This year, Farm Camp at Common Ground has one theme — the farm itself.
Our days are shaped by what’s growing, as campers spend each morning in the children’s garden, production fields, and surrounding land. Farm-based STEM, art, and cooking grow directly out of the season, so whether your camper joins for one week or all eight, there is always something new to harvest, build, create, and cook.
A typical day may include:
• Morning circle time
• A scavenger hunt, game, or farm walk to get moving and notice what’s growing
• Tending the children’s garden or working alongside our farmers in the production fields
• A daily special such as STEM, art, cooking, or visiting the animals
• Lunch under the trees
• Afternoon Choice Time, when campers choose from crafts, sports, games, garden work, or time at the pond
Fridays are our camp-wide Community Day. Campers work in groups to prepare a shared meal over the fire. Depending on what’s ready, we might make fire-roasted ratatouille with pesto, seasonal flatbreads, vegetable skewers, or soups and sauces from the day’s harvest. Campers take an active part in deciding what to cook.
Older campers take on increased responsibility — supporting younger campers during shared projects, making harvest decisions, and helping to plan and care for a dedicated area of the children’s garden.
All camp activities are adapted so that campers can engage meaningfully, with the independence, skill, and complexity suited to their age.
No two days are the same, but the steady rhythm of Farm Camp helps children build confidence, practical skills, and a deeper understanding of how food and the natural world grow and change.
FARM CAMP THROUGH THE SEASON
Each week, we harvest what is ready and cook with it. Art and STEM projects respond to what is happening on the farm. Weather, water, soil, and working together shape our days in the fields, the garden, and the wild land around us.
Crop timing is estimated by our farmers and influenced by weather and field conditions. Campers learn to observe like farmers do, adjusting and responding to changing conditions as the season unfolds.
WEEK OF JUNE 29: Tender greens and herbs are planned for harvest. We trace irrigation and how it directs water through the soil as crops come up in the heat of early summer.
WEEK OF JULY 6: Cucumber vines climb and stretch across the rows. We track sun and storms and adjust watering and picking as the season accelerates.
WEEK OF JULY 13: Green beans are planned for harvest. We dig into the earth, uncover roots, and see how healthy soil and the life within it support growth.
WEEK OF JULY 20: Summer squash and flowers are abundant. We thin crowded plants, stake heavy stems, and gather what is ready in the height of summer.
WEEK OF JULY 27: Tomatoes ripen in the heat. We notice how the farm crew divides the work and how each task is essential to the whole.
WEEK OF AUGUST 3: Cucuamelons and late summer crops spread across the fields. We use hand tools to prune, weed, and gather what is ready.
WEEK OF AUGUST 10: Peppers begin to color. Insects move through the rows. We watch how farmers respond to pests and weeds and work alongside pollinators in the thick of late summer.
WEEK OF AUGUST 17: Beets and other late-season crops come in. We prepare them for market and learn how farmers sell what they grow.
Ready to spend the summer on the farm?
For more information, please visit our FAQ page.