Campfires & Forts! (Spring Break & when school is out)
CAMPFIRES & FORTS!Campfires & Forts day camps are the perfect cure for cabin fever! This day camp is offered on occasion throughout the year. It's often available when public schoo ls are out, and almost always during Spring Break! (see dates below) Campfires & Forts is our newest program (started in 2024) and our only mixed age program. Development is ongoing with input and support for new attendees provided from current and former camp kids who continue to attend, training as junior counselors. Our nature programs have exclusive access to a private nature preserve full of wooded trails, hillsides, a creek, two shallow ponds, completely surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of private farm and ranch acreage in beautiful Jefferson County, just 15 minutes north of downtown Lawrence. This property has a special use permit for nature specific private recreation and ours is the only company allowed to use it! Drop Off is between 8:30 and 9amat the private nature preserve(we recommend carpooling when possible) The first day parents bring kids in their clean but mud friendly outdoor clothes, with a complete change of travel clothes in a bag, two sets of shoes (indoor, outdoor), a ball cap or sun hat, and a packed lunch from home. Kids get signed in, change into their mud friendly shoes, then head out into the forest as a group to make plans for their campsite projects. After we've scoped out our location and assessed our needs, we hike back to the barn to gather tools and supplies (provided). Kids clip on their walkie talkies (provided), choose their work gloves (provided), and begin the adventure! As we get dirty together we learn about wilderness safety, preserving habitat, pruning shade trees, avoiding stickers and poison ivy, teamwork, fire building, and share outdoor stories during breaks in the hammocks or by the campfire. Kids also enjoy optional, restorative nature walks on the trails throughout the day, to visit the creek and the beloved Frog Pond. At the end of the day, we return everything to the barn and put the two way radios on their chargers, careful to always leave our environment better than we found it! Then kids get cleaned up and change into their clean clothes for the ride home. As with all of our programs, individual, "pop up" tent, private changing stations are provided. Mud shoes and dirty clothes are left behind and laundered on site to have everything ready for kids the next morning. All parents provide is lunch and transportation! Pick Up is between 5 and 5:30pmat the private nature preserve(please carpool when possible)Registration fee is $95 per child per day.CLICK HERE to enroll! **If this is your child's first time attending one of our camps, a parent/guardian will be required to stay and attend camp from 8:30-10am for a quick orientation hike.** 3 Day Campfires & Forts! $285Age 8-9 for new enrollmentNOTE: This is a mixed age camp. Younger siblings are often allowed to join and kids who have already attended are allowed to return even after "aging" out. Previous experience with our outdoor camps is highly recommended but not always required.Wednesday, Thursday, FridayMarch 18-19-20, 20268:30am-5:30pm1 Day Campfires & Forts! $95Age 8-9 for new enrollmentNOTE: This is a mixed age camp. Younger siblings are often allowed to join and kids who have already attended are allowed to return even after "aging" out. Previous experience with our outdoor camps is highly recommended but not always required. If this is your child's first time attending one of our camps, a parent/guardian will be required to stay and attend camp from 8:30-10am for a quick orientation hike. Friday, April 17, 20268:30am-5:30pm(No school that day for USD 497) Please contact us to discuss if you have siblings who want to attend together and one (or more) is outside the recommended age limit. Please e-mail questions to info.NatureObjective @ gmail . com All Invoices, forms, and registrations will be handled electronically in the order received. Please allow 24 hours to process your invoice. Remember to REFRESH often for the latest dates and to see current enrollment numbers. If camp fills before you get in, you can still submit an enrollment form to be added to a waitlist and then be billed later if space opens up. The Fine Print: Online registration forms are usually updated about two months before the program. Please check the dates and the year on the form before submitting or the price may be incorrect. Parents, please submit completed forms at your earliest convenience. We call our programs "camps" for convenience but actually they are classified as instructional, topic/task specific classes under K.S.A. 65-501 which are exempt from licensing requirements (similar to a sports training camp or Vacation Bible School). Our programs are private and sometimes used for childcare, however, because they are less than five weeks in duration, they are not classified as licensed daycare. Use FEIN 85-3281045 for childcare tax purposes. Even though licensing is not required, our instructors and leaders are fully trained in animal husbandry, local nature, certified in rescue, first aid, and CPR, and we maintain an adult to child ratio of 1 adult to 6 kids or less. Enrollment is limited because we keep our groups very small for safety purposes. Open EnrollmentRegistration with no additional fees is first come, first served. The dates are on the forms.Early EnrollmentIt's possible to pay an additional fee and register early.