Terra Camps

Terra Camps offers Spanish and Mandarin immersion with nature-based education, art education, and experiential outdoor learning. Campers take part in activities such as music, singing, puppetry, improvisational drama, rock band, an all-school play, playwriting, cake decorating, 2D studio drawing, sports and group activities including football (soccer), soccer, tennis, and swimming, as well as hiking and gardening. Additional activities include film production and music video making, making dumplings from scratch, and caring for a small sugarcane farm, along with social emotional learning and student-led discussions using the Harkness Table format.

• Ages: 3–13 years old

Terra Camps is part of Terra Schools, which offers an outdoor, trilingual Mandarin, Spanish, and English Pre-K to 8th grade school that combines the Reggio Emilia philosophy and the International Baccalaureate framework, with a research-based emphasis on early language immersion, nature-based education, and integrated social emotional learning. The program includes Earth Education and an Outdoor School, and Terra San Francisco’s H-E-A-R-T values are Help Others and Take Initiative, Elevate, Articulate, Ready, and Take Care of Yourself, alongside the stated values: Be kind to yourself and others; Love nature; Value languages and diversity; Persevere with courage; Stay curious. Terra Schools is a candidate school for the IB Primary Years Programme, is pursuing full authorization by 2026, and has been voted Gold by Bay Area Parent, received an A+ grade on Niche, and holds a 5-star rating on Yelp.

The Terra Camps leadership team includes Summer Camp Director Maylet Hernandez, Earth Ed. Field Director Dylan Turner, and co-Earth Ed. Field Director Gabriel Perez. Staff experience includes Spanish and Mandarin immersion, teaching Spanish, teaching English online, preschool and elementary teaching, and running an outdoor Earth Education program, as well as backgrounds in film production, international shoot coordination, managing cultural activities, Boy Scouts, babysitting, aftercare at Terra Schools, music, acupuncture, pediatrics, and working as a Mandarin assistant teacher at Terra San Francisco and in Terra Marin’s 2023 summer camp. Terra Camps staff have worked with children through Arte por la Mixteca, an art education program directed in rural communities, and Terra Schools states that it believes in partnering with families to raise children well.

The Terra Schools mission states that the schools educate, nurture, and inspire students of diverse backgrounds to achieve their highest academic and creative potential, to embrace ethical values, and to become active contributors to their communities. A student testimonial from Kirian, Class of ’23, describes coming to Terra Schools from a larger middle school, finding the community and teachers “awesome,” making friends easily, and having a positive year and a half at the school.

Last updated March 28, 2026.