BVF Teacher Workday Camp Family Information Letter
Thank you for registering for Belle Vie Farm's Teacher Workday Camp. You should have received an emailed confirmation of your registration. If you did not, click here to request one. Below you will find our Family Information Letter which has all of the information you need for a successful camp day.
​
Thank you for choosing Belle Vie Farm!
Where to Drop Off
Campers will drop off and pick at the Studio at 3100 Damascus Church Road. This is the paved driveway right before the farm if you are coming from Smith Level Road. If you will be later than 8:15am dropping off, please text Shelley at 919-360-3280 to find out where to drop your child off. ​
Campers can be dropped off at 8am and pick-up is at 3:30pm unless you registered for extended day. Extended day allows students to stay until 5:30pm. We do not allow early drop offs, but you are welcome to arrive earlier than 8am to get in the drop off line as long as you comply with our drop off policies. Please be aware there is now a $1 per minute per child fee for late pick up.
What To Wear
Our dress code requires close-toed shoes (Keens, for example). Boots are best. Please don’t send your child to camp in flip-flops or any other kind of sandal.
If your child attends in fabric shoes (sneakers), their shoes WILL get wet walking through the grass, which will make their socks wet. They will be uncomfortable and cold, and you will likely get a call from an admin asking you to bring more socks or different shoes. We have substantial experience with this situation!!​
​
You should definitely provide your camper with sunscreen and bug spray if the weather will be warm. Make sure to apply sunscreen and bug spray before drop-off in the morning. For rainy days, rain gear is required (ideally, rain pants, rain jacket and rain boots).
What To Bring
Campers should bring a main lunch and at least two very substantial snacks (chips are yummy, but leave children very hungry after a morning of hiking and playing).
​
Substantial snacks include: granola bars with nuts, peanut butter crackers, cheese and fruit/crackers, meat stick, yogurt with fruit, etc.
​
Snacks that are inadequate include: potato or corn chips, popcorn, fruit leather, pirate booty, gummies, applesauce, plain crackers, bread, dry cereal, pop tarts, etc.
​
If your child is staying for extended care, please pack a second meal. Make sure to put a freezer pack in your child’s lunch to keep contents cool if the weather will be hot.
​
Please mark your child’s name clearly on his/her lunch box.
Campers should also bring a water bottle clearly marked with their name and completely filled with cold water. We have lots of places to refill water bottles as needed.
Please keep in mind that your child will be very active throughout the day. Packing more food than you think might be needed is ideal! Children cannot regulate their emotions well when they are hungry, so please be very thoughtful about how you pack for your child. Asking your child to help you pack the lunch/snacks can be helpful.
Sickness Policy
If, within the 24-hour period prior to camp, your child has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or greater, is vomiting, or has diarrhea, you must keep them home!
We ask all families to be thoughtful and considerate of both our staff and other campers. When a family brings a child who isn't feeling well, that child may spread a virus to other campers and counselors. That virus will then spread to other family members. A choice to bring an unwell child to camp is a choice to impact many, many people.
We all model for children our values around self-care (staying home when sick to be kind and loving to ourselves) and consideration for others (making sure we don't spread illness, especially when vulnerable populations might be impacted). We cannot expect our children to be self-loving and thoughtful about others' needs if we are modeling behavior that conflicts with those values. Children watch our behaviors, not so much our words!
If any symptoms develop during the camp day, we will contact you right away to pick up your child.
Communication
Shelley can be reached at all times at 919-360-3280. We have noticed that when we are down in the back forest area, we can receive text messages, but not phone calls. They just don’t come through.
If you call, Shelley will not answer the phone. She is either teaching or directing and will not interrupt the camper's quality time with staff to speak by phone. However, if you text, you can expect a response.
Quick recap on what to bring each day in a tote bag or backpack (no plastic grocery bags or shopping bags)
-Full water bottle
-Bug spray/sunscreen applied plus both in bag for later re-application
- Hearty Lunch
-At least 2 hearty snacks
-Proper clothing for the day’s weather – please check the forecast and plan accordingly!
-A change of clothes (including socks, underwear, etc) - if a child does not have a change of clothes, we will call you to bring one. A change of clothes is a requirement!
-Boots are best
-Rain gear if applicable
-Warm jackets are a MUST when the weather is below 60 degrees. If your camper won't wear it, bring it in a backpack. They must have a jacket.
A Word About Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance and Relationships
We want to share a bit about how we handle relationships between the campers. For Belle Vie, this is not a side issue, but a crucial part of every program we offer. Research shows that children (and adults – looking at you, Elon Musk!) who struggle to regulate their emotions, tolerate distress, cooperate and collaborate with others never reach their true academic or career success. We have probably all worked with that one person who is just difficult. Our goal at Belle Vie is to create a safe space – both physically and emotionally.
Below are some of the tools we use to do that:
-We never require children to share. Once a child has an item, he/she can use it until done. If another child wants it, we teach the whole group at the start to say “When you are done, could I have that?” The child using the item must say yes unless the item has already been promised to another child.
-We do not require children to say, “I’m sorry!” We have all been the recipient of the hollow apology. Not fun or effective. Instead, at Belle Vie, we teach children about relationship repair. We encourage the child who has been wronged to speak up to the child who made the mistake (“I did not like that. Don’t do that again!”). At that point, the child who made the mistake can offer a “bridge” of sorts – “I won’t do that again” or “Can I help you fix what I messed up?”
We also teach children not to accept unacceptable behavior. Sometimes, people confuse kindness with weakness. They will perceive kindness or flexibility and assume the kind/flexible person can by pushed around or manipulated. We don't allow that at BVF - for adults or children. We teach everyone who is part of our farm that self-respect requires teaching others how to treat us - with kindness, respect and dignity. Children (or adults) who cannot practice kindness, respect and dignity should choose another camp.
-We are very matter-of-fact about whining or seeking for an answer other than no (which sometimes must be said and heard). We authentically acknowledge a child’s disappointment/anger/sadness, but we do not allow the entire group to get hijacked because of a child’s response to “no”. We never shame, judge or demand a child to stop crying. We have no idea how long a child needs to cry until he/she feels finished, so we allow their emotion as long as they need it. Periodically, we will do a quick check-in but won’t interrupt or try to get them to stop. We believe trying to make someone stop feeling something or expressing something is manipulative, and we do not do it. At times, we might say, “It is okay for you to cry, but if you also need to scream, I need you to move a bit away from the group, so the other children do not feel overwhelmed.”
-We do not allow bullying of any type from children or adults (overt or covert). We let children know they are competent to make great choices that reflect respect for others. We also let children know one of our most important rules is that no means no. No child needs to say “No” twice. Other children must listen immediately and stop the offending action. Of course, if the problem is bigger than any child can handle, we let them know that we want them to come to us for help. We are also vigilant about observing the children’s relationships to ensure there is never a power imbalance (age or size) that could create a silent victim.
​
Click here to return to the BVF registration information page on this website.
​