Nature Camps, Inc. - Day Camp Programs

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A Sense of Wonder

Mixed Aged Learning

Opal

Parents Letters

Teen Perspective

Director's Perspective

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Grown-up Camper Perspective

Adventure Therapy

Experiential Learning

Published Papers

Goose Story

Peace and Security

About Dandelions

Cicada Spirit

Summertime

A SENSE OF WONDER

There Was a Child Went Forth
There was a child every day;
And the first object he look'd upon,
that object he became; And that
object became part of him for the day,
or a certain part of the day, or for many
years, or stretching cycles of years.

— Walt Whitman

Children are realists. They want to experience things first hand. When children are studying their environment and its wonders, life becomes a little more understandable and touchable to them.

Even more appealing to children is the fact that learning outdoors is fun and gives them a feeling of having a good time while learning. Children know that realities turn them on: The realities of sun and wind and rain; of a calf that licks your hand when you feed her, rows of corn that can mean corn roasts later on; of mountains to climb that challenge young muscles, and of subsistence training which test knowledge of wilderness roots, berries and plants.

All of this is excitement is fired by further instilling a sense of wonder in children, in folks of all ages.

Writer, Researcher, Biologist, and grandmother wrote the following in her book A Sense of Wonder:

A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful
full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us
that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring
is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.

If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children I should ask her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.
— Rachel Carson

NC PARENT SHARES HER FEELINGS :

“Hey mom, I found three salamanders today – they were so cool. One had spots on it.
Can I do that again tomorrow?”

Nature Camps is unique. In identifying specific needs of every child at Nature Camps, counselors find new
ways to do what they already do well. First, they identify the strengths of individual children. Secondly,
they make use of the knowledge that children influence one another. As children discover their sources of strength, they create positive influences upon each other. Counselors help fulfill a child’s need to be recognized and celebrated. By the end of a typical camp day, children have done many novel things, bringing forth remarkable happiness. An example of this is found here in a Mom’s letter about her son’s experience:

August 15, 2006

Greetings Don and all of the Nature Camps Staff:

My son Luke recently attended six weeks at Nature Camps. I want to share my thoughts with all of you about his (and my) experience.

I wanted to send him to Nature Camps last summer, but didn’t ‘find out’ about your camp in time. This year I was determined to send him to Nature Camps. He was very excited about coming.

Let me share with you some background about Luke. Luke has a great deal of difficulty with changes, making choices, and has a lot of social anxiety. He is being evaluated for these issues. I really wanted him to enjoy camp, and worried like crazy about how he’d do each day. I wasn’t sure if changing his summer routine would be good for him, but wanted to give it a shot, and your camp sounded perfect. I really wanted him to feel free to enjoy things at a slow pace with lots of support.

The first few days were rocky, but Luke was all smiles when I picked him up. The one moment that I thought, “Wow!” was as follows: I arrived at Nature Camps to find that Luke was out hiking. I waited around for several minutes. Then, out of nowhere, I started to hear yelling, and the sounds of lots of children running in the woods. I saw children with big, huge, muddy smiles – and there was Luke!! I got a lump in my throat. There he was all smiley and yelling and waving a knobby, twisted stick in his hand. I haven’t seen him so happy and excited in a very long time.

Another moment was on the way home from camp one afternoon: “Hey, Mom. I found three salamanders today. They were so cool. One had spots on it. Can I do that again tomorrow?”

Or the day he discovered wine berries: “Mom, I picked lots of berries today. They are ok to eat. I am going to pick you some next time.” Sure enough he did pick some to share another day.

We’ve had endless conversations about poison ivy, jewel weed, wine berries, glow worms, fireflies, pea shooters, bamboo, the pool, bugs and butterflies, ground bees, and his first time canoeing. There are too many little stories to retell in this letter. Our camp overnight experiences were simply grand!

I am writing this letter to tell you that Nature Camps holds a special place in Luke’s (and his parent’s) hearts. I am sure that Luke had his ‘moments’ where he tested his counselors and had trouble fitting in… but I am so happy that you made his summer so memorable to him. Before camp, Luke never talked about how his day went. But I can’t keep him from telling me about camp. I think I’ve heard stories about the Mud People and the Fairies that live in the woods a million times.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU – For giving my son a gift of time and room to spread his wings. We recommend Nature Camps to everyone, even to parents of a child with autism or anxiety disorders. I’m glad we gave it a chance. Hopefully, my letter allows you to understand the depth of my thanks. I’ll end with a quote that I found fitting:

“Come forth into the light of things. Let Nature be your teacher.”
William Wordsworth, The Tables Turned

Please share with your staff our appreciation and gratitude for their hard work.

Once again, A Thousand Thank You’s! Hope to see you all next year!

Warmly, Kelly Furgason