Nature Camp

I had heard about a nature camp last summer that I thought would be perfect for Thomas.  He wasn't quite old enough at the time, but I signed him up as soon as I could this spring.  It was a hands on environmental education camp for kids who loved being outside and exploring.  It was from 9-1 every day. There would be nature hikes, exploring reptiles, amphibians and mammals, seining in the river and lots of other things like crafts and nature projects.    It wasn't the typical camp with lots of singing, games and running around without structure which was really hard for him.   I knew he would LOVE it.  The only problem was going to be getting through drop off on the first day.

After the Lego program meltdown, I knew we were going to need a solid plan. I first emailed the instructor his "About My Child" paper, which was something we learned from the Smart Center.  Basically it is a brief, but detailed one page paper that goes over Thomas's strengths, his interests, what makes him shut down and how to best interact with him.  As luck would have it, my husband had off the first day of camp, so he took Thomas over a half hour before the camp started.  This is one of the strategies we learned through his SM therapy.  Walking into a bustling room full of campers would be very overwhelming to him.  He needs to observe his surroundings and get comfortable with a place before people arrive.  It is not always possible, but we do what we can.  He had a chance to meet his teacher and helpers and see the "classroom" before anyone arrived.  He also had an assigned seat which helps him know exactly where he needs to be and it was clear that the teacher had read over the paper we had given her and was already interacting with him by talking about Star Wars (one of his favorite things)

A calm, patient teacher is really ideal for Thomas and that is exactly what he got.  He got upset when Dad went to leave, but the teacher was able to get him to go back to the seat with her.  For four hours, we waited and hoped that everything was going well.  When we picked him up, his exact words were "I love camp!"  I let out a sigh of relief.  This is going to be a great experience for him!