Outdoor camps offered

 Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center is offering a home-school day program that kicks off in September and runs through April 2012.

The biweekly camp is designed to fit the needs of home-schoolers and their parents who are interested in getting their kids outside for adventures and learning in a positive group environment.

“Last year we did a test run of this program and it was a great hit,” said Brett Holmquist, Ravenwood’s executive program director. “We found that spending a day a week learning outside is so beneficial for the kids as they watch the seasons change on the land, make new friends, create great memories and learn skills they can share with their families.”

In each class, students will set off on outdoor adventures with the guidance of experienced staff and any parents who would like to accompany them. They will explore the outdoors, play games and practice skills that nurture awareness and cooperation, sing songs and hear stories around a fire.

Additional topics include tracking, bird language, shelter building, fire-making, wild edibles and medicinals, natural rope-building, tools and crafts, and wilderness cooking.

Two sessions are offered. The fall session runs from Sept. 19 through Dec. 12. The winter session will run from Jan. 16 through April 9.

Camps run every other week on Mondays from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The program is based between Whitefish and Columbia Falls.

Call Holmquist at 260-8620 for more information, and visit www.ravenwoodolc.org for more about fees, registration and other Ravenwood programs.

Ravenwood is a nonprofit organization in its eighth year of providing experiential learning opportunities.