UCB Parents Summer Recommendations
City of Oakland Camps
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Recommendations for Summer Programs
Science Camps: Touch the Earth and Young Naturalist
April 2002
Greetings. Just wondering if anyone has had any direct experience with
either Touch the Earth Camp or Young Naturalist Camp, both run by the City
of Oakland. Interestingly, there is nothing on the archives or on Tom
Lent's Day Camp Guide. Two particular questions: Is Touch the Earth camp
appropriate for an older six-year-old boy, and what are the specific
differences between the two camps, other than location? Thanks very much,
Deborah
My 10 year old son went to both of these camps last
summer and loved them. His friend went with him and
loved touch the earth but did not like young naturalist
camp. I called these camps "Roll in the Dirt" camp and
"Pigeon Catching Camp." Both camps seemed quite loosely
run--my 10-year-old had no problems with this, but I
think I would have worried about him when he was six
at Touch the Earth camp, just because it is a less
enclosed setting. (On the other hand, they did have a
lot of teen-aged help, and I don't think they lost
anyone!) The Young Naturalist camp had a more organized
schedule, and I wouldn't worry about losing a six-year-old
there, but I would think twice if my child needed very
clear rules and structure to do well in a program. My
son and his friends came back from "Touch the Earth" so
covered with dirt that we needed towels to protect the
seats of the car. He LOVED this, especially the
after-care part of camp, when they spent their time in
the woods building "forts." The main part of camp had
much more structured activities like arts and crafts,
which at 10, my son could take or leave. He took the
Birds segment of Young Naturalist, and the highlight of
the day was when they got to feed the pigeons, and for
some reason, I can't imagine why, were allowed to
actually catch them. He and his friend gave all the
pigeons names and reported home in the evening about
whom they had caught. There were science activities as
well, and they planted seeds, fished for shrimp in Lake
Merritt. I worried about all the diseases he might
catch from pigeons and the lake water, but he survived
the week with his health intact. He also met a group
of children very different from his normal crowd at his
own small public school. This fall, the tension of an
intense soccer play-off dropped off when he found
himself facing a fellow pigeon-catcher on the other
team.
Cynthia
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