Grownup at Summer Camp

Two Sisters Farmstead School in Candler NC, less than 30 minutes from Asheville, is a non-profit outdoor farm-based school with the wonderful goal of connecting students to an increased awareness of the natural world and the interrelations of living communities. During the summer the school runs Camp Farmstead. This week, I got to go to camp! I was in fifth grade last time I went, and the nearly 60 year interval since then seemed to disappear.

So what did we do at camp? Way too many fun things to tell, but here’s a tiny sampling. We played Camouflage in the woods, the “predator” counting off with closed eyes while we prey hid where we could still see the predator, who could only move in a tight circle to try to spot/eat us. We learned five kinds of bird language and acted each kind out for the rest to guess. We made nature bracelets with masking tape applied to our wrists sticky side out, to collect petals and leaves and seeds. We took a long hike up the mountain one day, checking out every mushroom, and ate our lunches at the top. This mountain was steep, and the kids were three and four years old (as well as 6, 8, 11, and 69)! Mostly we just plain had fun in nature all day long, the learning so seamless we didn’t even notice we were being educated. (Check out the whole summer’s program at http://www.twosistersfarmstead.org/programs/camp-farmstead.)

My volunteer week at Two Sisters Farmstead School Camp ended with the best compliment I’ve received in years. I went to camp disguised as an adult helper, but on the last day, when I told three-year-old Rosalie that I was leaving and wanted to say goodbye, I found out how paltry a disguise it was. Rosalie was busy filling a cup at the creek to add to the chocolate pie she was making in the dirt kitchen. She looked up and asked if my father had come to pick me up. Puzzled, I said, No, I drove myself to Camp and was leaving in my own car. She did a double take then, and asked with surprise, Are you a grownup?