As children begin to develop a stronger sense of who they are as individuals in the world, many questions naturally arise. They begin to discover the uniqueness of their personal relationship with their surroundings and can be fraught with confusion and feelings of disconnection if they aren't fully realizing their capabilities. Our rite of passage work honors pre-teenagers by challenging them with skills that are deeply satisfying and empowering. By building respect and trust for each other and our surroundings, a reserve of strength is established which can be drawn upon throughout life. The children are grouped by gender during rites of passage since they are becoming aware of and sometimes self-conscious of their differences (and similarities!). Our goal is to create safe and sacred space for asking questions and sharing ideas and stories. Examples of activities in this age group are shelter building, animal tracking, gardening, fire by friction, rope making, drumming, silent meditation, leadership and trust-building games, cooking, sewing, etc. The children in the rite of passage programs will sleep over at the farm on Friday night and may participate in a sauna. Camp will end on Saturday morning at 10am with a farm-fresh brunch that the children prepare for their families.

As children begin to develop a stronger sense of who they are as individuals in the world, many questions naturally arise. They begin to discover the uniqueness of their personal relationship with their surroundings and can be fraught with confusion and feelings of disconnection if they aren't fully realizing their capabilities. Our rite of passage work honors pre-teenagers by challenging them with skills that are deeply satisfying and empowering. By building respect and trust for each other and our surroundings, a reserve of strength is established which can be drawn upon throughout life. The children are grouped by gender during rites of passage since they are becoming aware of and sometimes self-conscious of their differences (and similarities!). Our goal is to create safe and sacred space for asking questions and sharing ideas and stories. Examples of activities in this age group are shelter building, animal tracking, gardening, fire by friction, rope making, drumming, silent meditation, leadership and trust-building games, cooking, sewing, etc. The children in the rite of passage programs will sleep over at the farm on Friday night and may participate in a sauna. Camp will end on Saturday morning at 10am with a farm-fresh brunch that the children prepare for their families.

This camp is taught by Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired teachers on the land at TLC Farm and in the surrounding forest of Tryon Creek State Park. Each week children participate in exciting nature-based crafts and empowering activities such as gardening, food harvesting & preservation, cooking, herbal medicine making, crafting, natural building, woodworking, forest exploration, etc. They spend time each day with the farm animals, in the gardens and immersed in the forest, hearing stories and singing about the native plants, animals and traditions indigenous to this landscape.