William had a great time at camp. I was a little concerned with his first time being away but he had absolutely no issues and only great things to say about his experience. I was really impressed with the variety of nature experiences he got – garden, forest, orchard, prairie, etc. and he loved the ability to create and explore and have freedom that our kids don’t often get in the city.
I asked William if he missed electronics while he was there and he said “no”. I asked him if he thought he could go without electronics and he said “With all that cool stuff around, I would never need electronics again.”
Lily loved farm camp! I asked her what she enjoyed most, and she said she didn’t know. She enjoyed everything, but maybe the food! The cooking or preparing?? Both! She loved sleeping out in the tent on the prairie, and reading her book quietly at night sitting out overlooking the prairie. The biggest challenge was falling asleep the first night, but after that, it was easy because she was tired out by all the day’s activities. She wrote down every single meal, what she ate and how much she ate in her journal, and told us about all the food as we were eating dinner last night.
It was a fabulous week for her, and her biggest concern is that she won’t be able to return next year because she’ll be 14. She says, “please, please, think about having a camp for older kids.”
Thank you so much for providing this experience for our children. It’s so important for them to have that kind of experience with the land and the animals. You’ve done an amazing job, and I hope we can send our younger children next year!
Bella’s mom: “Thanks so much!! I loved that after a week, when I came to pick Bella up she leisurely strolled down the long driveway in bare feet, covered in dirt with a deep sense of contentment emanating from her being. She was passed out 15 minutes into the drive home! Can’t wait for next year!”
A few comments from our follow up in the fall: It’s November, and Annie is still talking about gathering eggs and caring for the goats. I’ve noticed Robert takes more responsibility around the house, especially taking care of his younger siblings. Jake has more confidence in the kitchen and takes more delight in creating meals with what’s available. Isabel thinks more about food and she even helped start a food drive in our community.
Note: for anonymity, we changed the names of the campers.