2023 Farm Camp is OVER now - look for 2024 plans in January!
The perfect place for children to connect with nature, make friends, and have fun!
Days full of nature awareness activities, games, and practices which foster curiosity, wonder, and exploration.
Oh, and by day’s end, we’ll return your kids dirty, tired, and happy. Guaranteed.
tell me more
About
Afternoons
Mornings
At Dinner Bell Farm, we craft “learning in action” experiences – combining discovery, hands-on and open-ended activities, imagination, curiosity, story, crafts, and play - weaving in the trees, plants, and animals and the
farm, fields, and forest.
While children are invited to participate in a wide-range of activities each day, we encourage each child to follow their particular interests, explore and discover, and “just” play - allowing for deep and joyful learning.
We practice a child-centered approach to daily schedules, allowing time to explore personal interests and see where curiosity leads us.
Mornings
Afternoons
Mornings
Mornings will be led by a qualified and gifted teacher, crafting engaging activities (developmentally appropriate for each age)
which will include:
- Farm Animals: Feed, water, and care for:
- Baby chicks,
- laying hens,
- pigs, and
- goats.
- Garden Activities: Hands-on with wrap-around learning:
- Seeding and planting veggies,
- Harvesting and eating fresh veggies,
- Learning about healthy soil and our compost tea maker,
- Exploring how herbs, fruits, pollinators, flowers, perennials and native plants grow and are beneficial.
- Forest and Pond and Creek: A magical wonderland of learning and play:
- Discovering “who” lives here and their various habitats,
- Wondering who eats who - camouflage, omnivores, herbivores, carnivores, predators, and prey,
- Practicing skills of observation and listening.
Afternoons
Afternoons
Afternoons
Afternoons will be full of invitations to play, build, and create:
In and around the barn:
- Arts and crafts, board games, drama, and storybooks,
- Tinkertown - lots of boxes, materials, and spare parts for construction whatever the children invent,
- Mulch Mountain - trucks, shovels, sticks, and imagination.
In and around the fields:
- Water play,
- Field games,
- Playground.
In and around the forest,
pond, and creek:
- Creek walk and water play,
- Creating kid forts and fairy/gnome villages,
- Trail walks, exploring fallen logs, sit spots.
Specials:
- Opportunities to dig deeper in extension of morning learning,
- Guest Presenters - other farmers, animal visitors, artists, etc.
- Friday Family Farm Fun at the end of the day.
the basics
Registration is now open for Ages 4-7 (limited to 12 children) and Ages 8-11 (limited to 12 children).
Choose one week or two!
- July 31 - Aug 4
- Aug 7 - 11
Monday-Friday, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm (Before-and-After-Care below)
- Drop-off: 8:30-9:00 am
- Pick-up: 3:00-3:15 pm
- Every camper receives a Farm Camp t-shirt
- Bring:
- Packed lunch and snacks (zero waste encouraged!).
- Water bottle.
- Wear sturdy closed-toe shoes and tough play clothes; and bring a swimsuit, towel, and change of clothes, hat and sunscreen (insect repellent optional).
- Rain boots and rain jacket on rainy days.
- No electronic devices.
- Curiosity and a positive attitude!
Cost:
$250.00/week
10% discount for second week.
10% discount for sibling.
Before-and-After-Care, 8:00-9:00 am and 3:00-6:00 pm:
$50.00/week
If you have ANY questions or if I can be helpful in any way, please email Stephanie @ dinnerbellfarmnc@gmail.com or call me at 239-287-5111.
About Us
Stephanie Campbell
Stephanie Campbell
Stephanie Campbell
Lead Teacher, 4-7-year-olds
Chief Imagination Officer
Stephanie has over thirty years of experience in teaching and leading children’s programming. She has taught all ages of children in all types of settings and taught and led numerous summer camps.
Nothing makes her happier than sharing the delight of discovery, imagination, learning, an
Lead Teacher, 4-7-year-olds
Chief Imagination Officer
Stephanie has over thirty years of experience in teaching and leading children’s programming. She has taught all ages of children in all types of settings and taught and led numerous summer camps.
Nothing makes her happier than sharing the delight of discovery, imagination, learning, and creativity with children!
She loves creating environments where people can learn and grow, especially in the outdoors.
It is a privilege to introduce kids to the natural world of our farm and forest, help them discover how capable they are, and watch them grow in confidence and friendship
with each other, and
with all of creation, every day.
Stephanie moved to NC in 2015 from Southwest FL to establish Dinner Bell Farm with her family and to discover how to live in harmony with the land and nature. They practice organic and regenerative farming and are committed to creating and preserving habitat for native wildlife.
Stephanie is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, is a Certified Forest Bathing Guide, has training in Horticulture Therapy and Mindfulness, and is following her passion to reconnect people with nature, for the betterment of themselves, their communities,
and the Earth.
Tracy Schledorn
Stephanie Campbell
Stephanie Campbell
Lead Teacher, 8–11-year-olds
Chief Fun & Discovery Officer
Tracy has 23 years of experience as a teacher and school counselor. She has taught science and social-emotional learning in kindergarten through 12th grade in both public and private schools. Over her lifetime, she has facilitated numerous summer camps- from sports adventures to pe
Lead Teacher, 8–11-year-olds
Chief Fun & Discovery Officer
Tracy has 23 years of experience as a teacher and school counselor. She has taught science and social-emotional learning in kindergarten through 12th grade in both public and private schools. Over her lifetime, she has facilitated numerous summer camps- from sports adventures to personal development.
She adored summer activity camps growing up and is always ready to learn something new. With a desire for movement and novelty, she enjoys a variety of activities and relishes the opportunity to play!
Tracy believes there is no such thing as other people’s children. We are all learning, making mistakes, and building connections together. Children can experiment when they feel safe within loving guidelines and they communicate their needs through their behavior. Listening to this process is the true joy of being a teacher. And what better environment to open ourselves for fun than farm and forest!
Elon College brought Tracy to the area as a student and she quickly fell in love with the deep history and rich potential of the community. She lives in Burlington and enjoys gardening and exploring nature with her husband and two children. It is a dream of hers to one day turn their 1.5 acre city plot into a homestead heaven.
With advanced degrees in education and counseling, she currently teaches life skills and wellness classes at the Carolina Friends School as well as serving as the school counselor for the middle school. Tracy is constantly seeking new ways of being a Light in the world. As a trained Restorative Practices facilitator and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Specialist, she strives to connect people to each other through emotional literacy and empathic listening. At the heart of everything is the joy of play and the fun in life!
Join Our Team!
Stephanie Campbell
Join Our Team!
We're hiring a few fabulous folk!
Positions Open:
Lead Counselors (2)
Age 18+
Jr. Counselors (2)
Age 15+
Counselors-in-Training (2)
Age 12-15
Lead and Jr Counselors:
See job description and
how to apply
HERE.
Counselors-in-Training:
Contact Stephanie Campbell
239-287-5111
About THE FARM
Dinner Bell Farm
Dinner Bell Farm is a local family farm growing chemical-free and sustainably-raised vegetables, herbs, and fruit,
as well as pastured eggs, chicken, pork, and goats. As a family, we started Dinner Bell Farm because we are committed to participating in a local, sustainable food system that is healthy for people and the earth.
Our farm is a source of inspiration not only for what we grow, cook and eat, but also for how we live.
Community matters to us - knowing each other’s names and building friendships, sharing welcome and hospitality,
belonging together as partners with the land.
We are stewards of this beautiful forty acres and we love sharing it with children and families!
- Your children will enjoy the:
- big red barn for shelter, gathering, meals, and activities;
- market gardens, greenhouse, and hub (and the farmers!);
- animals - hens, baby chicks, pigs, and goats;
- pastures and play spaces;
- fifteen acres of forest, pond, and creek.