Camp Programming
Our camp day begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, for all ages. Of course, the day is slower paced for our youngest campers and geared specifically for the needs of that age group. Structured activities are balanced with imaginative playtime and rest periods. Our oldest campers enjoy a program designed to strengthen outdoor skills, build self-esteem, and promote responsibility, leadership and environmental awareness.
What is a typical day like at The Nature Place Day Camp? Our camp day is divided into six 50-minute periods with 10 minutes of transition time in-between. We begin each day with "Morning Share", a gathering of the entire camp, after which our activity periods begin. And, wow, there are a lot of fun things to do!
One period is set aside for lunch, of course, and one period is spent at swimming (unless your group is away on a trip). The remaining periods may be enjoyed at archery, outdoor living skills, gardening, cooking, music, new games, art, nature investigations, a visit to the farm, storytelling, theater games or meeting new animal friends.
Campers also have the opportunity to choose their activity during "hobby time". Snack time is also included each day. The camp provides water and good kinds of snacks, i.e. salsa and chips, baby carrots with hummus, fresh fruit, vegetables with dip, pretzels, frozen fruit bars, sorbet, cookies and more. Campers bring their own lunches. We are a peanut-aware camp.
Each day is unique. And each week offers new surprises. We create a fresh schedule for every group each week in order to take advantage of special events as well as to schedule groups for activities in which they have shown special interest.
- Swim
- Earth Art
- Hiking & Camping
- Gardening
- Chickens
- Drama
- Cooking
- Games
- Music
- Nature
Swim Program
We follow the American Red Cross progression of swim skills as the basis for our swim program. Approximately half of each 50-minute swim period is devoted to instruction under the direction of our Water Safety Instructors. The remainder of the period is enjoyed as "free swim." Our unique waterfront facility has the appearance of a natural pond but is actually fully lined, chlorinated and filtered. The shore slopes gently into the water, creating a safe and welcoming invitation for the beginning swimmer. A buoy line separates the shallow end from the deep end. As with everything we do at The Nature Place, our approach to our swim program is gentle and encouraging.
Earth Art
The camp's Earth Art program offers the perfect opportunity to combine the beauty and wonder of our natural world with the creativity and imagination of children. Nature is the setting and inspiration for many of our art projects. Peaceful, artfull outdoor settings foster friendship and cooperation, as well as creativity. Campers are provided with the finest quality materials along with the artful guidance of an outstanding art staff. A mix of instructional and experiential activities helps campers explore various art mediums including sculpture, painting, hand-crafts and more.
Hiking and Camping Program
Adventure and fun should be a part of every child's summer. Each hike offers a bit of adventure, exercise, some challenges, plenty of rest stops, a new awareness of our environment and a chance to go places and see things most people do not experience. Our full-day hiking trips take us to places like mountain tops, Indian rock shelters, old iron mines and "hidden" ponds. All hikes are geared to the age and ability of the campers in terms of interest, mileage and terrain.
Campers of all ages also learn outdoor living skills such as "lost proofing", tent set-up and campfire safety. Older campers (ages 8 and up) have the opportunity to participate in overnight camping trips where they learn minimal-trace camping skills, map reading, compass use, and canoeing. The camping program is progressive with trips becoming more challenging as campers grow older. The adventures are age-appropriate and are designed so campers complete each trip with a sense of accomplishment and a set of new outdoor skills.
Gardening Program
One way to connect with the earth and its rhythms is through gardening and we here at camp are fortunate to have available to us acres of vegetable and flower gardens - all organic! Even better than organic, they are biodynamic!! Campers plant, weed, water, harvest, eat, watch butterflies, make compost, feel the deep joy of learning the earth’s cycles and working along with them.
Chickens
Campers love going to the chickens to feed and water them, gather the eggs, identify their favorites and, what they love most, hold one! We very quickly learn the difference between a rooster and a hen.
Drama Program
Drama at The Nature Place can take the form of theater games, skits, movements, songs and special surprises.
Cooking Program
We learn, hands-on and taste buds-on, that healthy food can be simple to make as well as delicious. Especially if we use fresh ingredients from our gardens. We emphasize whole grains, organic choices, minimal sugar, calorie considerations, cooking outdoors as well as indoors. We love author Michael Pollan’s stripped down dietary advice: “eat food, not too much, mostly plants”.
Games Program
A camp without the usual sports?! Unheard of! But we are it. Sports can be healthy and good but we have chosen to be non-competitive/cooperative in the way we run our camp program. We believe that the school year can be very competitive and stressful for many children. Summer doesn’t have to be that way.
The basics of our Games Program are:
- Play hard.
- Play fair.
- Nobody gets hurt.
- Laugh a lot.
- Have fun.
- Everyone is included.
Music Program
We don’t have a typical music program in that ‘music’ is scheduled once or twice a week. Campers will find music throughout their camp days and weeks – camp songs every morning share; singing harvest songs at the farm; breaking into song while climbing a mountain in Harriman Park; making instruments from nature during hobby time; creating new rhythms during drama; listening to the sounds of crickets, birds, the wind, cicadas in the tree tops, the gurgling fairy stream.
Nature Program
Nature, like music, is woven throughout almost all that we do. We will ‘do’ nature during earth art, gardening, hiking and camping, farm chores, cooking, camping and outdoor skills, drama, etc. Campers will also work with one of our naturalists specifically on nature awareness and discovering the natural world that is always happening around us, wherever we are.
