Shift Climbing's Homeschool Program: Structured Physical Education for Homeschoolers

The Shift Homeschool Program is engineered specifically to provide students with a structured, community-focused environment to develop functional strength and spatial agility. Bouldering is unique because it isn't just an athletic workout—it's a physical puzzle. Every climbing route demands focus, strategic planning, and trial-and-error, making it an excellent extension of your active home curriculum.

Meeting once per week for an intentional 50-minute session, our program mixes guided coaching with peer collaboration. Your student will learn to manage risk responsibly, build physical confidence, and support their teammates in an encouraging environment free of rigid team-sports pressure.

The Ultimate Perk: Full Membership Included

We believe true athletic progression happens both inside and outside of structured class hours. That is why tuition for our homeschool program includes a major bonus: every enrolled student receives a full, active gym membership for the entire duration of their semester tenure.

This means your student has unlimited access to Shift outside of class times to climb, practice their skills, use the training zones, or hang out in our community spaces at absolutely no extra cost.

Fall 2026 Schedule & Age Groups

To ensure every student gets optimal coaching attention and shares the floor with an age-appropriate peer group, sessions are organized by age:

Tuesdays

1:00 PM - Ages 7 and Up

Wednesdays

1:00 PM - All Ages

4:00 PM - Ages 13 and Up (teen session)

Thursdays

10:00 AM - All Ages

1:00 PM - All Ages

4:00 PM - Ages 13 and Up (teen session)

Fridays

11:00 AM - All Ages

4:00 PM - Ages 13 and Up (teen session)

A note on the 4:00 PM teen sessions: they're one weekly class offered three days - pick whichever day works for your family each week.

Spring 2027 Schedule

Spring classes begin the week of January 4, 2027 and run through the week of April 26. There are no classes the week of February 1 (QE) or the week of April 5 (spring break).

Tuesdays

1:00 PM - Ages 10 and Up

2:00 PM - Ages 10 and Up

Wednesdays

1:00 PM

2:00 PM

3:00 PM

4:00 PM - Ages 13 and Up

Thursdays

10:00 AM

11:00 AM

1:00 PM

2:00 PM

4:00 PM - Ages 13 and Up

Fridays

11:00 AM

12:00 PM

1:00 PM

If you'd like to request a specific time, please feel free to reach out to us, and we will be glad to consider potentially accommodating a time that works best for you.

Financial Investment & Partnership Coverage

Tuition for the program is $360 per semester, which entirely covers your weekly 50-minute coaching blocks, full shoe and chalk rental gear packages during class, and a comprehensive facility membership throughout the semester.

Strategic Education Partnerships

We are proud, fully vetted community partners with several major West Michigan school networks, allowing many families to utilize their standard state funding allocations:

• Hamilton Virtual School
• Grand Haven Public Schools
• Niles Community Schools
• iCademy Global

Hamilton Flex Families Notice: If you are registered through the Hamilton Flex program, make sure to enter the custom code HAMILTON25 directly at checkout to apply your discounted partnership tuition rate instantly!

Who the homeschool program is for

Ages 7 to 13, open to beginners and those with experience. We scale all activities to make sure everyone finds success.

What a block looks like

Warm-up, technique focus for the week, circuit climbing, cool-down.

Do parents stay?

Sometimes! Feel free to either drop students off or stay during class. We have a full cafe area to hang out in, and we also offer discounted parent day passes so you can climb or use our fitness area while class is on.

Does it count as PE?

Michigan has no state PE requirement for homeschoolers; families set their own. This class is typically used as an elective. We wrote up the details.

Partnership and co-op funding

Yes, we partner with Hamilton, Grand Haven, Niles, and iCademy. These partnerships cover most if not all of the tuition. If you aren't involved in these co-ops, you can still join classes!

What a session looks like

Who it's for

Ages 7 to 13, with a separate teen block for 13 and up. Open to beginners and experienced climbers alike, on big holds and varied movement, with no small-hold training.

The first ten minutes

The first 10 minutes are for checking in, getting climbing shoes on, a fun question of the day, and a warm-up.

The coaching

Jadee leads most of our climbing classes. She has a degree in elementary and special education. Our coach-to-student ratio is 1:8.

What parents do

Parents are welcome to drop off their kids or stay at the gym and either hang out in our cafe space or climb! We offer discounted day passes for parents who want to climb while their children are in class. Siblings are welcome in the space as well with direct parent supervision.

What it costs and what's included

Shoes and chalk are always included. Tuition is $360 a semester and includes a full gym membership for the student for the whole semester, with one guest pass a month to use for a friend or family member.

What comes next

Sign up online, give us a call at 616-377-7006, or email Jadee directly at jadee@shiftclimbing.com with any questions!

Homeschool families: daytime sessions mean you get the gym at its quietest, and climbing checks the physical-education box with room to spare. The CDC counts climbing among the muscle- and bone-strengthening activities kids need weekly, and an hour on the circuits usually covers the daily 60 minutes of activity in one happy blur.

Like all our youth programming: age-grouped coaching, falling taught first, easy-circuit climbing on big holds, and 12 to 14 inches of engineered flooring under everything. How we look after young climbers

What are other parents saying?

These are real Google reviews from families who climb here.

"A real treat with a group of friends. None of us are climbers but we were all challenged, helped, had space to socialize and went home with lots of smiles."
AJ W.

"The family always enjoys Shift. The staff is amazing; the routes are set for all experience levels and relevant for all kinds of movement."
Dan K.

"My kids LOVE Shift Climbing. They attend the homeschool classes and have learned so much and feel very encouraged by the staff."
Jordan

"The routes are always fun, lot of focus on moving, pretty chill place. Have a nice mix of easy and challenging routes which is nice for my level."
Heather W.

Jordan, a homeschool mom who drives in from Hudsonville with three boys, sat down with us to talk about what climbing has done for her kids. You can watch it below or read her family's story. Climbing as a whole family? Our Family Climbing page covers the family membership, day pass costs, and what a first visit looks like.