 Nature Camp
Programme available every week from the end of the academic year until the beginning of the new scholastic period.
Frequency: Sunday afternoon to Saturday afternoon.
Participants: Minimum 10, maximum of 25 for each round. Farm custodians are always present: 1 custodian for up to 13 children, 2 for 13 to 25.
Age: Activities are suitable for children in their last years of pre and primary schools (4 to 12 years old).
Meals: Meals and snacks are prepared from organic products, mostly of our own farm. The meal includes a first course, second course, side dish, fruit or dessert, bread and water.
 A TYPICAL DAY
7.30: Getting up, personal wash up and of the room, tidy up.
8.00: Breakfast, we will all help to make it and tidy up.
9.00: Activities
10.30: Snack
11.00: Activities
12.30: Lunch, collaborative food preparation
13.15: Play or resting time
14.00: Activities
16.30: Tea time
17.00: Activity related to the life in the farm. Clean-up of games and equipment
18.30: Personal wash-up
19.30: Dinner, collaborative food preparation
20.30: Writing of your Farm Journal, nocturnal exploration or games from past eras.
21.30: Reflections on the past day and preparations for the coming one.
22.00: Good Night!
WEEKLY PROGRAM
The children will be engaged throughout the day in activities that involve life on the farm, knowledge of the countryside, and the exploration of the environment. This will ensure a diverse range of significant stimuli, while maintaining a playful and relaxed atmosphere.
The activities, apart from some Labs already chosen for the scholastic visits, require full participation in the life of the farm: weeding the vegetable garden, cultivating, animals, caring for different areas of the farm. Along the day there will be space and time for games - both planned and related to environmental issues and those free for the children to choose; they will have time to dedicate to those activities they like the most. The program has been designed in weekly blocks integrated with the events of the season: harvesting, threshing, grape harvest, honey harvest, birth of a cub, etc.
Sunday: Welcome!
We will show them around the farm, take a little tour of it in a wagon to discover all the amazing things that happen in the farm: during the week we will teach and explore every aspect in more depth.
Monday: Games
We will play with the wind pipe made of elderflower and oak gall, and a ball made with pig bladder. We will have fun with torpedoes made with corn cobs and hen's feather...
Tuesday: Farm Animals
Pigs, hedgehogs, chickens, goats, lamb, calves and their mothers, donkeys, ducks: we will learn their habits and make friends to be part of their lives (Washing up, feeding, respect and affectionate bond).
From wood to paper and coal: we will build a carbonyl.
We will play to be sustainable tourists.
Wednesday: Building a house in the Forest
It will be our refuge for the day; we will take our packed lunches and spend time immersed in nature. We will explore the territory with magnifying glasses and nets looking for insects.
The plants biodiversity: the importance of picking seeds, preserving and planting them. Art and Nature: We will pick materials to make a work of art with. There will be a prize for the most original work.
Thursday: Getting to know the Bees
We will watch them work form a safe area inside a screened trailer specially built for this purpose, we will wait for the queen bee to lay her eggs and that the worker bees indicate, with their typical dance, where the best nectar can be found. We will taste the honey directly from the honeycomb. Making of candles. Shearing the sheep, carding, spinning and weaving of wool. Everyone will have a small loom to knit. We will dye the resulting fabric with natural colours.
Friday: Becoming Chefs!
We will knead the flour with the dew to make bread, making of "tagliatelle" (Italian Pasta) and fritters - with the herbs of the countryside. To finish our menu we will make a tart with our jams, walnut cream, elderflower syrup and butter.
Later on we will build a fishing rod with bamboo and go fishing for shrimp in the ditches.
Saturday: Morning Activities and Farewell
Building a bird's house. We will play a special game called "Il Gioco dell'Oca": we will make a human size board and the "boxes" will be painted disks arranged by the children along the course.
To say a fun goodbye, on Saturday we can organize a barbecue along with the families of those children who attended the Nature Camp.
NOTE: The program may be modified in case of bad weather, or to meet specific needs and curiosities of children. Given the type of activities, we recommend sportswear and outdoor suitable clothing.
Some of our Experiences
2005: 1st/ 15th September - "Stage in Azienda Agricola Biologica", by the students of the V Class of the Istituto Tecnico Agrario Statale Bernardo Brau in relation to the CIPE financed project "La Gestione dell'Azienda Agricola Biologica"
2008: 30th June/ 9th July - Bristol Steiners School (UK)
2009: Arca - Enel: Children of Enel employees. Please contact Travel Agency "Alice in Wonderland" in Treviso. www.alicenelpaesedellemeraviglie.it
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CARE FARM
