Fun, History-Based Day Camps
Thank you for a wonderful summer camp season!
Indigenous culture-bearers share with campers at Earth Ways summer camp in 2024.
Special guest at camp teaches us about the fur trade in the 1790’s- 1840’s.
We have been doing children’s history-based summer camps since 2008!
Each camp will feature crafts, games, stories, outside exploration, walking field trips in the park, cooking, and more. Enjoy visits from special guests who will teach us, trade with us, or share stories. Read about the values children learn in our summer camps.
Times are Monday- Friday 9am to 3pm (except where noted.) Children aged 6-10 are welcome. Eleven year olds may also register if they are really into the theme and motivated- they may be asked to help out a bit with the younger ones. Children bring their own lunches and water bottle each day.
Cost: $245 per week
Siblings in the same camp: $210 each per week.
EARTH WAYS CAMP is only $30 for enrolled Tribal members.
Scholarships for low income families are available, see the form below.
Camps are limited to 10 children.
Locations
Earth Ways Camps/ Los Pueblos Camps: Prospector’s Park in Cottage Grove: 360 S. River Road
Pioneer Camp/Opal Whiteley Camp: The Annex behind the Wildwood Chapel: 85780 McBeth Rd. Eugene
Time: 9am to 3pm each day
(After-care may be available for your child if you need it; contact us for info)
SCROLL DOWN for Registration Details.
Los Pueblos Summer Camp
Focusing on Guatemalan and Latino history & culture, this camp is for low-income Guatemalan families in Cottage Grove. The camp has a Spanish/English speaking instructor and children are encouraged to speak Mam as well. The children enjoy games, crafts, cooking, songs, stories and outdoor exploration time, within the theme of history and traditions of Latin America, including Guatemala and Mexico. Special guests share their expertise in areas of cooking and fiber arts such as weaving, basket making, and more! We also partner with South Valley Athletics who bring fun movement activities for the children. Max enrollment per camp: 10 children ages 6 – 11.
This camp is free to qualifying families, and signups are by emailing our director. Our instructor, Janet Hernandez, will be helping with registration and translation for parents. Transportation from the Cottage Grove Library partking lot and breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day are provided.
For the Spring Break version of this camp, the location is the Cottage Grove Community Center. We are happy to partner with the Cottage Grove Library to offer bilingual activities and reading materials for these members of our community.
This program is made possible by generous grants from:
Earth Ways Summer Camp
Cost is $30 for enrolled members of a Native American Tribe.
Learn about indigenous ways of the Kalapuya and other Native tribes in this outdoor camp at Prospector’s Park. This day camp (9am – 3pm) includes special guest Native people who will share about culture, traditional crafts, and music. Learn some words in the Kalapuya language, make a leather pouch, learn about Pacific Northwest art forms and hear traditional stories. This camp is best for ages 7 – 11 and has a max of eleven students.
The park has a covered picnic table shelter, port a potty, and is right next to the Coast Fork of the Willamette River. We will go across on the swinging bridge, and go on nature walks. Students will try out the atlatl (spear throwing tool) and play games of sport. The river has several safe places where children can wade in shallow water and look for creatures. We treat all beings with respect and release back all creatures we find. Water shoes and tennies are most appropriate for this camp.
Deitrich Peters (Grand Ronde) shared drumming, flute playing, and Native crafts with the campers. Also Stephanie Craig, Kalapuya, shared basketry techniques and led a tule mat making project.
Thank you to the Cottage Grove Community Foundation for their support of this program!
Pioneer Homesteading Summer Camp
GIRL SCOUTS: This camp is suitable for earning your “Playing the Past” badge!
Our theme is pioneer homesteading, as in the books “Little House on the Prairie.” Each day will provide some structured learning activities, arts and crafts, and play time. Some of our favorite activities include sewing, playing school, churning butter, grinding grain, washing clothes on the washboard, making herbal medicines, creating shadow puppet plays and learning pioneer games. See our blog post about the “letter writing” component of camp. After you register you will get a more detailed explanation of our schedule, policies and more.
Camps remain on site, are pre-pay only, and sack lunch must be provided each day for your child. Children ages 6-10 are welcome at this camp. Eleven year olds may also register if they are really into the theme and motivated- they may be asked to help out a bit with the younger ones. Pre-registration is required to attend. If you have any special needs for your child we ask you to let us know in advance. Carpools are often arranged by the participants. Also, if you have an older child (ages 13 and up) who has attended our camp before and would like to attend as a junior camp helper, talk to us for information. Junior camp helpers do not pay a fee to attend.
Opal’s World: Nature Fairies Camp
Learn about the famous pioneer girl, Opal Whiteley, as you explore nature! Opal was a nature lover who kept a childhood diary relating her adventures in the woods around Cottage Grove, including her “explores” with her animal friends. We will make fairy houses, create a journal and write and sketch in nature, explore around the park and the river, and discover pioneer life.
Enjoy visits from special guests who teach us about eco-friendly living, how to take care of the Earth and reduce our waste. Opal would appreciate our lessons on how to be kind to all beings and the Earth.
We’ll have lots of fun as we learn to appreciate Opal’s youthful relationship to the natural world.
You can wear your own dress up clothes or borrow some of ours.
Location: Stay tuned for our location in 2025!
Learn More About Opal Whiteley here:
https://www.storiesbysteve.com
Opal’s childhood nature diary, The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow, is our namesake. Our Executive Director, Karen Rainsong, shares an ancestor with Opal. So it’s near to our hearts!
A blind girl (purple shirt) and her helper having fun at summer camp with us.
Does your child need accommodations?
We are happy to work with children needing accommodations and work with you to provide the most inclusive and appropriate experience for your child. Please let us know in advance about your special circumstances so we can discuss how we can adapt our space and curriculum. We are committed to equity and inclusion in our organization and programs.
Non-binary or gender neutral kids are welcome at our camp! We model and teach respect for each other including all the ways we are different.
Junior Camp Helpers
We welcome kids ages 13 and up as helpers to the camps. You must have experience helping with younger kids (such as at our camps or another camp.) Junior helpers are expected to come 15 minutes early and stay 15 minutes late to help with set up and clean up. They assist with crafts, games and activities and are often able to do the activities themselves. This is a really fun way to enjoy the camp but also gain work experience and be part of a team. There is no fee for their participation, as they are doing work trade. We can provide a letter of recommendation if requested. Join us and have fun!
Toraja’s Story
Watch videos from past summer camps on our YouTube channel.
Registration Details for Camps
A $30 deposit is required to hold your space when you register. This deposit is subtracted from your final payment for the camp. Please make checks payable to Singing Creek Educational Center. When you register with our form online you will be taken to Paypal to complete your payment. If you prefer to mail a check just cancel out of paypal and we will still get your form submission. Then email us that you are sending a check instead.
More questions? Check out our FAQ’s page.
The remainder of your camp fees are due two weeks before camp starts. We will send out reminders to parents which will include schedule for the week, camp regulations, and checklist. Remember our mailing address is different than our site address!
Please consider adding yourself to the waiting list if a camp is full. Sometimes last minute cancellations happen and we may have a space open. Contact us for more information about waiting lists.
Mailing Address: Singing Creek Ed Center, PO Box 1012 Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Physical Address of Camp: See each camp’s description for the location.
Late Pick-up Policy: We understand that sometimes there are unforeseen circumstances which could cause you to be late. We allow 15 minutes after the end of the camp for you to pick up your child without penalty. From 16-25 minutes late, we charge a flat fee of $5.00. For every additional minute after this, we charge $1 per minute. We do this in order to make every effort to support and compensate our instructors for the time they invest. We need our team leaders to be able to go home and be with their own families, rest and return to care for children the next day.
Cancellation policy: In case of severe weather such as wildfire smoke that is hazardous to breathe or increased risk of pandemic diseases we may cancel summer camp. If we need to cancel the camp you will receive a refund minus the $30 deposit, which can remain as a credit on your account for a future summer camp or homeschool class (or you can choose to donate that to us.)
Discipline policy
We do not tolerate any kind of bullying, harassment, aggressive or exclusionary behavior. Campers are asked to comply with requests made by staff and abide by all camp rules. Verbal reminders will be given, and if problem or difficult behavior continues, we may ask a camper to sit out (take a break with supervision) from an activity. If behavior continues to be an issue, the camper’s parents may be called to assist with or pick up their child. We reserve the right to expel a camper from the remainder of camp if the camper’s behavior warrants it, without a refund.
Instructors do not physically restrain a child unless it is in the immediate safety interests of the other campers, volunteers, or the child themselves. Our goal is for everyone to feel safe and respected while having fun. Please contact our Executive Director if you have questions about the discipline policy.
Refund Policy:
- Up to 14 days before the first day of the program you may cancel your child’s enrollment and receive a refund.
- Cancellations made less than 14 days before the first day of the program will not be refunded.
- Registrations and fees are non-transferable.
Questions? See our FAQ’s page.
