53. Field School of Hvar in Croatia

In 2020, Carolyn found her paradise on the sunniest island in Europe: Hvar, Croatia. This delightful conversation covered Carolyn’s accidental pandemic move, her heartwarming integration into a traditional Mediterranean community, and her mission to cultivate a sense of belonging through nature-based education. Listen now at www.wanderworldschool.com!

The Field School of Hvar: Pedagogy of Belonging

Carolyn’s passion project, the Field School of Hvar, is a pioneering educational hub designed for world schooling families and locals alike. For those unfamiliar with the local dialect, Carolyn helpfully clarifies that foreigners should pronounce Hvar as “war”.

The school responds to the shortcomings of the traditional Croatian public education system, which can be rigid, desk-bound, and book-centric. The Field School offers an alternative grounded in wonder and nature-based pedagogy. "We offer island kids, as well as our international families, an encounter with learning that is much more grounded in wonder and curiosity and meaning, versus just achievement," says Carolyn.

Story time takes on a whole new meaning when the backdrop is this beautiful!

The school operates across three seasons, summer, fall, and spring, with a focus on community building, family co-living, and intellectually demanding child enrichment.

Unique to the academic year program (fall and spring) is its genuine home base offering for traveling families, allowing consistent accommodation and a faculty that follows students through cumulative learning journeys. This makes slow travel truly sustainable for families, who can remain based on the island from September through early June.

From COVID to Hvar: Falling in Love in Paradise

Carolyn’s move to Croatia was fueled by classic COVID serendipity. After graduating from business school in 2020 only to have her job offer rescinded, she received a severance check and a desperate need for a change. "Croatia was the only country admitting Americans," she explains.

She arrived with no prior knowledge of the country and immediately fell in love. First with the landscape and the organic connection to nature that is a way of life there. Soon after, she fell in love with a “specific Croatian human," now her partner and the father of her four-year-old son.

Raising her family in Croatia has been a humane and supportive experience. Her son attends a local preschool housed in a beautiful, pink-painted former palazzo for just $90 a month, where he is learning the local language and dialect alongside peers he will grow up with. This deep integration into the tight-knit community has been vital.

To learn more about the Field School of Hvar, you can find them on Instagram, Facebook, and at their website, fieldschoolhvar.org .