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Summer Camp 2012 Camp information can be found below. Registration will open in February, 2012. Parents of previous campers will receive an email before registration opens. To be added to the email notification list, email camp@commongroundct.org.
Camp 2012 documents for parents:
When to register: Some camps and sessions fill quickly, so if having your choice of specific dates and camps is important to your family schedule, please register early! We can often find a spot for children as late as May or June, but your choices of dates and activities will be more limited.
Camp mission: Common Ground campers will come home happy, dirty, and tired, full of stories of adventure and discovery. Each day is spent making friends and learning about how all things are connected, from the food we eat to the air we breathe, throughout the farm, the forest, and the city. Common Ground camps emphasize children’s connection to nature, as well as the spirit of summer time fun – mud, frogs, sprinklers, and sun. Common Ground campers explore and play, growing in independence and discovery in a safe and educational environment.
Supervision and safety: We have a very low camper to staff ratio, allowing us to offer personal, hands on experiences in a safe and supervised environment. Campers are always supervised by one adult and one teenage staff member for every 8 - 12 campers (depending on camper age). Adult staff have first aid and CPR training, and we are licensed and inspected by the State of CT.
New to camp at Common Ground? Children and families have lots of opportunities to see the site, meet the staff, and try a program or two before camp starts:
Pictures from camp: check out our camp blog from summer 2011 for pictures of some of our adventures! Summer 2012 Camp Options and Schedules Sprouts Camp: ages 4 - 5 Our youngest campers will spend the week seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and exploring the farm as we learn about where our food comes from. We’ll learn to hold a baby chicken, bring food scraps to the piglets, and pick sweet peas in the garden. Sprouts campers will also go on short hikes in West Rock Park, wade in the stream and chase minnows, picnic under shady trees, make farm and nature crafts, and learn silly farm songs. Special themed days include a daytime camping adventure with a campfire, marshmallow roasting, fort building, and time for creative play in Common Ground’s cabins in the woods and a Garden Tea Party Day with snacks made by campers with fresh foods from the farm. Specific activities follow the cycles of farm and forest, and each week is a unique adventure, so Sprouts campers may be signed up for any number and combination of sessions. **Choosing Sprouts vs Eco-Explorers Camp: Sprouts Camp has a slightly lower child to staff ratio than Eco-Explorers Camp. It is based out of our farmhouse, meaning that Sprouts Campers do not share bathrooms or hallways with older campers. Sprouts Camp will have a combination of active, energetic activities and plenty of built-in quieter periods to the day. It might be the best choice for 4 and 5 year olds who have never attended a summer camp before or who are shy about warming up to new situations.** Time: 8:30 – 3:00 (extended day available from 7:30 – 8:30 AM and/or 3:00 – 5:00 PM) Session 1: July 2 – 6 (we DO have camp on July 4) Session 2: July 9 - 13 Session 3: July 16 - 20 Session 4: July 23 - 27 Session 5: July 30 - August 3 Session 6: August 6 - 10 Camper/Staff ratio: One adult camp teacher and one camp counselor for every 8 children. Fee: $225 per session
Eco-Explorers Camp: ages 5 - 6 Creative play and active exploration are the starting point for each week of Eco-Explorers Camp. Fort building, nature arts, wading in the stream, and caring for farm animals are typical weekly activities. Special themed days will follow seasonal events of the farm and forest and can include making snacks from the garden, hiking in West Rock and climbing through Judge’s Cave, seeking and learning about bugs, following wildlife signs in the woods, or a day full of chicken themed activities! Eco-Explorers Campers will spend most of their time in small groups so that children really get a chance to explore and experience hands-on activities and engage all of their senses in summer on the farm! **Choosing Sprouts vs Eco-Explorers Camp: Eco-Explorers Camp is a great choice for children who are ready for a full, active day of camp. It is based out of the main school building (where all the older campers are), but Eco-Explorers have their own classroom and their camp teachers provide lots of structure and support as Eco-Explorers campers navigate our campus among the older children. There is one adult teacher for every 10 children, assisted by a teenage camp counselor and a junior counselor.** Time: 8:30 – 3:00 (extended day available from 7:30 – 8:30 AM and/or 3:00 – 5:00 PM) Session 1: July 2 – 6 (we DO have camp on July 4) Session 2: July 9 - 13 Session 3: July 16 - 20 Session 4: July 23 - 27 Session 5: July 30 - August 3 Session 6: August 6 - 10 Camper/Staff ratio: One adult camp teacher and one camp counselor for every 10 children. Fee: $225 per session
Ecology Camp: ages 6 - 12 Explore the farm and forest in Ecology Camp! Campers will pick juicy strawberries from the garden, hunt for box turtles in the forest, build a fort from sticks and leaves, help feed and care for our family of farm animals, go on hikes throughout West Rock Park, and enjoy a summer’s worth of adventures, stories, and memories. Most days include free time to play and explore on the farm and in the forest, lesson and activity time focused on science, farm, and nature themes, and special, choose-your-own-activity sessions including cooking from the farm, nature exploration, farm animal care, science investigations, natural arts, music, and more! Each session ends with a family picnic on the farm, a magical night hike in West Rock, and an overnight campout at Common Ground (followed by a hearty farm breakfast for the last day of camp!). Note: this is our only 3-week camp (all other camps are one week per session). It is ok if your child misses some days of camp, but we cannot pro-rate or split the 3-week sessions. **Choosing Ecology Camp vs. Eco-Explorers, Cooking, Animal Adventures, or West Rock Rangers Camps: Many children do one session of Ecology Camp and one or more sessions of the week-long camps and enjoy the different structure that each provides. Some families/children may specifically prefer the many choices and many new faces of Ecology Camp OR the smaller group setting with more structure and fewer choices in each of the week-long camps. Ecology Camp is our oldest and longest running camp. It is great for kids who want to do a bit of everything. The structure of a typical Ecology Camp day allows campers to make lots of choices – twice each day, campers sign-up for the activity of their choice (anything from hiking to cooking to animal care to games and more!). This means that campers meet lots of staff and children as they move through the activity groups of their choice. Ecology Campers are assigned to counselor groups of 2 staff and 12 campers who they get to know well over their 3-week session, and they may interact daily with any of the 18 staff and 108 campers enrolled in Ecology Camp. Campers in each of the one-week long camps interact primarily with the smaller group of staff and campers who are part of their specific camp (usually about 24 children and 4 staff per camp). The one-week camps provide fewer choices about daily activities and a smaller, more consistent home-group. Please contact our camp director if you have any additional questions. ** Time: 8:30 – 3:00 (extended day available from 7:30 – 8:30 AM and/or 3:00 – 5:00 PM) Session 1: July 2 – 20 (three weeks – we DO have camp on July 4) Session 2: July 23 – August 10 (three weeks) Camper/Staff ratio: One adult camp teacher and one camp counselor for every 12 children. Fee: $525 per session
Animal Adventures Camp: ages 7 - 9 Just for animal lovers, young naturalists, and aspiring zoologists and wildlife biologists who want to learn to care for and conserve animals of all sorts! Learn about domestic and wild animals as we use the farm and forest to get up close and personal with the animals we share the earth with. On the farm, help with chores, adopt a chicken, and learn about all the ways that humans depend on farm animals for products we use every day. In the forest, seek salamanders, track animal signs in the woods, and learn about how you can help and protect wildlife in your own neighborhood. Each session will include a visiting presenter who will share a special creature or two with our animal loving campers! Time: 8:30 – 3:00 (extended day available from 7:30 – 8:30 AM and/or 3:00 – 5:00 PM) Session 1: July 2 – 6 (we DO have camp on July 4) Session 2: July 9 - 13 Session 3: July 16 - 20 Session 4: July 23 - 27 Session 5: July 30 - August 3 Session 6: August 6 - 10 Camper/Staff ratio: One adult camp teacher and one camp counselor for every 12 children. Fee: $225 per session
Farm to Feast Cooking Camp: ages 8 - 10 Get ready to use farm fresh foods to cook up daily feasts! Build your own pizza from scratch, create your own salsa recipe, and collect fresh eggs from the chicken coop to cook a hearty farm breakfast. Campers harvest fresh ingredients from the farm and garden and shop at our local farmer’s market to gather the basic ingredients for each day’s culinary adventures. Each week includes a special themed day – campfire cooking, homemade ice cream and desserts from the farm, edible food art and more! Camp days include time to visit the farm animals, play games, make new friends, and go on hikes and adventures in the forest in addition to plenty of cooking and eating. Time: 8:30 – 3:00 (extended day available from 7:30 – 8:30 AM and/or 3:00 – 5:00 PM) Session 1: July 2 – 6 (we DO have camp on July 4) Session 2: July 9 - 13 Session 3: July 16 - 20 Session 4: July 23 - 27 Session 5: July 30 - August 3 Session 6: August 6 - 10 Camper/Staff ratio: One adult camp teacher and one camp counselor for every 10 children. Fee: $225 per session
West Rock Rangers Camp: ages 11 - 13 In each adventure-filled week, Rangers campers will make new friends and favorite memories as they hike and explore West Rock, conquer the Big Rock Challenge, learn to build and cook over a campfire, use maps to hunt for hidden treasure, visit the farm animals, help with animal and garden care, play games, get wet in Wintergreen Brook, eat a picnic lunch in the woods, create a giant fort, and harvest and cook with food from the farm! Limited to 16 campers per week, Rangers have a special spot as the oldest kids on campus – children who have come to Common Ground for many years can look forward to Rangers as a special way to end their years as campers, and children who are new to Common Ground will find that Rangers camp is a great way to jump into a small group of new friends! Time: 8:30 – 3:00 (extended day available from 7:30 – 8:30 AM and/or 3:00 – 5:00 PM) Session 1: July 9 - 13 Session 2: July 16 - 20 Session 3: July 23 - 27 Session 4: July 30 - August 3 Session 5: August 6 - 10 Camper/Staff ratio: One adult camp teacher and one camp counselor for every 16 children. Fee: $225 per session
Junior Counselors: ages 13 and up Our Junior Counselors are enthusiastic, energetic volunteers who learn about responsibility and working on a team as they partner with camp counselors and camp teachers to lead activities, play games, and participate in all aspects of camp. Most JC’s are 13 and 14 years old, but we are happy to have older applicants who love children and nature. Junior Counselors must have attended Common Ground for a minimum of one summer or one academic year of after school programs before joining us a Junior Counselor. Training and supervision are part of the JC program, however we ask that JC’s have the motivation and maturity to participate as role models for campers ages 4 – 8 years old. All Junior Counselors will receive a camp staff t-shirt, water bottle, and Common Ground camp sweatshirt! Time: 8:30 – 3:30 (extended day available from 7:30 – 8:30 AM and/or 3:30 – 5:00 PM) Staff training (mandatory): June 25 - 29 Session 1: July 2 – July 20 (three weeks – we DO have camp on July 4) Session 2: July 23 – August 10 (three weeks) Fee: $125 per session
Extended Day Any camper may be enrolled in extended day, offered daily from 7:30 – 8:30 AM ($10) and 3:00 – 5:00 PM ($10). Parents may choose their dates and register for any number and combination of days. Extended day is supervised recreational time with activity choices including outdoor play (including garden and animal time in the afternoons), crafts, and quiet indoor games and activities. Extended Day registration must be made and paid for by June 15 to receive the $10 per session price. Registrations added after June 15 will be billed at $15 each.
Age requirements Minimum age: Campers must turn the minimum age for a camp within 60 days of the start of the camp session. Maximum age: We can usually make age exceptions to the upper age limit of most camps based on a discussion with the parent. Please call (203) 389-4333 x 1213 if you would like to ask about making an age exception.
Due Dates for Payments and Forms For summer 2012, due dates are as follows:
Cancellations and Refunds
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