Camp Week July 6-10
Farm Camp Day 1: A Week of Adventure Begins!
The gates opened, the animals were ready, and our campers arrived full of excitement for another unforgettable week at Farm Camp! From the very first hello, new friendships began to grow as campers explored the farm, met their instructors, and jumped into hands-on activities that brought agriculture to life. Whether it was caring for animals, harvesting vegetables, solving clues, or creating farm-inspired art, Day 1 was the perfect start to an amazing week.
Barnyard Buddies: Big Adventures for Little Explorers
Our youngest campers wasted no time becoming official members of the farm! The morning began with everyone decorating their own camp hats before heading out to discover all the wonderful sights, sounds, and surprises waiting around the farm.
One of the first lessons introduced campers to our special llama friend and the meaning behind L.L.A.M.A.:
Listen
Learn
Attitude
Make Good Choices
All Together
These five simple words will help guide our campers throughout the week as they learn new skills, make friends, and work together.
Using all five senses, Barnyard Buddies became little scientists as they explored the farm. They listened to animals calling across the pastures, spotted colorful flowers and insects, felt soft wool and rough tree bark, smelled fragrant herbs and fresh hay, and discovered how farmers carefully observe their animals every single day.
Their adventure continued with a sheep wool craft, a farm-themed story, a colorful matching game, and a visit to our beautiful Master Garden. After lunch, no first day would be complete without a wagon ride around the farm filled with laughter and stories about their favorite discoveries.
Rising Ranchers, Farm Camp Get to Work
Our older campers kicked off the week with music, introductions, and icebreaker games around the flagpole. Before long, strangers had become teammates as campers worked together, cheered each other on, and started building friendships that will last well beyond camp.
After getting to know one another, it was time to experience what life on a working farm is really like.
The Purple Peppers and horse campers jumped right into daily farm chores, helping care for animals and farm spaces while learning that successful farms depend on teamwork, responsibility, and consistency. Every task, no matter how small, plays an important role in keeping a farm running smoothly.
Meanwhile, our Rising Ranchers eagerly grabbed their pint-sized brooms and proudly helped sweep the barn. Watching our youngest farmers take their jobs so seriously and with such big smiles was one of the cutest moments of the day!
Fresh from the Garden to the Kitchen
Garden Kitchen campers discovered that every great meal begins long before the kitchen.
Their first stop was the garden, where they harvested vibrant Swiss chard straight from the beds. Picking fresh vegetables gave campers a firsthand look at the care, patience, and hard work that farmers invest in every harvest.
Back inside, campers turned their freshly picked greens into creative self-portrait art projects, combining gardening with imagination. Activities like these help campers see that agriculture is woven into so many parts of our daily lives from growing healthy food to inspiring creativity.
The Great Farm Scavenger Hunt
Adventure was waiting around every corner during our farm-wide scavenger hunt!
Working together, campers explored barns, gardens, trails, animal areas, and gathering spaces while searching for clues hidden throughout the property. Each clue revealed another letter until campers successfully cracked a secret farm message.
The challenge encouraged observation, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving while helping everyone become familiar with all the exciting places they'll visit throughout the week.
Confidence Starts One Step at a Time
One of our favorite Farm Camp traditions returned as campers created their Horseshoe Confidence Craft.
For generations, horseshoes have symbolized both farms and good fortune. During this activity, campers reflected on trying new things, believing in themselves, and approaching every challenge with courage and a positive attitude. It's the perfect reminder that growth often begins just outside our comfort zones.
Meeting the Farm Family
Of course, one of the biggest highlights of Day 1 was spending time with our wonderful animal residents.
Throughout the day, campers met, petted, and learned about the many animals that call the farm home. They discovered how farmers provide nutritious food, fresh water, clean shelters, enrichment, and daily care to keep their animals healthy and happy.
These hands-on experiences help campers build empathy, responsibility, and a greater appreciation for the important role livestock play in agriculture.
The adventures didn't stop there! Black Sheep Chad joined the Red Peppers on a nature hike around the farm, adding plenty of smiles along the way. Meanwhile, the Yellow Peppers spent extra time inside the chicken coop learning about poultry care, chicken behavior, and how hens produce the eggs many families enjoy every morning.
Planting the Seeds for an Amazing Week
By the end of Day 1, campers had already experienced so much more than just fun activities. They practiced teamwork, solved problems, cared for animals, explored nature, harvested fresh produce, and learned where food comes from all while making new friends and building confidence.
The best part? This is only the beginning.
Farm Camp Day 2: Nature's Tiny Heroes and Big Discoveries!
What do worms, bees, birds, herbs, and a cucumber all have in common? They may seem like an unusual team, but today our campers discovered they're all important players in the incredible world of farming!
Day 2 was packed with hands-on adventures as campers became soil scientists, pollinator protectors, gardeners, chefs, and wildlife explorers. Every stop around the farm revealed another amazing connection between nature and the food we enjoy every day.
Barnyard Buddies: Becoming Farm Detectives
Our Barnyard Buddies put on their scientist hats and became nature detectives! Armed with their Five Senses Finders, they explored the farm by listening, smelling, touching, observing, and discovering all the little details that make a farm such a fascinating place.
Tiny ears listened for chickens clucking, goats calling, and birds singing high in the trees. Curious eyes searched for colorful flowers, buzzing insects, and busy farm animals. Little hands felt fuzzy leaves, rough tree bark, soft wool, and cool garden soil.
Did you know your sense of smell can help identify herbs? Many plants produce special oils that create their wonderful scents while also helping protect the plant from hungry insects.
The Buddies even climbed aboard the wagon for another farm adventure, seeing fields, gardens, and animal pastures from a whole new perspective before enjoying a picnic lunch under the summer sky.
An Herb Garden Full of Surprises
Our older campers quickly learned that gardens aren't just full of vegetables!
They explored our herb beds, discovering plants that farmers grow for cooking, teas, medicines, soaps, and even natural fragrances. Campers crushed leaves between their fingers to release wonderful aromas while learning that every herb has its own unique purpose.
One of the biggest hits of the day was our herbal tea tasting challenge! Campers sampled a variety of delicious blends, including:
🌿 Peppermint
🌿 Lavender
🌿 Chamomile
🌿 Hibiscus
🌿 Nettle
Some campers made funny faces after the first sip...while others immediately asked for seconds! It didn't take long for everyone to become expert tea critics, comparing colors, scents, flavors, and deciding which blend earned the title of "favorite."
Fun fact: Chamomile has been enjoyed for thousands of years, while peppermint naturally creates a cooling sensation because it contains menthol not because it's actually cold!
Before leaving, each camper created a custom tea blend to take home, proving that sometimes the best recipes start with plants growing right in the garden.
Birds Need Farms, Too!
Did you know farms are home to much more than crops and livestock?
Campers discovered that healthy farms also provide habitat for birds, butterflies, bees, frogs, and countless other wildlife species. To help our feathered friends, campers built their very own birdhouses.
Along the way, they learned that birds are valuable farm helpers. Many birds snack on insects that damage crops, while others help spread seeds to grow new plants. Some species, like hummingbirds, even help pollinate flowers as they search for nectar.
Creating safe places for birds helps build healthier ecosystems and healthier farms.
The Underground Superheroes
The stars of today's soil lesson weren't much bigger than a shoelace.
Campers gathered around the worm bins to meet some of agriculture's hardest workers. As they explored composting, they learned how worms recycle food scraps and fallen leaves into rich, nutrient-packed compost that helps gardens thrive.
Even more amazing? Worm tunnels allow oxygen and water to move through the soil, giving plant roots exactly what they need to grow strong.
Here's an incredible fact that surprised everyone: Just one teaspoon of healthy soil can contain billions of microscopic organisms working together beneath our feet! It's like an entire hidden city underground.
Buzzing Into Pollination
No soil science day would be complete without celebrating one of farming's busiest workers—the honey bee!
Campers learned how bees travel from flower to flower collecting nectar while accidentally carrying pollen along the way. That tiny job helps many fruits and vegetables grow.
Without pollinators, many of our favorite foods would become much harder to produce. Apples, strawberries, pumpkins, cucumbers, blueberries, squash, almonds, and watermelons all depend on pollinators to help produce healthy crops.
One fact really got campers buzzing:
Nearly one out of every three bites of food we eat exists because of pollinators!
Talk about tiny creatures making a huge difference.
Garden Kitchen with Chef Dan
The kitchen was full of excitement as Chef Dan helped campers transform fresh cucumbers into homemade pickles.
Campers learned that preserving food has been an important farming tradition for hundreds of years. Long before refrigerators existed, families found creative ways to keep fruits and vegetables fresh long after harvest season.
As cucumbers were sliced, seasonings were mixed, and jars were filled, campers saw firsthand how food travels from the garden to the kitchen and eventually to our tables.
Who knew science could taste so good?
Everything Starts With Healthy Soil
By the end of the day, campers had uncovered one of farming's biggest secrets: healthy soil makes everything else possible.
Rich soil grows healthy plants. Healthy plants feed pollinators. Pollinators help produce fruits and vegetables. Birds, worms, insects, and people all work together in one amazing system that keeps farms thriving.
It's easy to think of a farm as just fields and animals, but today campers discovered it's really a giant team where every living thing has an important job.
From sipping herbal tea to meeting hardworking worms, building birdhouses, making pickles, and learning about buzzing bees, today was filled with curiosity, laughter, and plenty of muddy, memorable moments.
We can't wait to see what tomorrow's farm adventures will uncover!
Horse Camp: Building Confidence in the Saddle
Our Horse Camp riders have been busy learning what it takes to safely care for and ride one of the farm's most beloved animals. Every lesson builds confidence, responsibility, and respect while creating unforgettable memories in the barn.
Day 1: Safety First!
Before anyone climbed into the saddle, campers learned one of the most important lessons of horsemanship safety always comes first.
Campers practiced how to safely approach a horse, where to stand, and how to read a horse's body language. They discovered that horses communicate with their ears, eyes, tails, and posture, and learning these signals helps riders build trust with their equine partners.
Next, campers rolled up their sleeves to learn proper grooming techniques. Using curry combs, stiff brushes, soft brushes, and hoof picks, they helped clean and care for their horses before riding. Grooming isn't just about keeping a horse looking its best it also gives riders the opportunity to check for injuries, build a bond with their horse, and make sure their partner is comfortable before every ride.
Once the horses were ready, campers learned how to correctly fit their helmets, mount and dismount safely, and practice proper riding position. With the guidance of our instructors, riders worked on steering, balance, and confidence while becoming more comfortable in the saddle.
Day 2: Getting to Know Our Equine Friends
Today's lessons took a closer look at what makes horses such incredible animals.
Campers explored the different parts of a horse, learning everything from the poll and withers to the fetlock, pastern, and hoof. Understanding horse anatomy helps riders communicate more effectively, recognize signs of good health, and provide proper care for their animals.
Did you know a horse's ears can rotate nearly 180 degrees? This amazing ability helps them listen for sounds coming from almost every direction, making horses incredibly aware of their surroundings.
After their hands-on anatomy lesson, campers spent even more time in the saddle practicing the skills they learned on Day 1. As confidence grew, riders focused on improving their balance, control, and communication with their horses while enjoying another beautiful day in the arena.
Horse Camp is about so much more than riding. Campers are developing patience, responsibility, problem-solving skills, and a deep appreciation for these gentle, intelligent animals. Watching their confidence grow with every ride has been one of the highlights of the week, and we can't wait to see what new skills they'll master next!
