Worldschool Old School, 2026
A program tailored specifically for homeschooling families with parents that work remotely. Our program is essentially turning the hidden village of San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala, into a school campus. Go back in time and rediscover lost arts and craftsmanship with your children. Give your child the chance to unplug and apprentice in shoemaking, weaving, farming, welding, business classes, music, etiquette and ethics, kayaking, and more. As an immersive program, we offer the opportunity for your child to come learn Spanish. Each student is given the opportunity to choose 2 skills electives and 2 Phys-Ed electives that will be included in a personalized itinerary built around our core Spanish school classes and local community participation program.
We care about and love our local neighbours: cultural awareness, community service, and building mutually beneficial, long-term local friendships is the cornerstone of our vision.
PROGRAM DATES:
SUMMER
JULY 20th - AUG 19th, 2026
FALL
SEPTEMBER 1st - NOV 27th, 2026
1 MONTH MINIMUM STAY
What is included:
Delicious breakfasts every morning: fresh cut fruit, waffles, boiled eggs, coffee, bread.
A beautiful common outdoor covered kitchen to use with plenty of your own fridge space.
East facing lake-view rooms overlooking Atitlan
Biweekly boat tours to different villages
Spanish Lessons with local tutors
English speaking host and leader that will be available to the group for the duration of your stay.
"Family Pairing" with a local family with children of similar ages to yours.
Shuttles to and from Airport on start and finish dates.
Arts and crafts room stocked with supplies, Lego, games, books and scheduled childcare with daily activities.
"Old School" age appropriate apprenticeships
Guided biweekly tried and tested sustainable community service activities.
1 Monthly guided hike or tour: coffee demonstrations, cacao, hikes to hidden viewpoints, volcanoes, trails.
Bottomless fresh Guatemalan coffee every day.
What is not included:
Flights
Personal Travel Insurance (Required)
Gratuity for guides/hotel staff
Lunches and Suppers
Minimum Stay: 1 Month
Weekly Schedule
Monday
6am
Sun is up, coffee is on.
7am - 9am
Breakfast served
9am - 10:30am
Spanish School
10:30 - 1:30pm
Personal curriculum. Mornings are booked off for families to work privately or in groups on their homeschool curriculum.
Smaller kids have craft time with local teacher.
11-1pm
Lunch hours. A lunch buffet is available for parents that want an easy option for 3$ per person.
1:45 -3:00pm
Soccer or Swimming
Tuesday
Day of Craftsmanship
ULY 20th - AUG 19th, 2026
6am
Sun is up, coffee is on.
7am - 9am
Breakfast served
9am - 10:30am
Skills elective
10:30 - 1:30pm
Personal curriculum. Mornings are booked off for families to work privately or in groups on their homeschool curriculum.
Smaller kids go on field trip to cotton dying workshops, organic farming, etc.
11-1pm
Lunch hours. A lunch buffet is available for parents that want an easy option for 3$ per person.
1:45 -3:00pm
Skills elective
6:00pm
Soccer for kids 10 and up
Wednesday
Phys-ed Day
6am
Sun is up, coffee is on.
7am - 9am
Breakfast served
9am - 10:30am
Spanish School
10:30 - 1:30pm
Personal curriculum. Mornings are booked off for families to work privately or in groups on their homeschool curriculum.
Smaller kids go on field trip to cotton dying workshops, organic farming, etc.
11-1pm
Lunch hours. A lunch buffet is available for parents that want an easy option for 3$ per person.
1:45 -3:00pm
Sports elective
6:00pm
Special event: smores/live music/local guest speakers/story telling
Thursday
Craftsmanship Day
6am
Sun is up, coffee is on.
7am - 9am
Breakfast served
9am - 10:30am
Skills elective
10:30 - 1:30pm
Personal curriculum. Mornings are booked off for families to work privately or in groups on their homeschool curriculum.
Smaller kids go on field trip to cotton dying workshops, organic farming, etc.
11-1pm
Lunch hours. A lunch buffet is available for parents that want an easy option for 3$ per person.
1:45 -3:00pm
Skills elective
6:00pm
Soccer for kids 10 and up
Friday
Day of Language and Etiquette
6am
Sun is up, coffee is on.
7am - 9am
Breakfast served
9am - 10:30am
Spanish School
10:45-11:45
Ethics and Etiquette class
12:00 - 2:00pm
Personal curriculum. Mornings are booked off for families to work privately or in groups on their homeschool curriculum.
Smaller kids go on field trip to cotton dying workshops, organic farming, etc.
12-1:30pm
Lunch hours. A lunch buffet is available for parents that want an easy option for 3$ per person.
1:45 -3:00pm
Local immersion: time with your paired local families to explore, use your Spanish and learn about daily life in Guatemala
Saturday
Day of rest 1
8:00-9:30am
Breakfast served
Free day
Activity menu provided for families to explore the area with their families or with other guests attending
Sunday
Day of rest 2
8:30am
Breakfast
9am
Scheduled room cleans
Day open for family time
*Monthly Hike or Boat Tour
Where you'll be staying while in San Juan, La Laguna, Guatemala:
The rooms offered in this package boast two double beds and a beautiful east facing view so you enjoy the daily sun rising during your time at Lake Atitlan.
Beautiful views, local decor.
Double Bedroom Monthly Rate (all in: including kids' tuition)
4 Person Max
$3800.00
Bungalow suite with private kitchen, deck, 3 double beds
6 person Max
$4500.00
Want to save?
Private rooms with 3 double beds and shared bathroom
(2 bedrooms share 2 common bathrooms on the main floor)
5 person Max
$3300.00
All prices in USD
Extra child 5 and up $400 to cover breakfasts and activities
Affordable and practical education by design.
Experience a trial run of community living during your stay. With all that is included in this program, we have designed it to be a budget-friendly option for families that wish to settle somewhere long enough to really get plugged in to their surroundings.
We encourage scheduled potluck community dinners, campfires in the garden and reading circles in our shared spaces. Daily space is given to the parents every day during our supervised arts and craft time in the crafts room. Boardgames, Lego, cards and toys are also available! Starlink Wifi is here to stay for all you digital nomads and we offer private workspaces for those of you that video call regularly.
Program suitable for children 5 and up
Want to see more? Here's our promo video that tells our story in under 5 minutes.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Join us for an incredible one to three month stay of work hard - play hard fun! We are so proud to offer this experience! Once registered, you will be invited to the Old School WhatsApp group party-line where registered guests are posting ideas, preparation tips and general info.
Lake Atitlan remains extremely traditional and conservative in nature. Please remember that we are guests and as such we should dress and behave respectfully towards our hosts. Please dress modestly during your time here.
Bringing some small gifts is 100% recommended to give to some of the families we support that we will be pairing you with from our community. (Quality socks, non-lingual games (like UNO, a quality deck of playing cards, Blockus), children's art supplies, toys or a quality kitchen utensil/gadget.)
As our name Culture Chalk implies, we specialize in Cultural Education. We truly want you to experience the best of Guatemalan culture while representing your own culture with class, sensitivity and objectivity. And trust us, we know it's not always easy when experiencing new things, as good as they may be, they are still different and different can be challenging. We encourage visitors to come with an attitude of loving Guatemala for what it is and not judging it for what it is not.
Guatemala is a vibrant place and roosters crowing, dogs barking, music playing and fireworks being set off at all times of the day is considered normal. Come ready to laugh, dance, sing, and see yourself in a brand new light.
Also... Please bring earplugs if you are a light sleeper! ;)
Our goal as your hosts is for you to leave our place BETTER, in so many ways.
Cultural Immersion Retreats