Homesteading is a lifestyle that involves anything from self-sufficient gardening to raising animals. Some homesteaders even go as far as to live off the grid!

Fall is a time for homesteaders to reflect on what worked well this summer. It’s also a time to prepare for winter by stacking wood and ensuring that all the crops are harvested.

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. – Singing Creek Educational Center is helping kids get immersed in pioneer history.

The Pioneer Homesteading Camp runs from July 17 to 21, and August 14 to 18. The camp is completely technology free, and allows campers the opportunity to reconnect with what it means to be a kid. Karen Rainsong, the Executive Director of Singing Creek Educational Center, says she has only shown one video in the 15 years that the camp has been running.

“Getting away from screens is super important and that’s 100 percent of what we do, you know,” said Rainsong. “It reminds them about the nature of being a child, you know? The wonder and discovery and the play and interacting directly with each other is such an important part of socialization.”

Pioneer Homesteading Camp originally started on a farm in Eugene and gave campers the opportunity to work with livestock and get hands-on learning experiences. It’s since moved to Cottage Grove, but kids are still getting similar experiences out in nature.

Campers do a multitude of activities to engage them in the history lessons and teach them about old-fashioned skills. During the camp, kids will also learn how to sew, as well as how to do laundry using a washboard.

On July 18, campers milled their own flour and churned butter by hand to make pancakes. The kids also picked and pressed flours to put inside journals they made from recycled materials.

“We do like cooking, and story time, and play time, and arts and crafts,” said Rainsong. “But in all of these things, we have really great instructors that help facilitate learning things like how to persevere when something is hard.”

Along with teaching perseverance, Rainsong says the camp’s core values center around lessons on respecting nature, respecting elders, teamwork and learning about and appreciating other cultures.

The camp is offered to kids between six and 10-years-old, but many campers come back to volunteer once they age out of the camp. Helpers are usually between the ages of 11 and 18. Though the camp currently has volunteers, Singing Creek Educational Center is always looking for more volunteers and board members.

Rainsong said having kids come back to help out each year is “really heartwarming.”

“Just to see the progress over time and to see them change and develop. I’m really proud of my teen helpers, especially the ones I’ve come to know over the years,” said Rainsong. “It’s a special part of this job just to see and help coach young people as they grow up into great citizens.”

However, Pioneer Homesteading Camp isn’t the only program offered by Singing Creek Educational Center. They also do a free summer camp for Guatemalan and Latino immigrant children in Cottage Grove called “Los Pueblos.”

The program is funded by the City of Cottage Grove and the Yarg Family Foundation, and provides food, transportation and arts and crafts to campers. Through Los Pueblos, kids learn about the history of Mexico and Guatemala.

They are also currently developing a camp about the indigenous life of the Kalapuya Tribe.

Those interested can find out more about Singing Creek Educational Center’s living history programs on their website.

Source: kezi.com