Our story
ROOTED IN CORPUS, WILD AT HEART!
Wild Child CC originated as a family daycare in San Diego, California, built from our deep respect for children, nature, movement, and real-life learning. What began as a small home-based childcare program quickly grew into something much bigger — an outdoor, nature-based learning experience where children explored beaches, hiked trails, discovered their city, built confidence, and learned through curiosity, connection, and play.
Through our first programs, Eco Baby Childcare and Eco Child Outdoor with Nature, we developed a style of education that was child-centered, nature-based, and rooted in the belief that children are strong, capable, and resilient. Children were not expected to sit still all day or learn only within four walls. Instead, we encouraged them to move, wonder, climb, observe, ask questions, take safe risks, build friendships, and discover the world around them.
In 2023, we brought that same West Coast-inspired nature-based philosophy to Corpus Christi, Texas, where Wild Child CC was born. Our goal was to create a program that honors childhood in its most natural form: muddy, joyful, curious, emotional, brave, creative, and full of wonder. At Wild Child CC, we incorporate a natural, play-based environment into all aspects of our childcare program, creating a safe, nurturing, fun-loving home-away-from-home that supports the whole child.
Behind Wild Child CC is Ms. Melissa Macias — an early childhood educator, nature-based education advocate, trainer, entrepreneur, and lifelong believer in the power of children. With over 25 years of experience in Early Childhood Education, Melissa’s work is rooted in authentic respect for children and a deep understanding of how they learn, grow, move, connect, and develop.
Her professional background includes Early Childhood Education, Psychology, Human Behavior, and Child Development. Before building her career in education, Melissa was also a competitive boxer and athlete — a background that shaped our belief in discipline, resilience, body awareness, confidence, and grit. These values continue to influence the way we support children, families, and educators today.
The work at Wild Child CC is both research-based and deeply practical. We understand that children need more than academics to thrive. They need movement, connection, challenge, nurturing adults, meaningful risk-taking, outdoor time, and the freedom to discover who they are. We believe children are naturally capable, and our role as adults is to guide, protect, observe, and create environments where that capability can grow.
Melissa is also the founder of Wild Child Nature Academy™, a nature-based training and education program created for teachers, leaders, and anyone wanting to better understand nature-based education. Through this work, we help educators bring outdoor learning, child-led exploration, developmentally appropriate practices, and real-life experiences into their own classrooms and programs.
Originally rooted in San Diego and now growing in the Coastal Bend, our work brings together professional knowledge, athletic discipline, entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, and heart. Through Wild Child CC, Wild Child Nature Academy™, and our collaboration with Coastal Bend Ranch Academy and Wild Roots Ranch Camp, we continue to help children, families, and educators reconnect with nature, confidence, resilience, and the wild beauty of childhood.
