Since 2014, School in a Backpack has brought courage-first learning to families, schools and communities in the US and the Philippines, building character through real-world experience.
Families find standards-aligned experiences near them and keep each one in their child's portfolio. Organizations list events for free. We're its first partner, and you can be next.
Learning days that bring families, kids and communities together.
Signature event · Since 2016
stART Hope
Launch the artist in youth.
From creation to curation and everything in between, stART Hope takes young artists through the whole life of an artwork: making it, shaping a portfolio, curating a show, marketing it to partners and sponsors, and promoting and selling the work. From art class to art exhibit, that's how we support their careers in the art industry: building a portfolio that becomes real impact on their résumé.
The journey
1
Create
Online and live art classes with international artists and art educators. Find your medium, your style and your voice.
2
Build a portfolio
Turn class work into a body of finished pieces, with feedback from working artists along the way.
3
Curate
Learn how a show comes together: choosing, titling and arranging the work, and telling the story behind it.
4
Market & partner
Pitch to partners and sponsors, just like the students who started stART Hope did in 2016.
5
Exhibit, promote & sell
A local art gallery exhibit, promoted to the community, where young artists show their work and offer it for sale.
6
Grow a career
From portfolio to résumé: a gallery exhibit at a young age, the kind of credit that opens doors in the art industry.
A portfolioof finished artworks
An exhibiton their résumé, early
Real experiencein marketing, promotion and sales
A networkof artists, mentors and partners
Stay tuned for our online and live art classes x art exhibits. Our roster of international artists and art exhibitors is coming soon.
Galleries, venues, brands, collectors and art educators: sponsor an exhibit, host a show, teach a class or champion a young artist's first sale. Your support is seen by families, schools and communities at every exhibit.
stART Hope began in 2016 as A Benefit Art Exhibit by Homeschoolers in their Pursuit for Hope, Peace and Change for the Sake of the Next Generation.
It was started by a group of middle school and high school students from Homeschoolers PH in their Communication and Collaboration class. The class's co-teachers were also partners at School in a Backpack in 2016–2017, and they guided the students as the project took shape.
The students did the rest. Together they came up with the project's name, designed its logo, and reached out to partners and sponsors themselves, making the 2017 art exhibit a success. That same student-led spirit runs stART Hope today: young artists don't just make the work, they help curate it, market it and sell it.
The original stART Hope student team, Homeschoolers PH, 2016–2017.Co-teachers of the Communication and Collaboration class, 2016–2017.
Logo: designed by the original stART Hope student team, Homeschoolers PH (2016). Photos: stART Hope students and their Communication and Collaboration co-teachers, 2016–2017.
Signature event · Since 2017
School by the Shore
Where Nature becomes the Teacher.
Trade the classroom for the coastline. Pitch your tent by the sea, wake up to the sound of the waves, and spend a whole weekend learning in the open air, together.
The best part? A whole weekend free of technology. Not because gadgets aren't allowed, but because every member of the family is so connected with nature that no one feels like reaching for one.
What we learn
All the core subjects, presented through full environment immersion.
Life skills outdoorsGamified kinestheticsArt-infusedMusically interactiveProject-based
And above the usual activities: surfing, first aid, pitching tents and more.
The whole family goes to schoolFun learning through experience isn't limited to children. Every member of the family becomes a student of nature.
Coming soon School by the Slope Not just by beaches, but by mountains too.
January 2017. San Narciso, Zambales. A group of families arrived at Crystal Beach Resort, unrolled their tents and, for most of them, got ready for their very first night sleeping outdoors.
By morning, the beach had become a laboratory. Science by the Shore turned sand, sea and tide into experiments, while an Artstacle course wound through the woods, waiting to be conquered.
And the parents? For once, they got a turn too: creative calligraphy across the horizon and strumming their first ukulele chords while the kids were busy.
That night, after the marshmallows were roasted, the kids picked up ukuleles of their own around the bonfire.
The next day, no one opened a book about waves. Professional surfers showed the kids how to read the water, paddle out and ride. That weekend became the first School by the Shore.
The first School by the Shore poster, January 28–29, 2017.
With thanks to the partners and sponsors of the first School by the Shore, as listed on the original poster. Venue: Crystal Beach Resort. Partners: Homeschool @ Alabang, Homeschool @ Valle Verde, Tropical Swells and Quiksilver Surf School Zambales. Sponsors: Ogalala, Crayola, The Purple Cow, Ukulele Manila, National Geographic and The Four Strings.
MyKuboCo · 2026 · grew out of Pebbles (2015)
Find more on MyKuboCo
What started in 2015 as Pebbles, our first way to collect learning experiences, is now MyKuboCo: one place to find standards-aligned events near you and keep each one in your child's portfolio.
Learning is better when we experience it together. Get first word on upcoming family experiences, live events, and opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.
Not ready to commit? Take the 2-minute Rhythm Quiz and get one tip for your family today.
1
Vision & Intentions
Name what you're raising them for, before the calendar decides.
2
Rhythm & Routines
A rhythm the whole house can feel.
3
The Independent Learner
Hand the work back, at the right size.
4
OwnSchooling Curriculum
Learning built around your child.
5
Learning Environment
Make learning the path of least resistance.
5 eveningsVirtual, live, with recordings
1 full dayIn person, US & Philippines
For groupsBring it to your school or co-op → details
Workshops & Classes
Four ways to grow courage.
From parenting and storytelling to emotional intelligence and improvisation, our workshops make courage something you practice, not just talk about.
The first ever Wunderparent session, 2016Flagship workshop · Since 2016
Wunderparent
For parents
Nobody hands you a parenting manual, so write your own. In five sessions you'll name what you're raising your kids for, build a rhythm the whole house can feel, and hand learning back to your child at the right size. Stop reacting. Start parenting on purpose.
A vision board for your parenting
A weekly rhythm that ends the daily negotiation
A plan to raise an independent learner
Intro class live in New York · Dec 29
“Wunderparents was amazing! … We have a few parents that would really like to continue to do more sessions. Yesterday was a big win!”
Every child has a story. Budding Author helps them tell it. Little ones explore art-based storytelling as they learn to read and write, tweeners grow from storytellers into young writers, and teens go all the way from a blank page to a published book.
Confidence to share their ideas
Real reading and writing skills, built through art
For teens: a published book with their name on it
Intro classes live in New York · Dec 21, 22 & 28
Online classes for teens start in January and run virtually for one semester
“My son told me several times that he wasn't really into writing … However, after completing the Budding Author classes, I've seen a beautiful change in him. He's gained confidence not only in his writing abilities but also in expressing himself … I'm so grateful to Joahna Tupas for her patience, encouragement … She helped him feel comfortable being himself and gave him space to explore and grow in ways I hadn't expected. … I highly recommend the Budding Author classes to anyone looking for more than just writing lessons!”
Big feelings don't come with instructions, not for teens and not for the adults who love, teach and care for them. refraME builds social-emotional competence through emotional intelligence, with self-awareness and self-regulation at the center. Participants learn to notice what they feel, understand why, and choose how they respond, at home, at school, at work and with each other.
For parents, educators, counselors, social workers, babysitters, legal guardians, older siblings and teens.
Self-awareness: knowing what they feel and why
Self-regulation: choosing how they respond
Emotional intelligence they'll use for life
For teens: whole-school-year online after-school program · Starts January
For parents: online once a week · Starts February · Best after Wunderparent
You don't have to dream of the stage to find your voice.
Through playful improvisation, teens practice thinking on their feet, speaking with confidence, really listening, and building on other people's ideas. No scripts, no perfect answers—just a welcoming space to take creative risks, connect and grow.
Confidence & self-expression: speak up, try something new and recover from mistakes
Social connection: read the room, listen actively, respond with empathy and build friendships
Teamwork & adaptability: collaborate, solve problems creatively and navigate the unexpected
Skills beyond the stage: a foundation for interviews, presentations, leadership, business, sales, teaching, and other people-centered careers
How it started
In March 2017, School in a Backpack brought the magic of theater to young learners in the Philippines, partnering with Malta-based Curtain Raiser Entertainment for a one-day experience at Julie Borromeo’s Performing Arts Foundation in San Juan. What began as an invitation to discover the stage returns as APPLAUSE!—an improv workshop helping teens find their voice, onstage and in everyday life.
Original 2017 APPLAUSE! poster
Returning in person and online · Dates and enrollment details to be announced
Launch the artist in youth. Online and live art classes with international artists and art educators, where young artists create, build a portfolio, and learn to curate, market and sell their work, all leading to a real gallery exhibit on their résumé.
For curious kids, growing teens, and the adults guiding them: we’re dreaming up more hands-on ways to build courage and real-life skills. Join the interest list for new topics, schedules, and enrollment announcements.
For parents · Rhythm Quiz
What's your family's rhythm right now?
2 minutes. No email required to start — just to see your results.
Question 1 of 5
Your result is ready
Enter your email to see your result
Your family's rhythm
We'll follow up by email with a little more over the next week.
Know another family who'd love this? Send them our way.
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Curriculum
Our curriculum.
Built around the child, not the box.
Since 2010
OwnSchooling
For families
Learning built around your child. Every OwnSchooling journey starts with a one-on-one session with our consultant, who helps you shape rhythms, planners and project guides around the child in front of you.
And you won't do it alone: you become part of a community of OwnSchoolers, families designing their own learning together.
Our community in action · Mexico, 2023International OwnSchool Day
In 2023, we celebrated International OwnSchool Day alongside worldschooling families in Mexico—a reminder that learning can bring families together across borders, cultures and experiences.
For parents & educators of teens · Whole school year
A whole-school-year curriculum for teens, built for parents and educators to teach. Founded in CASEL, psychology and Socratic philosophy, refraME is character education that helps teens grow self-awareness and self-regulation through emotional intelligence.
For parents & educators of teens · Whole school year
A whole-school-year curriculum for parents and educators to use with their teenage students. Standards-aligned English Language Arts, with applications in Social Studies, Science and some electives, taking teens from a blank page to a published book.
Get a real, ready-to-teach lesson, straight to your inbox.
For families
OwnSchooling Starter Kit
Starts with a one-on-one session with our consultant, then a term of rhythms, planners and project guides built around your child, plus a place in our community of OwnSchoolers.
A whole-school-year curriculum for parents and educators to use with their teenage students: standards-aligned English Language Arts, with applications in Social Studies, Science and some electives, from a blank page to a published book.
A whole-school-year character education curriculum for parents and educators to teach, founded in CASEL, psychology and Socratic philosophy, building self-awareness and self-regulation through emotional intelligence.
Purposeful, ready-to-use resources for parents, educators, co-ops, and schools are in development. Be first to hear about new releases, previews, and ways to bring them into your learning space.
For educators
A real lesson. Free. Yours to use Monday.
One full, ready-to-teach lesson, built around the child, not the box.
Schools, co-ops & organizations
Partner with School in a Backpack.
Bring courage-first, experiential learning to your families, students or staff.
For co-ops, micro-schools and classrooms, with training.
Events
Co-host an event
Family days and learning events, promoted on MyKuboCo.
Who we've worked with
Trusted by schools & organizations.
Schools, districts, academies, and communities across the United States and the Philippines that have worked with Joahna Tupas, School in a Backpack, or both.
United States
Whiteriver Unified School District #20
Theodore Roosevelt School
Parent-Led Academy
Soul Care Journey
Think Through Academy
Lexington Life Academy
Healing Roots Online School
The Church AZ
Legacy Learning Community
Philippines
De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde
Victory Christian International School
Homeschool PH
Department of Education
Abot Tala
Builder of Dreams Christian Community
Start here
Tell us about your org
Takes 2 minutes. We'll send a one-pager and follow up with next steps that fit what you're looking for.
Educator, curriculum practitioner and education consultant, Joahna brings more than 20 years of experience across K–12, higher education and professional learning, in the United States and internationally. She founded School in a Backpack in 2014 to make learning experiential, values-centered and deeply human: the kind that grows independent, confident learners.
Guided by her philosophy, Inspire. Innovate. Educate., she partners with schools, families and organizations to design learning that bridges academic rigor with well-being, agency and purpose. Ready to reimagine how your learners grow? She's ready to build it with you.
To help children live freely, purposefully and fully, as they discover and pursue their purpose.
How we do it
We train the whole child, mind, body and will, through two pillars: experiential learning and character education. Together they build knowledge and abilities, and strengthen the reflection, self-awareness and self-regulation that make learning last.
What we make
Programs, curricula, resources, tools, training, educational apps, events and learning environments that equip parents and teachers to guide student-led learning journeys.
Wonder.Children stay curious and creative.
Wander.They keep exploring and discovering.
Wunder.They experience a full and fulfilling life.
Along the way, they grow the confidence, competence, character, self-awareness, ownership, responsibility and self-direction that increasingly independent learning requires.
With the guidance of parents and educators, the confident, compassionate and courageous learners of today become the confident, compassionate and courageous leaders of tomorrow.
The people behind the experiences
Meet Our Growing Learning Facilitators
Educators and creative professionals who help learners discover their strengths, find their voice, and put learning into practice.
Budding Author · Learning Facilitator
Michelle Salman
With nearly 30 years of experience teaching English, Michelle brings deep expertise and genuine encouragement to every young writer she guides. She teaches 12th-grade English, AP Literature, composition, and college writing—giving her a unique understanding of how students grow as writers at every stage.
What Michelle loves most is the moment a student discovers what they can do with their own words. Through Budding Author, she helps aspiring writers build confidence, discover their voice, and experience the pride of bringing their stories to life.
Join our facilitator community
GROW WITH US!
Are you an educator, artist, author, performer, coach, or professional who loves helping people learn through experience? We're growing our circle of Learning Facilitators for classes and workshops, online and in person.
Share your interests and expertise. We'd love to explore how we might create meaningful learning experiences together.
Courage, monthly.
Events, one family practice and new curriculum. One email a month.
Contact
Let's talk.
Book a call or write to partners@schoolinabackpack.com.
partners@schoolinabackpack.com
General questions. We reply within two business days.
