Narwhals: Self-Directed Teens at NC
2026-27 Offerings
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays: Narwhals Program Days
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We are at full enrollment for Narwhals for the 2026-27 unschool year.
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Email us at info@naturalcreativity.org with interest in future years.
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New! Fridays: NC Academy
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Academic classes (biology & English) on Fridays for homeschooled teens, taught by local educators.
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Sign up for one or both classes, full-year commitment.
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Enrolling students through Sept 1, 2026.
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Get in touch at ncacademy@naturalcreativity.org.
We welcome collaborations and partnerships
Do you have an interesting trip, person, or activity that you want to share with self-directed teenagers? We welcome Visiting Specialists and organized trips on Tuesdays through Thursdays, September through May.
Contact Narwhals Facilitators at narwhals@naturalcreativity.org
Narwhals at a Glance
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Oldest age group at NC; 13-18 years old, capped at 25 total Narwhals.
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Access to the Narwhals Room, our teens-only space!
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Narwhals Program: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and/or Thursdays.
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NC Academy, academic classes for homeschooled teens: Fridays.
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Morning and Afternoon Group Times for games, community-building & info-passing.
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Biweekly check-ins with facilitator about projects, goals, mental health, etc.
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Block offerings 2-3x/day from facilitators or NC staff (cooking, D&D, writing, music, theater games, etc.)
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Quiet co-working time in Narwhals room for independent work.
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Self-direction! Do your own thing. This may involve doing your own projects or activities initiated by facilitators.
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May go off-site for lunch, library, park trips, Wissahickon walks.
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Open tech usage within the Narwhals room in alignment with Narwhals tech agreement.
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Assistance in identifying and pursuing opportunities, such as college and/or employment.
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Narwhals-specific trips and annual big adventures.
The Narwhals
At age 13, young people at Natural Creativity are eligible to join the oldest group at NC: the Narwhals. Their participation in the group is determined by their interest, maturity level, and consultation with Narwhals Facilitators. If a young person determines that Axolotl group is a better fit, they remain in Axolotls. We encourage age-mixing throughout the day; there are no restrictions to whom anyone spends time with. The biggest difference between Narwhals and other groups is a) access to the Narwhals room and b) regular individualized check-ins with a Narwhals Facilitator.
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Narwhals are actively growing in their independence, self-expression, and creative problem-solving. Narwhals use their time at NC for social pursuits, independent or group projects, study, or some combination of the above.
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Around age 16 or so, Narwhals may become more interested in community college, employment, and/or preparing for four-year college. They may continue those pursuits while maintaining connections to the NC community. Facilitators support the young person in this process however they wish; with active encouragement, connections to programs and opportunities, or something else.
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Every year, we welcome a bunch of former Axolotls and a few new-to-NC teens to the Narwhals. In a given year, about 3/4 of Narwhals have done some version of unschooling/self-directed education their whole lives, while the other 1/4 has done 1-4 years of conventional school at some point.
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How does a high school diploma work for homeschooled high schoolers?
The end-of-year homeschool evaluations is similar to younger ages and includes a transcript that can be used for college and other pursuits. Read all about it here: FAQs for Teen/High School Homeschooling Portfolio Evaluation.
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Big Narwhals Events
Depending on numbers, ages, and staff capacity, we do one of these each year:
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Walk Around Philadelphia (100 miles, spread out throughout the year) (2020, 2022-23, 2025-26)
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Trip within 500 miles driving (NYC, DC, Pittsburgh, etc.)
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Big trip on an airplane (like Colorado, May 2024)
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Camping trip (French Creek State Park, or elsewhere)
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Note: Due to the constantly changing nature of working with self-directed teens, the Narwhals program shifts and changes each year in response to the particular makeup of that year's Narwhals. Inquire to us if you want to learn more about the current iteration of Narwhals.
History of Narwhals (2019 to Present)
The group formed in 2019 when there was a critical mass of 11 young people in the 11-13 year-old range who were looking for something a little more organized as a group. They gathered with Tess the Facilitator on Thursday afternoons in the community hall at FUMCOG for 3 hours, playing games, doing teambuilding activities, and going on trips. Each year, Narwhals has expanded and evolved with its changing participants.
2020-21: "The Covid Year"
The Narwhals consisted of 7 young people and 2 Facilitators; we had to be outside. We made the best of it: we WALKED. First, we walked 100 miles around the border of Philadelphia, part of a project designed by JJ Tiziou. You can read JJ's blog post about the last day of the walk here.
Narwhals in Ivy Hill Cemetery, about 1/3 of the way through the first Walk Around Philadelphia (October 2020)
Narwhals Walk Around Philadelphia logo designed by Apollo L, original Narwhal
After those 100 miles, we. kept. walking. We walked all of Market St, Frankford Ave, Ridge Ave, Germantown Ave, Broad St (12 miles on the coldest day of the year!), and more. We got VERY good at the art of frolicking: Picking a neighborhood, finding its green spaces, and exploring. No map, no plan, no covid spread, and lots of fun.
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In Spring 2021, the group participated in a Pilot Program - NC's first attempt to offer a structured "curriculum" to young people. The pilot program featured six projects, a few "themed studies," and a presentation.
2021-22, 8 Narwhals: After bopping around for a few weeks, we moved into the NC Pulaski space in December. Narwhals were the first ones to unpack boxes and write on the whiteboards. Painted a big mural in the Narwhals room.
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2022-23, 9 Narwhals: 2nd Walk Around Philadelphia. Camping trip. Did Big Questions— presentations related to questions like "Where do I come from?" and "What makes a good day?" Read banned books and presented about them to the community. Trips and community building and rituals began.
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2023-24, 13 Narwhals: More community! More games! NC grows! Camping trip in the fall, then big trip: 10 days in Paonia, Colorado, at the High Desert Center. This was a huge trip with lots of fundraising and growth and challenge and opportunities.
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2024-25, 13 Narwhals: A bunch of people moved up from Axolotls and the group moved over to the former Maker Space. Camping trip to start out the year. More couches! Bigger whiteboard wall! Community service trips, visiting specialists, games. Big trip: Day trip to New York City in May (very fun).
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2025-26, 20 Narwhals: In its 6th full year (and first year with two full-time facilitators), the Narwhals group matured to a very functional organism with its own culture and routines that spanned the two bigger days of Tuesday and Thursday and a smaller crew on Wednesdays. We welcomed former Axolotls and three brand new people who brought wonderful energy to our group. Dancing, music, fanfics, so many projects! The 3rd circuit of the Walk Around Philadelphia was completed on Fridays by a dedicated group who got very good at Septa.
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On any given Narwhals day, teens can be found at NC lounging in the Narwhals room, getting lunch from nearby takeout spots, working on personal projects or homework, playing D&D or other games, learning from a Visiting Specialist, scheming about celebrations for each other, exploring the city, giggling, working on and in their own worlds. Every day is different!
Where does the name "Narwhals" come from?
In September 2019, the group was tasked with naming themselves. Someone had a Narwhal stuffed animal, others liked it, and the group name was born! We created a backronym, deciding that Narwhals are Nearly Adult Really Weird Human Animals Learning Stuff.
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