Barn Day Camp FAQ

We offer shuttle transportation for campers to and from camp from the Woodstock (VT) elementary school. This service is an additional $100 per week, per camper, ($200 for the two week sessions (2, 3, 4). The shuttle departs Woodstock at 8:15am and returns at 4:55pm.

There is no shuttle service back to Woodstock in the afternoon of the second Thursday of a 2 week session, as that is when campers depart for their overnight. There is also no shuttle to camp on the second Friday morning for campers who do not spend the night, and there is no shuttle back to Woodstock on closing Fridays of a two week session. 

• 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.

• Nature and Conservation- 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.
  

During the morning, campers will be with their animal group and follow a schedule, where they visit two of the above 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.  

Barn Day Camp groups are named for animals, and each animal group is based around similar ages.

The one week session does not do an overnight trip at all.

The Butterfly group is our half day program for children 4-5 years old who have not yet completed kindergarten. The half-day Butterfly group does not do an overnight trip at all.

The Hawk and Raven groups are for 9 and 10 year old campers who elect to do a longer, two night overnight trip that they're committed to completing.

All other groups at the Barn Day Camp do a one night overnight during the second week of the two week session, Thursday into Friday.

Campers in our Barn Day Camp 2 week sessions spend a bit of their time at camp preparing for and getting excited for their overnight trip. Each group on an overnight has 3-4 adults staying with them and supporting them through the overnight trip. We do set the tone for all of these campers that everyone goes on overnights. We review the practical preparation including how to pack with a fun skit. We acknowledge both as a whole camp community and in our smaller groups the range of emotions campers might be experiencing: excitement, worry, fear, sadness, pride, etc.

For those campers who truly are not up for the overnight experience, we have options. We suggest to pack your kiddo as if they're going to stay for the overnight so that they start to learn this skill and can fully participate on the day of the trip. They'll go out together as a group after lunch at BDC and from there, have fun in the woods with their animal group, ending with dinner cooked over a campfire and s'mores! After dinner and before tucking into bed is when a camper who is going to depart early from the overnight would walk out with their counselor(s) to meet their family to head home from the Barn Day Camp at 7pm.

If your child is unsure if they'll want to stay or go, we suggest this point after dinner as the time of them deciding to stay or go and following the same plan to be brought to the BDC for family pickup at 7pm. 

The Barn Day Camp is located along Route 100 in Plymouth, Vermont, not far from Woodstock, Killington Ski Mountain and Okemo Ski Mountain in Ludlow. 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. 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.