCIAL: We hope to enable young people to become active and compassionate citizens so that they apply these valued skills in ways that contribute to their community and society as a whole.
• CULTURAL: We hope to enable students to understand and appreciate their own cultures and respect the diversity of others. Action sports are the perfect example of this/

 What can students learn from Action Sports? 

Action sports teaches vital skills needed for the next century:

• Creativity and innovation - Skateparks and skateboards are bursting with physics, geometry, science, engineering and math. Plus, Skateboarding doesn’t have any rules or limitations. The way you do tricks and the style you showcase matters a lot more than the tricks themselves. Creativity rules skateboarding. It’s all about expressing yourself and testing fresh ways to have fun with your board.
• Resilience and Complex problem solving - Falling and failing in skating and life is inevitable. Skaters know how to fall smart, get back up and try again. A skater knows that when things go wrong, they cope by rolling, sliding and using their pads to distribute the energy of the crash. There is always a lesson to apply to the next hundred tries it takes to master a trick.
• Cognitive flexibility - Skateboarding is an unstructured, athletic and creative outlet for body and soul. Skaters take and make all kinds of terrain and turn it into a canvas for creative movement.
• Critical thinking - Contrary to popular belief, skaters aren’t daredevils. They’re taking, what we’d like to call, calculated risks. When you see someone jumping down 10 stairs, he isn’t careless nor suicidal. They built up to the trick and jumped down gaps hundreds, if not thousands, of times before.
• Decision making & Negotiation - Experienced skaters become skilled diplomats who know their place in the skatepark and the world. Just watch any group of skaters lined up around a bowl. They (mostly) wordlessly know: a) when it is their turn, b) whether the kid in the bowl got more air off the hip than his last run and merits a board clap and c) how many tricks and runs they can grind out before annoying the group waiting to go next.
• Emotional intelligence - Through skating, you’ll meet people from all ages, ethnicity and social status. Skateboarding encourages strong independent thinking and the drive needed to take on challenge after challenge. Skateboarders learn to find and make their own lines amid the beautiful chaos of a busy skatepark.

Neurodivergent Students 

We know that all students are unique and learn in different ways. Our goal is to provide a place for all students to find their passions and enjoy learning.

We often hear the word “spectrum”, but have you ever actually looked at a photograph of a color spectrum? The reality is that you cannot draw clear lines between colors. It is impossible to do. The transition from red to orange to yellow to green to blue to violet takes place in nearly unlimited degrees, each hue is infinitely different from the ones on either side of it.

Neurodiversity in the classroom or while learning on a board (surf or skate) is somewhat the same. There are no clear lines, no easy delineations between differences between children who are at various degrees on the spectrum. We are all wired differently. We see these differences as gifts. Surf Skate Science hopes to create a class environment to help all students learn and grow into their best selves. and to make classes as effective as possible as we teach to the strengths of students in each of these areas:

1. Learning disabilities
2. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
3. Autism
4. Intellectual disabilities
5. Emotional and behavioral disorders

As a co-op, we are here to help facilitate students and families in the learning process. Here is how we can work together:

• Safety is our highest priority, so if a student is not capable of being in the water alone, we ask that their aide or parent be in the water with them. We will help guide aides/parents in the best helping students as they surf. If you are unable to do this, we can work on finding a private instructor that can be hired specifically to work with your student during our surf time.
• We are happy to invoice you according to your needs for reimbursement of the Florida Family Empowerment Scholarship.
• We all know our kids best, if you student struggles in a certain area, please be active in helping to direct them during class in the best way possible.
• We limit each class to 3 nuerodivergent learners in order to be able to give all students the attention needed.
• If any student engages in property destruction, physical harm to themselves or others, or aggressive verbal behavior, our first priority must be to protect all students in the class.​

Scholarships 

On May 11, 2021, Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 7045 into law, resulting in several changes to the state's K-12 scholarship programs, including an extensive expansion of the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program.

House Bill 7045 expanded the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program to include two branches of eligibility, the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options(FES EO) and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES UA). Many families have been able to be reimbursed for our classes under these scholarships. For more information apply here.

October/November Update: FES-UA & FES-EO/PEP Direct Billing Update:

Surf Skate Science is an approved direct provider for Step Up For Students. However, due to current lag in the Step Up System, our program fees are still not listed.

Please be aware:

- As of now, Surf Skate Science is an approved vendor but Step Up has not processes our classes to support direct billing.

- Direct billing means that parent would request our class on the EMA and Step Up would submit payment directly to Surf Skate Science.

- Until the time the Step Up system allows for direct billing, families must manually seek reimbursement for tuition from STEP UP.

- Once you have adequate funds in your account with Step Up you will need to send them an invoice to get reimbursed for your tuition.

- To request an invoice for this purpose, please complete our form at: https://forms.wix.com/r/7109236220026159474

Surf Skate Science and several other organizations and educators are proactively working to facilitate direct billing runs smoothly in the future for families who have been awarded. We appreciate your patience in this matter.

Refund Policy

If you have a need to cancel we hope to be as flexible as possible but have set up these guidelines for refunds. Please email al cancellation requests to info@surfskatescience.com

• Cancellations received 4 weeks in advance will receive a 100% refund
• Cancellations received 3 weeks in advance will receive a 50% refund.
• Cancellations received 2 weeks in advance will receive a 25% refund.
• Cancellations after the start of class will not be refunded except with a doctor's note or family emergency.