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Homegrown Summer Camp: "It's Awesome!"
By Wendy Underhill
Issue 100, May/June 2000

Overnight camp for a six year old? Are you kidding? What kind of a heartless, pushy, know-nothing mama would consider such a thing?

Well, me. My daughter, Vivian, went to Naviclas Mountain Camp, which is to traditional sleep-away camps what a neighborhood playgroup is to preschool. Ours is a small-scale, homegrown, child-centered creation of the families of the four campers themselves.

Let us take the tale from the top. My mother, Bobbie Counihan, loved the summers she spent at Girl Scout camp 60 years ago, and wanted to help her eldest granddaughter build similar memories. She also owns a mountain cabin, 45 minutes from home, that is most notable for the amenities it lacks--such as hot water, electricity, and phone service. When my mom asked me if I was interested in running a camp with her for Vivian and a few friends at her cabin, it was easy to say "yes" because I knew exactly whom to invite--the three other girls who had been part of a mother-run playgroup since toddlerhood. Any group of children can have their own camp; the only true requirement is a group of parents willing to work together.

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That first year, 1995, written camp guidelines were sent to the children in advance, stressing that this was camp, not a play date. When everyone arrived, my mother and I began the program with an all-camp meeting. The first item on the agenda was to name the camp. We chose Naviclas, an amalgam of our daughters' names: NA from Nathalie, VI from Vivian, CL from Claire, and AS from Asumi.

Daily meetings have become a tradition: It turns out that children, just like adults, are happier if they know what's coming and what's expected. The schedule of activities is posted on newsprint, and the girls vie for the chance to cross events off the schedule as they're completed. In scheduling activities, we weren't looking for military precision, but we did include a 45-minute quiet time each day--a break that was as much for me, eight months pregnant at the time with my third child, as for the children. Whether fun or not--two girls found quiet time "boring"; the other two were glad to have it--it was enriching. Discovering how to entertain oneself on a bunk bed with nothing more than a stuffed turtle and a picture book is probably a more important life lesson than learning to identify trees or build origami boxes. All these years later, rest time is still part of the schedule--just as it would be at "real" camps.

Also just like at "real" camp, each day included crafts, outdoor adventures (see sidebar), evening programs of music, games or stories, and chores. Claire Waugh, one of the campers, reports that "since you do your jobs with a friend, and you're talking, the chores are funner than at home." The favorite job the first summer turned out to be scrubbing the bathroom sink!

During free time, of which there is plenty, the kids entertained themselves. Hand-grinding corn from a birdseed mix was the biggest hit the first year. They used an iron skillet and stones, rubbing it more or less in Navajo style. The cornmeal was then packaged up to sell to parents on the final day. My own daughter, Vivian, recalls lying on a chaise at dusk, wrapped in a blanket with a fellow camper, looking at the sky, listening to the night. She and her companion saw a hawk dart into a tree, and then fly off with a smaller bird in its mouth. That moment could not have been more magical even if a fairy had flitted by.

Freedom, Magic, Fun
The whole camp has a magical aspect, starting with an "elf circle" of rocks that the girls visit both to receive and offer presents. (This tradition predates the camp, as my mother began the elf tradition when my own children were very small. These days, the adults keep the elves alive in the girls' hearts by planting jewels, coins, tiny notes, and other elfware for the girls to find. The girls then make jewelry and furnishings and leave them as thank yous for the elves.) Shirley Weisz, one of the grandmothers who has taken over as counselor-in-chief for the last couple of years, says that overall, the magic seems to be that the camp is a "child-centered world," rather than a world where kids have to fit in with the adult agenda.

And yet at the same time that Naviclas is child-centered, the girls have serious activities to engage in: their crafts aren't trivial, their adventures are substantial, and their chores are true responsibilities, not make-work. Shirley says that "now they tell me what the rules are" because they know the routine so well. (One rule: don't get out of sight of the cabin without an adult. This is, after all, mountain lion country.) The girls, she says, feel "a terrific sense of ownership-and freedom."

Freedom, magic, fun--whatever it is, Claire summed up the shared sentiment when she said, "I want to keep going for a long, long time."

Even one year's growth saw great improvement in the girls' ability to keep track of stuff, but no diminished interest in work: chores such as hauling tree limbs for cutting, scrubbing the porch, and burning the trash were added to their list in year two. Last summer they added pre-camp activities such as meal planning and shopping, and boiling the wash water and washing the dishes in two dishpans as camp-based chores.

The rules of hygiene have changed, too. Because there's no hot water, bathing involves filling a "solar shower" (basically a black plastic bag with a flexible spigot at the bottom end) with water, letting it warm in the sun, and then hanging it from a post on the front porch and directing the nozzle. The first summer the squeals of delight from four naked girls rang through the forest. The next year they wore their underwear as they showered; the following one they wanted the adults to go away during shower time. Which summer, I wonder, will they demand privacy even from each other on the porch?

Over five years, the girls have changed a great deal, and so has the camp. We've made modifications: the most obvious is that we've extended the camp each year so that this year the girls, at age ten, stayed for six nights instead of the original two. But there are many constants: the building of good memories, and the learning we all derive from the experience. My fondest memory of the first camp is of watching four six year olds trying to pack their backpacks with a water bottle, lunch, sun hat, and sweater. After assigning that duty to the girls, we grown-ups were sure to have a half hour to relax before the campers could locate all four items at the same time, and secure them in the pack. As a parent, I would have helped get them organized; as a camp counselor, I let them take responsibility. By now, of course, they are quick enough that they beat the adults out the door!

Another thing that hasn't changed is the social interaction: it's warm, even loving, and we've avoided any "us" and "them" exclusions. Three, after all, is a crowd, but with four, it's hard to leave a girl out. Four is also still an intimate number, small enough to give each girl an integral role in the camp's success. (Besides, four girls can fit in a five-seater car, not an insignificant consideration if you don't have access to a van.) Also, the interpersonal dramas that so frequently take place at home are a nonfactor: there's no sibling rivalry, no whining to parents, no roles to play. The camp experience gives the girls a chance to cultivate independence, practice generosity, and be someone new. At the end of camp, when parents who haven't seen their children for a few days arrive for a potluck and presentation of camp accomplishments, they greet "new" children: girls who seem wiser, stronger, and more competent than ever before.

D-I-Y Camp: Not That Hard
Now that we've got the hang of it, we think private camp is easily adaptable to other locations, situations, and age groups. I almost hate to admit it, but it wasn't any harder to run a camp than to run a busy household. In fact, it was, in many ways, easier because there were lots of adults pitching in. Parents help by taking shifts to be on-site, by making menus, buying food, planning and leading activities, andespecially, by caring for each other's younger children while one mom goes off on camp counselor duty. Without these varied and shared contributions, Naviclas Mountain Camp wouldn't have been possible.

Also, by pitching in, parents feel a sense of investment in the camp--they know what is going on because they planned it. They also have a sense of pride: they are giving their children a memorable wilderness exposure at very little cost. After the practicalities (when, where, how long, emergency contacts, meal planning, and shopping) are worked out, then it's simply a matter of following the girls' interests. When these girls were enthralled by Laura Ingalls Wilder books at age seven, we found two "Little House" plays for them to produce. The next year, when they discovered a rock outcropping that simply had to be climbed again and again, we knew it was time to bring up a dad with ropes and harnesses to teach "real" (and safe!) rock climbing. When one child broke her leg several weeks before camp this year, parents adjusted the schedule by dropping one hike, adding a wildlife-viewing car trip, and arranging for that girl to participate in rock climbing by belaying, or holding, the others' ropes. The children, of course, don't think in terms of themes or progressions. They revel in the simple splendor of being campers away from home. The only problem is that camp is never long enough!

When pressed, the girls came up with two things that please them most. The first is seeing their friends--they don't all get together often, especially since one now lives a thousand miles away. The second is their work assignments--helping make or clean up meals, packing portable lunches, feeding the ground squirrels, sweeping floors, and shaking rugs. (I'm starting to think there may be a deeper message for us parents in this: are these girls ready for more chores at home, too?)

As a backpacker, I am personally looking forward to taking preteens out for a real wilderness experience in the near future, carrying packs over passes and through valleys. Another parent, on the other hand, thinks taking a car camping trip to Montana would be fun when the girls are in their mid-teens. The girls themselves don't say much about what they want to do in the future--but they do talk about how much they want to do. And that is, more. They're planning on Naviclas as an annual event forever--right up to and including any children of their own!

Crafty Creations
Camping lends itself to nature-based crafts. The first year Naviclas girls made terrariums with glass jars brought from home. They were filled with plants, rocks, and small branches found near the cabin. The girls also picked bouquets of wildflowers; each girl had an assignment to pick two of each color--not kind--that they could find. Both of these activities were possible because we were on privately owned land; in a public place, substitutions of tree or leaf rubbings, or a rock scavenger hunt would be just as delightful.

The following year, we picked flowers again, but this time to put in homemade flower presses. One of the dads had cut squares of wood and drilled holes in the corners in advance, and these pieces were sent up to camp along with bolts and wing nuts to tighten the presses. The girls decorated, assembled, and filled their presses at camp, and many times since. Working with wood seemed to be a hit, so the next year simple boxes were made, again, from "kits" created by the same dad. Pounding nails accurately proved to be tricky, but the resulting keepsakes are proudly displayed in each girl's room. Learning to make simple cross-stitch fabric tops for each box introduced another skill that led to making felt teddy bears assembled with a blanket stitch around the edge. This in turn, led to making cornhusk dolls, which will lead to who knows where. The theory is that if something is a success, we expand upon it.

Camp Adventures
The first year an hour's walk along a lakeshore counted as an adventure for girls not yet in first grade. Toward the end of that hike, when we were just starting to hear groans of "I'm hot," we arrived at the lake's inlet, complete with a mud supply sufficient to cover the girls to their knees, since in our part of the country, mud parasites aren't a worry. At least an hour was spent putting this natural "sunscreen" on, and then removing it in the lake. For those who were more squeamish, making harbors and flotillas of leaf-boats occupied the hour.

In recent years, the girls have been horseback riding and rock climbing--developing life skills of self-confidence and teamwork, as well as the athletic skills needed to stay on a horse or on a rock. The rock climbing instructor, Brian, who is also my husband, reports that when the going got tough on the rock climb, the girls used teamwork to solve their problems. The nonclimbers stood at the bottom, talking the others across, telling them where to put the next foot, and letting them know that taking a "crying break" was absolutely fine.

Hiking, horseback riding, and climbing aren't the only possible adventures; in another location, the adventures would probably be entirely different. Canoeing, sailing, night hiking, biking, swimming--or anything else--would be just as marvelous. All that really matters is that, whatever the activity, the children's outdoor skills are improved.

For Camp Naviclas, we simply used what--and who--was on hand. The "who" were local "experts," including my husband, who has led rock climbing forays for three years, and Mary Hall, one of the mothers, who has a particularly good knack for crafts. A local musician taught rounds and accompanied the girls on a mountain dulcimer one year; a cabin neighbor was a special guest, telling true stories of bears and mountain lions from the area. Early in Naviclas's history we recruited Shirley Weisz, a mountain-savvy grandmother, to lead a lakeside hike. (That was the beginning of her Naviclas experience, and now she is in charge of the whole shebang.) Experts could be paid, but we have found that most people are honored to be invited, and happy to help for free.

Location, Location
If no family land or cottage is available, you may need to use a bit of creativity to find a locale for your camp. Many state parks have cabins for rent, often at $30.00 a night or less. Private rental cottages--the kind that are strung along beaches or rivers--can work, too. There are also public campgrounds: using tents and cooking on picnic tables not only enhance the camp experience, but keep costs down. If all else fails, a day camp at a local natural site or a sleep-over held in a family backyard will do just fine. More important than the right place is the right group of kids--and parents who trust each other and are able to share the load.

Making Memories
My mother's initial reason for suggesting a homegrown camp was to "build memories." Although we didn't put "building a legacy" at the top of our priority list, we did create a wooden plaque (actually, a 1-inch-thick disk hand-sawed from a tree stump) for a campsign that first year. The girls decorated it and hung it above the cabin's porch, and each summer a new date has been added. Now that Camp Naviclas has been around for five years, we've come up with a few other ways to make memories last. For example, we added a scrapbook the third year. The girls took turns writing about their activities, adding drawings, and slipping bits of memorabilia between the pages. They pasted in photos from the previous year, too.

This year the girls are finally making tie-dyed napkins as well as napkin rings (wooden rings from a craft shop wound with yarn). These projects could've saved a lot of paper napkins if they'd been done the first year! Camp T-shirts will be next , using a leaf-relief technique. For younger campers, fabric paints would be an easy craft. All these goodies go in a "Naviclas box" that is consigned to the care of one of the better-organized parents for the year, until camp reopens. Taking out the box each year is as exciting for us as opening up a box of holiday decorations.

For More Information
Blobaum, Cindy. Geology Rocks! 50 Hands-On Activities to Explore the Earth. Williamson Publishing, 1999.

Braman, Arlette N. Kids Around the World Create! The Best Crafts and Activities from Many Lands. John Wiley & Sons, 1999.

Cornell, Joseph. Sharing Nature with Children II. Dawn Publications, 1989.

Maguire, Jack. Hopscotch, Hangman, Hot Potato & Ha Ha Ha: A Rulebook of Children's Games. Simon and Schuster, 1990.

The National Audubon Society First Field Guide Series. Scholastic, 1998, 1999. Separate books for wildflowers, trees, amphibians, mammals, etc.

Nursery Nature Walks. Trails, Tails & Tidepools in Pails: Over 100 Nature Activities for Families with Babies and Young Children. Nursery Nature Walks, 1992.

Petrash, Carol. Earthways: Simple Environmental Activities for Young Children. Gryphon House, 1992.

Wendy Underhill (42) is a mother and freelance writer. She and her husband, Brian, live with their children Vivian (11), Elise (9), and Renee (4) in Boulder, Colorado, in a neighborhood that foxes, coyotes, and raccoons call home.