JAN22
PROPOSED · JAN 22, 2027 · PST
Budding Author · Tweeners · PST
Virtual · Pacific cohort · After school · Weekly · Q1 or semester course · Facilitated by the PST Budding Author instructor. Start dates and times are tentative until confirmed.
Raising Gen C, the courage generation
Brave kids. Bold parents. Real learning.
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.
For parents
Stop reacting, start parenting.
Nobody hands you a manual. The Wunderparent Workshop is five sessions to write your own: a clear plan for your family, so you can stop winging it.
Take the 2-min Rhythm Quiz → For educatorsLess prep. More teaching.
You're underpaid, stretched thin, and buried in stuff to sort through. Get lessons that are ready to teach in the time you actually have.
Get a free no-prep lesson → For organizationsPartner with us. Reach the families who need you.
Put your events and workshops in front of the families and children who would benefit most. We map them to learning standards, so you keep doing what you do best.
Tell us about your org →Budding Author
From blank page to published book.
A 15-session writing curriculum for teens. One hour at a time, young writers become published young authors.
15one-hour sessions
1published book
In development
For Kids (ages 5 to 8)
Kindergarten to Grade 3
Art-based storytelling for little ones learning how to read and write.
For Tweeners (ages 9 to 12)
Grades 4 to 7
From storytellers to young writers.
Coming up · January 2027
Show up. Learn loud.
Live virtual programs for parents, adults, tweeners and teens—choose a Pacific or Eastern cohort.
What we do
Everything we make, in one backpack.
Every workshop, lesson and event teaches character through experience, starting with courage.
Flagship
Wunderparent Workshop
Five sessions: vision, rhythm, the independent learner, OwnSchooling curriculum and the learning environment. 5 evenings online or 1 full day in person.
Book the next cohort →Workshops & Classes
Live learning for parents, kids, tweens and teens, online and in person.
Explore →Events
Real-world learning days for the whole family.
Calendar →Curriculum
Ready-to-use curriculum for families, co-ops and schools.
Explore →EdTech
MyKuboCo, our app for finding and keeping real-world learning experiences.
See the app →Built by School in a Backpack
We built MyKuboCo so every field trip counts.
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.
Courage, monthly.
Events, one family practice and new curriculum. One email a month.
Events
Show up. Learn loud.
Live virtual learning for parents, adults, tweeners and teens—Pacific and Eastern cohorts.
Enrollment interest is open for programs beginning mid-January 2027. All current classes are virtual and meet once a week: adult refraME and Wunderparent with Joahna Tupas, and Budding Author with dedicated Pacific and Eastern facilitators. Dates and times are proposed, subject to confirmation.
JANUARY 2027 · PROPOSED STARTS
January 2027
Select a highlighted date to view virtual programs and choose your cohort. Proposed dates only.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Choose your virtual cohort
Choose the cohort that fits your schedule. Submitting a form registers your interest, not a confirmed seat; dates, times, and tuition are pending.
JAN22
PROPOSED · JAN 22, 2027 · EST
Budding Author · Tweeners · EST
Virtual · Eastern cohort · After school · Weekly · Q1 or semester course · Facilitated by the EST Budding Author instructor. Start dates and times are tentative until confirmed.
JAN23
PROPOSED · JAN 23, 2027 · PST
Budding Author · Teens · PST
Virtual · Pacific cohort · Weekend · Weekly · Q1 or semester course · Facilitated by the PST Budding Author instructor. Start dates and times are tentative until confirmed.
JAN23
PROPOSED · JAN 23, 2027 · EST
Budding Author · Teens · EST
Virtual · Eastern cohort · Weekend · Weekly · Q1 or semester course · Facilitated by the EST Budding Author instructor. Start dates and times are tentative until confirmed.
JAN18
PROPOSED · JAN 18, 2027 · PST
refraME · Adults · PST
Virtual · Pacific cohort · Weekly · Facilitated by Joahna Tupas. Start dates and times are tentative until confirmed.
JAN18
PROPOSED · JAN 18, 2027 · EST
refraME · Adults · EST
Virtual · Eastern cohort · Weekly · Facilitated by Joahna Tupas. Start dates and times are tentative until confirmed.
JAN19
PROPOSED · JAN 19, 2027 · PST
Wunderparent · PST
Virtual · Pacific cohort · Tuesday evenings · 5 sessions · 90 minutes each · Weekly · Facilitated by Joahna Tupas. Start dates and times are tentative until confirmed.
JAN19
PROPOSED · JAN 19, 2027 · EST
Wunderparent · EST
Virtual · Eastern cohort · Tuesday evenings · 5 sessions · 90 minutes each · Weekly · Facilitated by Joahna Tupas. Start dates and times are tentative until confirmed.
More adventures ahead
More events are on the way.
Learning is better when we experience it together. Get first word on upcoming family experiences, live events, and opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.
You'll leave with
- A vision board for your parenting
- A weekly rhythm that ends the daily negotiation
- A plan to hand learning back to your child
- A certificate of completion
Sessions
Vision & Intentions · Rhythm & Routines · The Independent Learner · OwnSchooling Curriculum · Learning Environment
The flagship workshop · Running since 2016
Wunderparent.
For the parent who is doing everything and still feels behind. Five sessions to move your family from reacting to designing.
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
Three ways to grow courage.
For adults, parents and young storytellers: live workshops and writing classes that make courage something you practice, not just talk about.
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
Next virtual cohort · Mid-January 2027 · PST and EST · 5 weekly sessions, 90 minutes each
“Wunderparents was amazing! … We have a few parents that would really like to continue to do more sessions. Yesterday was a big win!”
Signature class · Since 2024
Budding Author
For kids, tweeners & teens
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
Virtual tween and teen cohorts · Mid-January 2027 · PST and EST · Weekly
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!”
Signature class · Since 2020
refraME
For adults
Big feelings do not come with instructions. Designed for adults, refraME builds social-emotional competence through self-awareness, self-regulation and practical emotional intelligence—skills you can bring to your relationships, work and everyday life.
For adults, including parents, educators, counselors, caregivers and other professionals.
- Self-awareness: knowing what they feel and why
- Self-regulation: choosing how they respond
- Emotional intelligence they'll use for life
Adult virtual cohorts · PST and EST · Once weekly · Facilitated by Joahna Tupas
Live online · Pacific and Eastern cohorts · Starts mid-January 2027 (proposed)
For educators, counselors and social workers: book your group's classes with us →
Enroll in refraME
More ways to grow
New workshops & classes are coming.
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
Preview: this form isn't connected yet, nothing was sent.
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.
Curriculum
Our curriculum.
Less cookie-cutter. More curiosity, courage, and real learning. Thoughtfully designed curricula for schools, organizations, educators, and teaching parents who want lessons that go beyond the textbook—and stay with learners long after class.
Ready to bring this learning to your classroom or home?Explore our curricula, then ask about purchasing, licensing, and the right fit for your learners.
Request Curriculum & Pricing 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, 2023
International OwnSchool Day
Book a consultation →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.
Watch on YouTube ↗refraME
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.
Request refraME pricing →“We share the belief that education is about so much more than academics. It's about nurturing a child's heart, character, emotional well-being, and relationships. … I believe in her heart, her mission, and what she's creating through School in a Backpack and refraME. I would wholeheartedly encourage parents and educators to learn from her.”
— Marissa LeinartFounder, Parent Led Academy & Soul Care Journey
Budding Author
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.
Request Budding Author pricing →“They were very pleasantly surprised that not only did they complete their books, but they enjoyed the process as well! The Budding Author Program is designed to carefully guide students through all aspects of the process necessary to become successful authors while building their self-confidence as they progress. … Another wonderful point about the Budding Author Program is its flexibility. … It is what we have needed to get our students excited about the process of becoming budding authors who are willing to express their ideas and prepare their writing for publishing.”
— Dr. Brenda BilalELA Teacher, Healing Roots Online School
Try before you buy
One lesson. Free. No card required.
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.
Coming soonBook a consultation
For teens · Whole school year
Budding Author
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.
Coming soonAsk about it
refraME
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.
Coming soonAsk about it
For groups
Co-op & School License
Full curriculum plus facilitator training.
CustomGet a quote
Fresh learning in progress
New curriculum is taking shape.
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.
Workshops
Host a Wunderparent Workshop
For your parent community, online or on site.
Curriculum
License OwnSchooling
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.
For venues & institutions
Run a museum, farm or workshop space?
List your experiences on MyKuboCo, our platform for real-world learning. Free for founding partners.
Founder & Chief Consultant
Joahna Tupas
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.
The team
Small team. Big backpack.
About School in a Backpack
Why we exist
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.
Partnerships
Schools, co-ops and organizations: tell us about your organization first, and we'll send a partner overview.
Done
Preview: this form isn't connected yet, nothing was sent.
That took courage. You're in.
Know another family who'd love this? Send them our way.