SCHOOL CAMP PROGRAM

The School Camp Program is also the oldest continually operating school program of its kind in the nation and is an established part of the district's elementary science curriculum. Each week more than 100 fifth grade students from two or more of the district's elementary schools participate in this outdoor program and live together in the camp setting. The students and their teachers arrive on Monday morning and depart on Friday afternoon. There is no cost for the program; however the students do pay a fee to cover the cost of food and lodging for the week.

The program is designed to provide the students with both a positive group living experience and an opportunity to learn more about our natural environment through first hand experiences.

For many students the school camp experience is their first venture away from home. This week in the camp setting offers children the opportunity to live democratically with other children and adults as they study and live together.

The instructional activities focus on understanding and using our natural environment during the winter season. The students participate in activities which allow them to better understand and appreciate the outdoors. These activities include studying pond life; exploring in a large forested area; observing birds; or learning about fish, mammals, and snakes that live in Michigan. Also, students review what they learned in the Farm Garden Program about our dependence on the natural world for all those things we need to survive. Several of the camp activities are designed to expand on what has been previously learned. In addition, the program includes activities designed to show students how to use the outdoors recreationally; these include cross country skiing, hiking, and sledding.

On Friday the students return home, tired but happy, after having spent a delightful week in a different setting learning about our environment and developing a concern for our land and its life.