Chesterbrook School of Natural Learning is hosting our 6th summer nature camp called WILD CHILD. The outdoors holds an enormous amount of potential to support healthy and complete emotional, physical, social and cognitive development! CSNL is a place where children can spend their summer exploring and discovering the world around them.
|Habitats & Houses|
|Our Forest Fort|
Each week will have a different theme and focus. Activities may vary based upon student inquiry and interest. Although our program offers some structured time we mostly follow an interest-led or "flow learning" teaching style. We have times for Active Learning, Connected Exploration and Dynamic Play all occuring in the great outdoors!
|Vertebrates vs. Invertebrates!|
Pictures and adventures from our day will be posted here, on our Facebook page and Instagram for families to view. Additional resources and activity extensions will also be available on this site.
|Our Field Fairy House|
Camp WILD: July 2-6
Children will explore the fun of family camping! Children will learn how to construct a tent, cook over an open fire, go "fishing"and have a picnic lunch after a hike into the forest. Extreme Art day will include painting with charcoal and nature collections. This was our new session last year and was one of the most beloved weeks.
WILD Survival: July 9-13 NEW!!! (Ages 4-10 recommended)
Set your child's imagination and adventurous spirits free as they learn about the natural environment and the important skills of survival-shelfter, water, fire and food. No matter what your child's background, from never having camped before, to the most experienced nature enthusiast, they'll have a BLAST at this camp. Activities include basic nature education, plant identification, animal tracking/study, foraging for food, fire-making, shelter constructing and more. Kids will gain confidence and comfort in being outdoors, while having a great time and staying active. This will be our newest and most popular week for sure!
Habitats & Houses: July 16-20
The focus of this week is all about basic needs (food, water, shelter & space). As we learn about habitats children will be challenged to create a simple or intricate fairy house to attract creatures. Then we will be challenged to create our own forts to play in.
Writing Workshop ~ Exploring the Fairy Tale Genre: July 16-20 NEW!!!! (Ages 7-10)
This session is designed to engage young writers (ages 7-10) as they become authors of their very own fairy tales! We’ll explore character development in the form of heroes and villains, learn ways to incorporate magical elements, and develop the writing skills needed to create mood in our writing. Like the Habitats and Houses session, we will construct fairy houses, using these to help us brainstorm rich vocabulary as we also construct settings for our stories. Each day's forest adventures will act as springboards to enable writers to enhance their writing with details, dialogue, and description. At the end of the week, children will have a finished piece of writing to take home and share with family and friends.
Children will explore the importance of water for people, animals and plants. We will discover water sources for local wildlife. Explorers will have lots of time to play in the streams and rivers. Splish, splash! This week is much-loved and always a favorite for all ages!
The Natural Pantry: July 30-Aug 3
Children will get down and dirty with our garden vegetables! Explorers will have the chance to plant seeds, harvest vegetables and learn all about gardening for food. This week will be full of garden activities & lots of taste testing! Children will also prepare dinner and recipes for the family to enjoy at home.
Each weekday also has a theme connected with the week's focus!
Yes, that's right! Barefoot Friday!!! Each week we have a period of time where we allow children to explore the forest and nature with bare feet. Here are some benefits to bare foot play and a link to a website that gives further explanations and great supporting evidence to each of these statements below: https://www.natureplayqld.org.au/the-benefits-of-being-barefoot
- Walking barefoot develops a sense of body awareness or proprioception
- Walking barefoot develops a natural, healthy gait
- Walking barefoot strengthens the feet and body
- Walking barefoot improves safety
- Walking barefoot provides a direct connection to our natural environment
|Nature Journals are for all ages|
A quick on-th-go snack will be provided each day in connection with our activity themes. Water will also be available. You're welcome to send in your child's own snack if preferred.
Please send in a healthy lunch for your child each day. We strongly encourage a meal that is healthy and filling. Please do not send food that needs to be chilled or heated—unfortunately this is not a service we offer at this time. Since we are instilling a respect for the environment and its value to us, using minimal packaging and bringing a daily snack/lunch in a re-usable or recycled container is something that makes us smile! On most days, children may choose to hike out to their lunch spot in the forest. They will need to be able to carry their own lunch bag and return with their waste.
|Bird Beak Buffet: Dissecting an owl pellet|
Spaces are very limited. Please register your child soon to secure their spot. Email Sarah at firstname.lastname@example.org for the WILD CHILD registration forms. A $50 registration fee will be due with all required forms. The remaining balance will be due on or before June 15, 2018.
Monday through Friday 9:00-1:00
Members include children enrolled in CSNL's Nature Preschool or Forest Kindergarten for 2017-18 and/or 2018-19 school years.
|Wet & WILD ponding|
For questions about our program you can contact Sarah Drowne-Surrette at 489-9776 or by email email@example.com
Our camp will be held at 232 Fremont Road in Chester