School-Age Summer Camp - Summer 2024
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Prairie Flower's mission for over 25 years has been to provide learning experiences that strengthen connections to the natural world and nurture children's innate capacities for imagination and wonder. What makes us unique is our nature school educational philosophy, which means we spend most of the day outdoors during warm seasons (in all weather, including rain!). We also emphasize unhurried daily rhythms and unstructured, child-led play time.
We are proud to offer summer programming this summer, for the first time in many years. Weekly camps will be capped to a small group (up to 15 kids max), and have a high staff to student ratio (three adults to 15 kids). Children will enjoy sunshine and fresh air while observing the beauty and wonder of nature, maybe getting a little dirty -- and above all, getting to enjoy being kids. Camp Details
*Childcare assistance funding is available through Iowa DHS for families meeting DHS requirements (the current income requirement is an annual household income of $49,920 or less, for a family of four). This requires a separate application through DHS. Please reach out to [email protected] to sign up for camp, if you receive assistance. Daily Schedule
Note: The main outdoor spaces used will include Brookside Park, Ames High Prairie, and Prairie Flower's in-progress nature playscape, as well as field trips to Moore Memorial Park, Inis Grove Park, and other parks along CyRide routes. 2024 Weekly Themes June 3-7: Forest STEAM Camp This week, we will be learning about science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics -- but with a twist of nature added! Each day will have different activities with the STEAM acronym. June 10-14: Explore Camp Grab your backpack and come embrace the journeys that await you in the beauty of the environment! Activities include hiking, identifying the environment, learning about gear and more. June 17-21: Water Camp Pack your swimsuit as we jump into the water to cool off this summer and have fun! Activities will include fishing, swimming and sprinklers. June 24-28: Troll Camp Part 1 Survive the trolls as long as possible while using awareness and survival skills. Activities will include learning first aid skills and tracking trolls (and other creatures) -- leading up to a top-secret mission involving decoding messages, sneaking by trolls and more. July 1-5: Nature Ninjas Camp *No camp July 4. Prorated tuition for this week of $192. Get ready to get your stealth on and embrace your ninja with this camp! Activities will include camouflage, stealth missions, finger-printing, and more. July 8-12: Fantasy Camp This week kids will have a chance to explore their imagination and create characters. Activities will include working in teams to play capture the flag, making banners and costumes and more. July 15-19: Break July 22-26: Mad Scientist Camp Jumping into the lab, your child will get to put on the safety goggles and get to creating. Activities will include learning about pH testing, doing experiments, using microscopes and more. July 29-August 2: Water Battle Camp This camp is all about having some fun water battles with your friends. Activities will include water fights, teamwork games with missions and more. August 5-9: Survival Camp Learn how to not depend on today's items and learn how to use resources around us. Activities include raft building and racing, cooking over a campfire, weaving and more. August 12-16 Troll Camp Part 2 Thought all the trolls were gone? Think again. Continue the mission and improve your ability to dodge the trolls! We'll delve into more first aid skills, track more trolls (and other creatures), and complete another secret mission involving decoding messages, sneaking by trolls and more. August 19-22: Summer Favorites Camp *No camp on Aug. 23, as Ames Community School District classes start that day. Prorated tuition for the week of $192. This camp will bring back favorite activities kids told us they loved from earlier camp themes of the summer. We'll have some repeats and end the summer with a lot of fun! Behavior policy and payment/refund policy Click here to read. What to Bring
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Sign Up Today!
Prairie Flower uses Brightwheel for forms and for communication with families. You will be prompted to create a Brightwheel account if you do not have one already.
Note: Enrollment is capped at 15 students per week. Once you apply, a member of Prairie Flower's enrollment team will contact you if space is available for your desired week(s). Families currently enrolled in PoemTree afterschool program receive priority.
Registration will be open for each week until the Wednesday of the week prior, or until the enrollment cap is reached.
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