A Day at Camp
Starting at 8am, we welcome children and start our day at The Fields at RFK playground. Children enjoy supervised free play while the staff prepares for the day’s outing to the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens.
At 9am, when everyone has arrived, we gather for our morning circle. We sing songs, learn a new word or phrase in American Sign Language (ASL) and review plans for the day. After a quick trip to the restroom, we head out–equipped with the official Acorn School daypack containing water, sunscreen, a field journal, and other essentials. ​​​
After a 15 minute walk to the Metro station, a 20 minute train ride, and a 20 minute walk to the park, we settle in the picnic area for our morning snack. After snack and some free play, we explore the national park, learning about its water lilies and lotuses, marshlands, and aquatic wildlife. We hear from a local expert on birdwatching, and use our journals to sketch and take notes on our surroundings.
Around noon, we hit the restrooms, fill our water bottles, and head back to our home base at The Fields for lunch and a storytime before our afternoon activities.
After storytime, we have STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Time. For 45 minutes each day, we’ll work on an art project, science challenge, or maker experience. During STEAM Time today, we’ll craft decorative bird finders: fanciful versions of the binoculars we use in the field.
Afterward, children have free choice time until 3pm. This afternoon, campers can join free or semi-structured active play, or join a group field exploration around the grounds at The Fields. Today, two instructors take a group to visit the naturally occurring marshland in the RFK lot. We’ll look for wildlife including frogs, tadpoles, and insects.
At the end of afternoon choice time, we enjoy a cold treat. Today’s treat is frozen tubes of yogurt. Then we gather our things and prepare for 3pm dismissal at the Pavilion. From now until aftercare ends at 5pm, we enjoy the shade and river breeze of the Pavilion while we play board games, assemble puzzles, and read books.
At pickup, we collect campers’ daypacks, notebooks, and field tools so they’ll have everything they need for tomorrow’s adventure!