School-Age Summer Camp - Summer 2026
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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 -- and we practice supervised "risky play" by climbing and exploring, which is important for children's development in many ways. About Our Summer Camps Our summer programming draws on similar learning approaches while giving your children a chance to engage in fun themed activities. Weekly camps will be capped to a small group (up to 17 kids max), and have a high staff-to-student ratio (three adults to 17 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.This requires a separate application through DHS. Daily Schedule
Note: The main outdoor spaces used will include Brookside Park, Ames High Prairie, and Prairie Flower's nature playscape, as well as field trips to Moore Memorial Park, Inis Grove Park, and other parks along CyRide routes. 2026 Weekly Themes June 8-12: 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 15-19: Fantasy Camp Part 1 This week is all about letting the kids explore their imagination and create characters. Activities will include working in teams to play capture the flag, making banners, costumes, and more. June 22-26: Midwest Ecology Camp In this camp, we will explore and learn about different parts of nature. We will work on identifying plants, animals and other ecological features unique to Iowa. June 29-July 3: Water Camp Pack your swimsuit as we jump into the H2O to cool off and have fun. Activities will include fishing, swimming and sprinklers. July 6-10: Troll Camp 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 that will require decoding messages, sneaking by trolls, and more. July 13-17: Program Break July 20-24: Nature Ninjas Camp Get ready to get your stealth on and embrace your inner ninja with this camp! Activities will include camouflage, stealth missions, fingerprinting and more. July 27-July 31: Fantasy Camp Part 2 This week is all about letting the kids explore their imagination and create characters. Activities will include working in teams to play capture the flag, making banners, costumes, and more. Aug. 3-7: Mad Science Camp This week we will be jumping into the lab! Your child will get to put on the safety goggles and get to creating. Activities will include studying pH testing, experiments, microscopes, and more. Aug. 10-14: Survival Camp How did people survive and thrive in the past? This week, we’ll learn how to use the natural resources around us to build, cook and create. Activities include raft-building and racing, cooking over a campfire, weaving and more. Aug. 17-20*: Summer Favorites Camp This week, we’ll revisit some summer camp favorites. We’ll bring back activities that were most popular from earlier camps, and end the summer with a lot of fun! *Camp runs Monday-Thursday. Tuition will be prorated for a 4 day camp week. Behavior policy, and payment and refund policy Click here to read. What to Bring (for Backpacks)
Gear Your Child Will Need:
Income-Based Summer Tuition Sliding Fee Scale:
Find your household size and income level to determine what tier your family is in. Annual income is “adjusted gross income” using your most recent federal income tax return. 
To qualify for Tier A-D:
Upon enrolling you must confirm eligibility by sharing either a free/reduced price lunch eligibility letter (for Tier A or B), or most recent federal tax return for the household (Tier A-Tier D). If sharing your tax return is not possible, you can instead share pay stubs for all working adults in the household, or proof of unemployment or non-income. Your information is kept confidential. The number of spots at Tiers A-D are limited. You must be a Story County resident to qualify. We thank the Story County ASSET grant funders (United Way, Story County, and City of Ames) for making this sliding fee scale possible! We also accept childcare assistance funding through Iowa DHS for families meeting DHS requirements (the current income requirement is an annual household income of $51,440 or less, for a family of four). This requires a separate application through DHS. We also accept tuition reimbursement from the Federal Childcare Subsidy Program for federal workers who qualify (e.g. USDA employees in Ames). |
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 17 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 after-school program receive priority.
Registration will be open for each week until the Monday of the week prior, or until the enrollment cap is reached.
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