2025 Barn Day Camp FAQ

Barn Day Camp General overview!

 Barn Day Camp serves children ages 4-10 in one to two-week sessions. Campers engage in our program areas including the arts, outdoor living skills, nature, team building, farming, work projects, and swimming. Each afternoon campers choose from a range of creative and active options in mixed age groups. Groups go on weekly field trips and the 2-week sessions culminate with an overnight campout. Daily campers enjoy quiet contemplation and boisterous singing. As with our overnight camps, we fulfill on our mission for joyful play, purposeful work, and rugged outdoor living. 

What is the daily schedule of the BDC?  

We welcome campers to arrive between 8:45 and 9:00am. Every morning we gather as a whole camp briefly before breaking into our age-related animal groups. The campers spend their morning with that animal group - eating snack and then moving through their three morning rotations (more on that down below!). After the morning rotations, we meet as a whole camp for lunch, then Silent Meeting and songs. In the afternoon, campers go to mixed-age afternoon activities that they have chosen. Our final big block of time is Free Time - at which point campers can visit any of the activity areas where they would like more time, including the waterfront and the rock climbing wall. Lastly, we gather as a whole camp community one more time for snack and then songs before dismissal. Dismissal is at 4:15pm. 

 
What skills will they learn? What are the activities at the barn? 

I will answer these questions together - connecting the activity areas and the skills the campers learn. 

• Barns & Gardens - Campers engage in chores and farm-related activities in this activity area. They might make butter or bread, harvest a vegetable, herb or berry, collect eggs, brush the bunny, shell beans, or walk the goats. 

• Work Projects - Campers learn how to safely use tools like hammers and saws. They work on both community projects, like fixing a fence or step, and individual projects, like a shelf or "pinball machine". 

• Adventure - During the morning rotations campers learn team-building skills like communication, trust, and leadership. During free time, campers learn about rock climbing, including safety and basic techniques. 

• Youth Environmental Sustainability (YES) - Campers learn about plants, trees, animals, and other ecological concepts. They might play a game reinforcing this topic, explore a particular area in nature, or investigate a piece of equipment. 

• Outdoor Living Skills (OLS) - Campers learn outdoor living skills including fire building, map & compass, or knot-tying.  

• Arts - Campers create and explore materials in our Art Barn, such as clay, paint, markers, and other items. 

• Waterfront - During morning rotations, campers are in swim lessons appropriate to their skill level. In the afternoon during free time, campers can enjoy the lovely lake with friends. 

Can my camper be on an overnight with kids of different ages?  

Campers go on their overnight with their animal group, which is their age group. 

Do campers chose their activities or is there a set schedule? 

During the morning, campers will be with their animal group and follow a schedule, where they visit two activity areas which rotate through the session, and a visit to the waterfront every day. They will get to choose an afternoon activity each day, which is loosely connected to the activity areas but is a little more whimsical than the skill-based rotations in the morning. During free time, they can choose to visit any activity area they would like as well as our library and play structure. 

What are the Session Dates and Lengths? 

I don’t know if my child is ready for an overnight. Are they mandatory? 

We do set the tone for all of our campers that everyone goes on overnights. We go over the practical preparation including what to pack through a fun skit. We also acknowledge both as a whole camp community and in small groups the range of emotions that campers might be experiencing: excitement, worry, fear, sadness, pride, etc. Then for the campers who really are just not up for it, we have options.One option is to pre-arrange a pickup after dinner and campfire and before tuck-in time. The second option is that we plan for the camper to spend the night and if they decide they want to leave early, we will call you. Both early departure options will include a pick up at the Barn at 7pm. Typically the majority of campers make it all night! Even our youngest campers! If you have any additional questions about the overnight or anything else programmatic, let me know! We can also schedule a call, if that's better for you. 

Can I join the overnight, as a parent? 

We don't have parents join the overnight. If the full overnight is too much for your family's comfort, your camper could stay through dinner and the campfire and pick up at 7pm at the Barn Day Camp. That would give your camper a taste of the experience. Additionally, each group will have three to four adults staying with them offering lots of support throughout the experience. 

My child is not a swimmer/good swimmer. What do swim lessons look like? 

As for swim lessons, on the first day, we check to see how comfortable each camper is in the water. We have gently graded entry to our lake with sections divided by depth. Many young or inexperienced swimmers stay in the beach area for swim lessons and build confidence and comfort in the water. Those swim lessons, guarded by lifeguards and led by skilled instructors, are safe, fun, and build skills. 

We haven’t experienced the wilderness before. What should we expect? 

As for wilderness experience, the Barn Day Camp is located along Route 100 in Plymouth, Vermont, not far from Woodstock and Killington Ski Mountain. Our grounds, including our large barn, a simple play structure, animal enclosures, gardens, and large grassy fields are surrounded by mostly pine and maple trees. You can check out a video, taken in autumn, showing our grounds, without the people (also - side note, Atlas the dog is not part of Barn Day Camp). Speaking of people, our camper-to-staff ratio is about 2:1; I hire just over 40 staff to engage our up to 90 campers, so we have many eyes and caring hands to support your young children.