Kids Day Camp: Wilderness Survival Craft

Give your child the gift of Wilderness Survival Craft which celebrates its 28th year this summer and is especially great for hands-on learners.

Re-create a traditional way of life with us, honoring the gifts of wood, stone, fire and water. We’ll follow the critical order of survival, practice emergency response scenarios addressing the top hazards in nature, build warm shelters, purify drinking water, make fire, and prepare the most important plants and insects for survival.

Campers will also witness bow drill fire by friction and then work with a team to practice it themselves. They will learn aidless navigation for lostproofing, craft tools of stone, including a coarse knife. They will make rabbit sticks and other honorable hunting implements, learning that all life – plant, animal and mineral – is sacred to be respected.

##### Camp Itinerary

Itineraries are subject to some amount of change based upon location, weather, instructor preference, and natural resource availability. 3-4 pm cool-down time includes group options of archery, sprinkler games, creek wading, and berry picking.

Monday: Awareness, Navigation & Community Building
Morning Session: Introductions; Awareness Training, Order of Survival
Afternoon Session: Natural Navigation & Survival Shelters

Tuesday: Water, Wild Edible & Medicinal Plants
Morning Session: Water Purification Practice, Digging Seeps & Rock Boiling Demo
Afternoon Session: Top 10 Plants, Wild Teas & Edible Insects

Wednesday: Emergency Shelter & Fire
Morning Session: Fire Pits & Safety, Bed-Pillow-Blanket for Baby Fire, Tinder & Firesteel Trainings;
Afternoon Session: Matches Training, Bow Drill Demo & Challenge

Thursday: Animal Craft
Morning Session: Rope Making, Stone Knife Making; Intro to Animal Trailing;
Afternoon Session: Rabbitstick Training, Honorable Hunter Training, Animal Trailing;

Friday: Survival Scenarios
Morning Session: Survival Review & Scenario Challenges;
Afternoon Session: Survival Craft Trading Market & Closing Ceremonies

##### Daily Camp Schedule, Pick-Up & Drop-Off Directions

Suggested arrival time is 8:45-9:00 am, and best departure time is right around 4:00 pm.
8:30-9:00 Check-Ins & Morning Care (gate opens at 8:30)
9:00-9:30 Songs, Stories, Stretches & Late Check-Ins
9:30-12:00 Morning Lessons with snack break at 10:45
12:00-1:00 Lunch, Games, Archery or Swimming Option
1:00-3:00 Afternoon Lessons with water break at 2:00
3:00-4:00 Camp Crafts, Creek Time, Berry Picking & Early Check-Outs
4:00-4:30 Aftercare & Final Pick-Ups (all-staff meeting starts at 4:30)

##### Camp Leaders

Camp Directors Kim & Chris Chisholm share time between Puyallup & Lake Sammamish teaching groups and directing staff instructors at our hallmark 6-1 average student-teacher ratio that’s critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences. Read our FAQ’s for more details and check out camp testimonials dating all the way back to 1997.

##### Camp Tuition at Lake Sammamish

• Tuition is $595 per week for campers returning from previous years. Discounts of $10 available per additional child and camp weeks.
• Tuition is $695 for a camper’s first-ever week with us, and then $595 per additional day camp week this summer. Discounts of $10 available per additional child. Tuition includes all expenses except you’ll need to pack lunch and appropriate outdoor wear, and also includes organic t-shirt at your first camp with us, then at subsequent camps a choice of recommended field guides, orienteering compass, firesteel and other outdoor essentials depending on number of camps attended, age and availability.
• Sliding scale financial aid scholarships available via the Conservation College – Max Davis Scholarship. Just submit answers to their 8 simple questions and cc our email address to ensure receipt.

##### Registration Process

STEP 1 – If this is a camper’s first year with us, reserve the first week with a $200 deposit, plus $100 per additional week; and returning campers reserve spots with $100 deposits per week; via one of the following methods:
• Zelle is preferred using our email address with that extra “e” on skye plus try to add a note including camper name/age, camp start date/theme, plus your CONTACT INFORMATION (phone number is fine if system doesn’t allow sharing email) if we don’t already have your info since Zelle doesn’t automatically share that with us;
• Or use Venmo to @Chris-Chisholm-13 or • CashApp to $wolfschool but again, try to add your contact information, camper name, program theme and dates, or follow up right away with that via email;
• Or use Credit Card or Apple Pay by clicking here;
• Or call us between 9am-9pm at 425-248-0253 ex 1 with a credit card to register over the phone;
• Or use PayPal system appearing on our website;

STEP 2 – If this is your camper’s first year with us, complete our once-in-a-lifetime Registration Form within one week of making your deposit, otherwise we will have to refund you and give your spot(s) to others. We’ll also email you Word/PDF versions of the registration form in case you’re having trouble downloading or making a copy of our Google Doc form which you can send or share back to our email address for review within one week to maintain your reservation. If your camper has attended Wolf Camp in the past, a new registration form is not needed, but we will may email a questionnaire for your camper to submit as application for this year.

STEP 3 – Pay balance before or during your summer camp weeks. We’ll email you an invoice this spring with camp prep info and balance payment options that can be done in advance or during your first camp week. All payments are non-refundable unless we refuse your registration. However, if you cancel (at any time for any reason is fine) we will save your payments as credit for you to use in future years, or you can choose to have us move the funds into our scholarship account if you prefer. The best practice is to make the minimum deposits to register, and then wait to pay the remaining balances during summer.