A small self-directed learning community where children feel safe to belong, play, create and grow.
Ages 3–7 / Spanish, English & German
What if children don't need more instruction...
What if they simply need the right conditions to flourish?
Kin is the birthplace of the FERN Model—a living learning ecosystem for children ages 3–7 where healthy human development comes before curriculum.
Here, learning is not something to deliver, measure, or control. It is understood as a biological, relational, and nervous-system-driven process.
We are not here to shape children into predefined outcomes.
We are here to protect the conditions that allow development to unfold.
A Place Unlike Any Other
Located in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, Kin has emerged in a place where families from around the world are reimagining childhood, education, and community.
Families from all over the world come here because they are ready to do things differently.
They are questioning traditional education, rethinking childhood, and choosing a more conscious, life-aligned path.
Kin is not a school.It is a Play Studio. Because the moment we separate play from learning, we misunderstand both. Children don't stop learning when they play. They learn through play.
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Children
not rushed out of childhood
Sensitivity
is not pathologized
Learning
is not separated from life
Families
are supported, not isolated
What We Are Creating
Kin is not a fixed model.
It is a living ecosystem.
It evolves with the children, the families, and the facilitators who are part of it.
We are not building a better version of school.
We are participating in the emergence of something else entirely.
A place where:
Childhood is honored
Nervous Systems are understood
Learning is living system
Development is allowed to unfold
Children learn best when they feel safe
In our space, emotional safety, connection and nervous system regulation come before instruction. We believe learning naturally emerges from curiosity, not pressure.
Once children feel safe, curiosity, play and genuine engagement naturally emerge.
Once they are engaged in play, they can connect, create, grow, and as a result: learn.
Family Partnership
At Kin, learning doesn't stop when children go home.
Parents are an essential part of the ecosystem.
Throughout the year, families receive ongoing developmental insights, practical guidance, and opportunities for conversation* with Gaby as children grow, explore, and reveal more of who they are.
Rather than formal evaluations, we offer an evolving understanding of each child's unique developmental journey.
*Brief conversations and developmental guidance are included as part of the Kin experience. Families seeking more in-depth support may also schedule private consultations with Gaby separately.
Enrollment Options
Kin is open on:
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
10:00 AM–2:00 PM
Families may choose the rhythm that best supports their child and family.
Three Days per Week
$168 per month
Equivalent to $14 per day. Includes three reserved days each week.
Two Days per Week
$128 per month
Equivalent to $16 per day. Includes two reserved days each week.
Drop-In
$20 per dayÂ
Available when space permits. A flexible option for occasional attendance.
What is included
- A small, self-directed learning community
- Up to 6–10 children
- Two facilitators and one support person
- Fresh seasonal fruit and water
- Art, building, sensory and exploratory materials
- Ongoing observation of each child
- Brief developmental guidance and parent conversations (Family Partnership)
- English- and Spanish-speaking environment (German as well as an aid when needed)
Important Enrollment Agreement
Monthly plans reserve your child’s place in the community and are paid in advance.
Because staffing, space and materials are prepared based on enrollment, monthly fees remain the same when a child misses a day due to illness, travel or personal plans.
Drop-in attendance is subject to availability.
The FERN Philosophy
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The FERN Model is rooted in a simple but radical understanding:
Learning is not a cognitive act. It is a nervous system state.
From this lens, everything changes.
- Regulation comes before education
- Safety comes before performance
- Connection comes before instruction
- Autonomy emerges from co-regulation, not controlÂ
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FERN understands development as a living system — not linear, not standardized, not forced.
Children are not empty vessels.
They are complex, intelligent, adaptive beings whose growth depends on:
- Nervous system safety
- Relational attunement
- Environmental coherence
- Freedom within regulation
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Facilitators are not teachers.
They are regulation anchors who hold the conditions where learning can emerge naturally.
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More about The FERN Model here
About Us (The Facilitators)
Some places begin with a business plan.
Kin began with a question.
What if children don't need to be changed... only deeply understood?
For more than a decade, Gaby Portilla, founder of the FERN Model, explored what children truly need to thrive. Her work led to a simple but transformative realization: children don't need more control or instruction, they need environments that support healthy human development.
Edgar, an engineer, craftsman, and lifelong naturalist, arrived at the same understanding through a different path. Building homes, creating with his hands, and observing nature taught him that the healthiest systems are not controlled, they are cultivated.
When our paths crossed in Vilcabamba, we realized we shared the same dream:
To create the place we wished our own children could grow up in.
Not a school. Not a daycare. Not a homeschool program.
But a living ecosystem where children experience safety, belonging, meaningful relationships, freedom to play, and a community that trusts childhood.
That vision became Kin.
Today, Kin is the living home of the FERN Model—a place that continues to grow alongside the children and families who are part of it.
We are not here to shape children into who they should become.
We are here to protect the conditions that allow them to become who they already are.
