Our First Week at Farm Camp

From our Summer Camp Registrar and Teacher, Acacia Brisbois, comes a lovely summary of our first week hosting the 2025 Farm Camp at Summerfield Waldorf School & Farm.

Seeing the sweet excited faces of the children as they joined us for Farm Camp this week was wonderful. Some started the week shy and a bit reserved but within hours they were happily playing with friends, others were ready the moment they got to camp. We split the campers into four groups: hawks, woodpeckers, blue jays, and hummingbirds, and rotated each day with different chores so they all had a turn with each meaningful task. This week while one group had animal chores like feeding the animals, collecting eggs, boxing them in cartons for sale in the farm stand, brushing goats and bunnies, and filling the duck pond with fresh water, another group harvested garlic with farmer Birgit. They carefully laid it to dry in the sun and then brought it to the drying shed to fully dry in preparation for its upcoming “braiding”. Our third group pickled cucumbers and carrots in jars to take home, whilst our fourth group busied themselves preparing snacks for all of the campers to share together.

Food is a main part of our farm camp, and each year I feel we lean more into food –what grows on the farm, how to harvest and prepare, how to nourish and enjoy, how to find joy in feeding each other as well as washing up. Each group has their day to make the snack and they rise to this so amazingly. This week some of the favorites were warm zucchini bread with honey butter, freshly homemade tortillas with beans, pickled vegetables and plums, and our signature pizza party on Friday! The group that has lovingly prepared the meal will then serve their fellow campers, and wash up after the meal is finished. One of my favorite moments was seeing the excitement of one of the campers as he served the teacher…this felt so meaningful to him, and to us as the teachers. What a wonderful gesture to be offered what he had carefully made with his own hands.

We had a group of five boys, some had met before and some had not. They quickly bonded and spent as much time as they could working with farmers Birgit and Erik. It was real farm work–hard and meaningful work. They would finish a snack or a craft and quickly run off to find the farmers to weed crops, transplant plants, or harvest produce. The farmers recognized their hard work and gifted them each a small live oak tree at the end of the week. These moments will stay with them forever; for all our campers. The friendships made, the bonds formed, the hard work done, and the finished crafts brought home...all these essential elements become the discovered joy of our camp days, our farm and our school.

We treasure these beautiful days on the farm, working in harmony with the farmers, the land, the animals and especially the children.