Lessons from the Greenwood: Create a Pagan-Based Summer Day Camp for Children
Monica Crosson
Summer sweeps softly across the foothills of the North Cascades, cloaking the Pacific Northwest in a soft mantle of green. As children exchange schoolyards for backyards and parks, local communities are ready with plenty of recreational activities. One activity that is very popular is “Vacation Bible School.” These are highly advertised, Christian-based day camps set up by local churches with plenty of singing, games, and snacks to pull in eager young souls. And with the promise of extra points and the bribe of gummy bears and snow cones, the recruiting process begins!
By day two of one local church’s event, we received the call. My nine-year-old daughter found me in the garden and asked, “Mom, can I please go?”
“Go where?” I stood up from the rhubarb too quickly and suddenly found my surroundings spinning.
“Melissa called and said she needs to bring a friend to Bible school tomorrow so they can win the ice cream bars. Mom, there are going to be pony rides! Can I go?”
I tried to control my dizziness and process the information at the same time. “What? Bible school? Chloe, you know how I feel about that.”
“Wouldn’t it be great if there was a Pagan-based day camp around here for the kids?” The idea struck us both at once, and the air became electric with our excitement. We would start our own Pagan-based summer day camp.
Her expression faded. “Mom, I promise I won’t listen. I just want to ride a pony and get some ice cream with Melissa. Please, Mom.”
Reluctantly, I told her no. And from the expression she wore, I felt like I had just relinquished my Mother of the Year award.
“It stinks!” I later commented to a coven mate about the situation.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a Pagan-based day camp around here for the kids?” The idea struck us both at once, and the air became electric with our excitement. We would start our own Pagan-based summer day camp.
The first thing we decided was not to use the camp as a recruiting tool, but to invite only the kids from the relatively large number of Pagan families already living in the area.
The next task was to find a location. I had a friend and coven mate who owned a hundred-acre organic farm on a creek. Perfect. We planned our curriculum. We thought we would do a five-day camp and would use one of the four elements (plus spirit for the fifth) as a theme for each day. With a relatively small amount of cash, a lot of creativity, and some wonderful volunteers, School of the Greenwood was born.
We began on a sultry July afternoon. Sixteen children filed down a path lined by foxglove and perfumed with the heady scent of sweet woodruff. As the children filled out our circle, puffs of cottonwood floated on a lazy breeze. There were giggles of excitement, and then one small girl said, almost in a whisper, “The fairies have come.”
“Yes,” I agreed, “I believe there are fairies in our midst.”
What a magickal first year that was, too! It has been five years since we put together that first day camp, and we have learned so much. So if you have ever wished that there were simple instructions for how to run a Pagan day camp, well, wish no more! This article will give you helpful guidelines to assist you in planning what could be one of the most meaningful, magickal experiences for the children who attend.
Location, Location, Location!
The most difficult part of the planning process can be finding a location big enough to host a day camp that has plenty of outside room to run and play games but also has proper bathroom facilities and an indoor area in case of inclement weather. I’m from Washington State, and the weather can be tricky here. Long-range forecasts are never reliable, especially for those of us who call the foothills our home. Clouds can suck in around the mountains, and a clear day in Seattle can still mean rain for us.
A public park, with permission from the city leaders, can be a good low-cost spot if there is a building where you can bring the children inside. If you live in a rural area, like I do, there may be someone who has property with a structurally sound, covered area that could be used. School of the Greenwood is held on an organic farm that is just a couple of miles from town. We have use not only of a barn for indoor activities but also of a community house that has kitchen and bathroom facilities and room to store our curriculum and art supplies.
Licensing
The majority of states require licenses to run day camps. The fees for the licenses vary from state to state. Some states don’t require licenses if the camps last seventy days or less. This is the case for Washington State. The American Camp Association has a great website that allows you to easily find the licensing requirements for your state. Just go to this page: www.acacamps.org/publicpolicy/regulations/print.
States normally require liability insurance coverage for day camps as part of their license requirements. The amount of liability coverage that’s legally needed varies by state. The property we use happens to be the site of many community events and was already covered by liability insurance. We just pay a small fee to the farm for our week’s coverage.
Along with general liability insurance, you may need coverage for specific adventure-based activities that may be held on the grounds, such as swimming or rock climbing. Auto insurance may also be required if you plan on transporting kids to other locations for activities such as hiking. Check with your insurance company, because many of them offer specific day camp policies that cover the children and the camp staff.
Budget
Keeping to a budget is really important. We have a lot of creative people in my coven who have amazing ideas but also know how to be thrifty. I’m amazed every year at what we are able to offer the children for very little money.
In designing a budget to cover the cost of the day camp, you might want to include site rental, licensing and insurance, salaries (if applicable), curriculum materials and supplies, t-shirts, transportation (if you plan on transporting children), food, and refreshments.
We offer our camp to children free of charge, but if you plan on charging a fee to campers, consider the total cost of your budget and divide that by the number of children your day camp can accommodate to determine the fee you will charge each camper. Try to keep fees as low as possible to allow more children to participate. Another nice idea is to offer scholarships or other reduced fees if more than one child will be attending from the same family.
Staff
Having a fun, supportive, and creative staff to work with is important. Our staff is made up of volunteers. The number of staff members needed will be determined by the number of campers, their ages, and their special needs.
We average about twenty-five campers, and there are typically ten of us on site with the children. Our staff is made up of coven members and our older children (teen or college-age). It is recommended that staff members be at least sixteen years of age.
Depending on your state, staff members may have to go through a background check. If you don’t know your volunteers or are hiring staff, it’s a good idea to require a background check.
Themes
Come up with a theme for your camp. This is a way for your circle or coven to stretch its creative muscles. Themes can come from anywhere. You can keep it witchy and focus on ideas such as the elements or spellcasting (give it a Harry Potter atmosphere, including a croquet-style game of quidditch). Spend a week in the mystical, dreamy land of the fey and the ways of fairy magick. We used Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as our inspiration. World myths is another fun theme. Concentrate on a single myth from a different country each day or a god and goddess from a different culture for each day. Better yet, if you have enough material, you can focus your entire week on the myths and gods/goddesses of one culture. One year we spent the week discovering modern world religions. Our focus that year was tolerance.
We also like to include community service in the camp. Our campers have collected items for the local food bank, packaged seeds to give away at a seed exchange, planted trees along a riparian zone, and made gifts for the residents at a local nursing home.
Schedule
Having a strict plan of action is crucial to creating a camp experience that is enjoyable for both campers and staff. We put together a daily camp schedule weeks in advance, with both rainy and sunny activities penciled in. Even though day camp is all about having fun, structure is necessary to maintain order.
The week before camp, you may want to hold a parent meeting. This is a good opportunity to hand out informational sheets detailing the activities and rules and a plan of action for discipline. Ask for parental support in making their children aware of the camp guidelines before they start, and provide a sign-up sheet for bringing refreshments to an end-of-camp party.
Once you have your plan, clearly communicate each day’s schedule to the day camp staff. Your schedule should be well balanced and varied. Include the following areas in your schedule: crafts, recreation, rest and relaxation, and activity times. Above all, remember to be flexible.
A Day in the Greenwood
We like to have our volunteers arrive an hour before the campers. This gives us time to review the schedule and make sure everything is ready to go. Kids get restless if they have to wait for unorganized volunteers to set up a craft table, and restlessness can lead to mischief.
Just before the children arrive, we gather around our circle and ask the Goddess to bless the property and all who gather:
Oh Great Mother,
Bless our path.
Help us to act on your wisdom.
Help us to blessings and lessons so we may pass them on to those we teach.
Bless this day.
Keep us safe and whole,
And inspire us so we may face the day with courage,
kindness, insight, and creativity.
So mote it be.
This is when the first smiling faces burst through the garden gate that leads to our circle. After hugs and greetings, it’s time to begin. During our opening circle, the kids are presented with our “word of the day,” and the talking stick is passed to discuss what it means to them. We close by singing or chanting. Favorites include “Place of Power,” “Goddess with Me,” and “Earth My Body.”
Circle is followed by a story that is elaborately narrated and acted out by volunteers. We try to pick stories that not only can be identified by our theme, but also spark thought and dialogue among the children. The rest of the day is spent busily, yet blissfully, rotating between craft tables, greenhouses, and playfields.
Circle is followed by a story that is elaborately narrated and acted out by volunteers … The rest of the day is spent busily, yet blissfully, rotating between craft tables, greenhouses, and playfields.
You may find us creating poetry masks (a reflection of our inner beauty) or planting magickal herb gardens in small planter boxes constructed and decorated by our campers. We may be on one of the many forested trails on a wild edible scavenger hunt (this one is highly supervised by experts in the field) or creating fairy costumes for an end-of-camp Fairie Ball. No matter what we’re up to, it’s always a good time.
Plenty of water and fresh fruit and vegetable snacks are provided to the campers throughout the day, but campers bring their own sack lunches. We enjoy our lunches in the shade of an old big-leaf maple, jacketed in moss and hanging with lichen. There is always plenty of play among the kids, and it’s wonderful to see how the different age groups interact.
After lunch, it’s back to the fun—more stories and songs and plenty of opportunity for artistic expression. We may be making paper for a Book of Shadows or learning about riparian zones on the creek.
As the day comes to an end, we gather back around our circle. We have beads that we use to bestow special blessings on campers who performed an act of kindness. They may have helped a fellow camper in need, cleaned up after a craft project, or simply had a kind word to say. Any volunteer or camper can give out beads during this time. The children construct bracelets, necklaces, or anklets out of them and wear them on the last day. We have never held a camp where there was a child who wasn’t completely dangling in beads!
SpiralScouts International
Day camps are great, but the downside is your kids only get to participate in the fun one week per year. If you’re looking for something that provides a year-round, family-based scouting experience for your children, you should give SpiralScouts a try.
SpiralScouts originated through the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) out of Index, Washington, and was created in response to Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA’s) attitudes and policies about gay people and BSA’s lack of background screening of leadership. ATC wanted to provide a scouting experience that Pagan kids would not feel left out of, culturally.
According to their website, “SpiralScouts thrives on child-directed activities based on a globally oriented philosophy of religious tolerance and interfaith cooperation, personal responsibility, and ecological education and conservation, in order to help our children learn to grow into strong, competent members of society.”
If you’re interested in joining a circle or hearth or starting your own charter, visit their website at www.spiralscouts.org.
Greenwood Reflections
As the last campers make their way back through the garden gate and down the path, I always take a moment to catch my breath. There is a lot involved with running a day camp. After months of planning and preparation and hard work, sometimes I wonder, is it really worth it?
Then I feel a tug at my skirt and see a small red-headed boy wearing a crown of sword fern, with chocolate frosting painting his lips. “Excuse me,” he says.
“Yes, Eli,” I say, smiling. “What can I do for you?”
“Nothing,” he says. “I just wanted to say I had the best time in my whole life.” A toothy, jack-o’-lantern grin spreads across his face.
Yes, it is definitely worth it!
Monica Crosson is a Master Gardener who lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, happily digging in the dirt and tending her raspberries with her husband, three kids, two goats, two dogs, three cats, a dozen chickens, and Rosetta the donkey. She has been a practicing Witch for twenty years and is a member of Blue Moon Coven. Monica writes fiction for young adults and is the author of Summer Sage. Visit her website at www.monicacrosson.com.
Illustrator: Kathleen Edwards