QC Summer Camp: Building Forts and Confidence
Twice a week, since the beginning of summer, QC Adult Day Program – Quality Connection’s Montessori-based classes for adults with developmental disabilities – spends the day at Fort Tuthill County Park, providing a summer camp experience for its participants.
“The whole Montessori philosophy is based on hands-on learning, including being out in nature,” said Mercedes Johns-Alonzo, Interim Director of the program. “Plus, they have something to look forward to. Camp days are a break from their regular schedule; it’s not the same type of learning.”
Typically, the group – which can include up to 22 members of the program – head to the ramadas near the park’s stables. The highlight of the day is watching horses training for equestrian events. Many of the owners kindly let our campers pet their horses after they are done training.
“They love it,” said Mercedes. “If they could, they would do that all day long.”
But camp days are filled with a lot of other adventures. There’s hiking on the paths, presentations by forest rangers, even learning how to build lean-to’s for shelter in the forest.
“We do a lot of nature based classes, identifying different types of plants and some basic survival stuff like how to find water or build a shelter out of stuff they can find around them,” said Day Program Manager Noah Plack. “Those basic skills to teach are really important. If they go camping with their family, they’ll be prepared for the elements.”
Lean-to’s look a lot like forts, and one of the fun things the groups do after building them is defend them, having mock battles with Nerf blasters. Then, in the true spirit of “leave no trace” principles, the day program campers deconstruct their lean-tos and put everything back where they found it.
The campers have also enjoyed playing disc golf, kickball, and volleyball. Their arts and crafts sessions also are based on nature, such as the nests they built out of foliage.
“It gives us an opportunity to really connect with nature and a change of environment,” said Noah. “If we were working in the confines of our building all the time, we wouldn’t get the types of skills and creative thinking we get here.”
Mercedes said she hopes the adult day program members get a chance to work at the County Fair again this Labor Day Weekend.
“A couple of years ago, Pepsi had us manning one of their drink areas,” she said. “We’re hoping to do that again; it helps with our members’ interactions with other people.”
Summer camp this year doesn’t have an end date, she said, and will continue into the foreseeable future as long as the weather permits.
