Art Camp for Homeschoolers at Clapping Hands Farm in Pittsboro will run from 9 am-3:30 pm on THURSDAYS through the Fall-Winter-Spring. This is a beloved program that has been on “pause” since the pandemic and we are joyfully starting up again!
Below is an overview of our Homeschool Art Camp program and a description of each of our 2023-2024 Fall Winter and Spring sessions with dates and pricing!
To learn about our other youth programs, please visit our Winter-Spring Programs page.
To learn about our spring break and summer camps, please visit our Spring and Summer Camps page.
overview
We will have THREE 6-week sessions of Homeschool Art Camp. One in the FALL, (Oct-Nov) one in the WINTER (Jan-Feb) and one in the SPRING (March-April.) Each session will be 6 weeks long with an additional week reserved as a WEATHER MAKE UP DAY. Homeschool Art Camp will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will include Games, Morning Circle, Morning Workshops in Focus Groups, Lunch, Anything Goes and All Camp Activities in the afternoon, Buddy Group check in, and a Closing Circle.
Each session will have at least two Morning Workshop FOCUS GROUPS and campers will CHOOSE onFocus Group to join for the entire 6 week session. Each afternoon we will have Anything Goes choice classes which are different each day and are based on campers requests and will include opportunities to explore BOTH Focus Group topics. In other words if you are interested in BOTH Focus Groups you can sign up for one of them for the morning workshops and still be able to “taste” the other during Anything Goes! .
Homeschool Art Camp serves ages 8-16. We accept older campers who are interested in our Focus Group topics. We accept younger campers on a case by case basis. Parents, Adults and older teens are also needed as Counselors or Volunteers.
Camp at Clapping Hands Farm takes place OUTDOORS for the most part. We generally run camp in all weather conditions unless there is hazardous driving conditions or it is cold AND wet. In other words if it’s raining and 70 degrees, we will have camp. If it’s 30 degrees and not raining we will have camp. But if it’s 40 degrees and raining we will skip camp and use our weather make up day. During the winter session we will have a heated studio available that can accommodate one group.
camp fees & scholarships
The cost for each 6-week session is $400. There are DISCOUNTS for signing up early and for signing up for multiple sessions. See details in FALL WINTER SPRING session below. Clapping Hands Farm also has a no one turned away scholarship program, so partial and full scholarships are available.
fall 2023 session
Dates: October 5-November 9 (November 16 reserved as a weather make up day. 6 weeks.)
Time: 9:00 am-3:30 pm. Ages 8-16. $400 (full and partial scholarships available)
Camp Fee: Early Bird Discount: $380 if you sign up and pay (or make a payment plan) before Sept. 21.
FOCUS GROUPS:
ENGINEERING and INVENTING CHALLENGES with Lee Moavenzadeh
Can you use newspaper to build a table that is at least 8 inches tall and strong enough to hold a book? Can you build a car that is powered by a rubber band? Can you build a boat made of straws and plastic wrap that will hold 25 pennies afloat for at least a minute? Can you make a vehicle for an egg that will ride down this hill and crash into a wall and keep the egg from breaking? We will have FUN with creative invention challenges like these!
Lee Moavenzadeh is the creator of the Science Cafe, a mobile science trailer. She is also the homeschool mom of 5 grown up homeschoolers so she has gobs of experience being creative and engaging in homeschool inspiration.
STORY THEATER PUPPET SHOW! with Taari Felice and Sophie Joy Hearn
The campers in this focus group will build props and puppets large (bigger than life) and small out of cardboard, fabric and paper mache. They will also create a STORY for these puppets to star in. And then work on the music and movement to bring it all to life! Our session will end with a sharing for parents where this show will be performed!
Taari and Sophie Joy are both currently performing in the PaperHand Puppet Intervention’s Summer Show! Sophie Joy has also worked all summer building puppets in the PaperHand Studio. Taari has an MFA in Creative Writing and loves to work with people to create stories! Together they have both the experience and enthusiasm to help campers create something amazing.
Register for Homeschool Art Camp
winter 2024 session
Dates: January 11- February 6 (February 22 and 29 reserved as weather make up days. 6 weeks.)
Time: 9-3:30. Ages 8-16. $400 (full and partial scholarships available)
Camp Fee: Early Bird Discounts $380 if you sign up and pay (or make a payment plan) before Dec. 20, 2023
$360 if you sign up and pay (or make a payment plan) for BOTH Winter and Spring sessions before Dec. 20, 2023.
FOCUS GROUPS:
FELTING with Louise Omoto Kessel (in heated studio space)
Have you ever put a wool sweater through a hot water wash in the washing machine and had it SHRINK so it was much too small for you to wear? That’s felting! The art of FELTING is to harness that process on purpose to make both whimsical and functional things out of wool. We use felting needles, hot water and soap to “shrink” the fibers of colorful wool to make animals, slippers, pouches, and really ANYTHING. People in this Focus Group will learn needle felting and wet felting and then use those skills to make projects of their choosing and design.
Louise is the founder and director of Clapping Hands Farm, the mother of 2 homeschooled young adults, and a BIG BIG fan of Felting!
OBSTACLE COURSES AND SCAVENGER HUNTS with Taari Felice [This group is now FULL and cannot accept further enrolments.]
This group will create all kinds of obstacle courses and scavenger hunts including the dream of creating a made-of-natural materials permanent obstacle course in the woods and a deep dive into Letterboxing. Letterboxing is a really fun kind of scavenger hunt in natural areas that includes compass work and carving handmade rubberstamps! People in this Focus Group will be romping outdoors and exploring lots of our 100 acres at Clapping Hands Farm!
Taari loves moving and exploring and being creative outside and this Focus Group is perfect for all of these things!
Register for Homeschool Art Camp
spring 2024 session
Dates: March 7, 14, 21. April 11, 18, 25 (May 2 reserved as a weather make up day)
Times: 9-3:30/ Ages 8-16/ $400 (full and partial scholarships available)
Camp Fees: Early Bird Discounts $380 if you sign up and pay (or make a payment plan) before Jan 25, 2024
$360 if you sign up and pay (or make a payment plan) for BOTH Winter and Spring sessions before Dec. 20, 2023.
FOCUS GROUPS
THEATER ARTS! with Taari Felice, Lee Moavenzedeh and camp staff!
This group will be led by Taari Felice with assistance from Lee Moavenzedeh (skillful sewer among other talents), Cosmo McCusker (actor and singer) and other camp staff and volunteers. We will create and perform a PLAY! Possible activities include: writing games, creative writing, silly song writing, acting, theater games, costume design, sewing, prop making, singing, dancing, choreography, and more! Campers will have the opportunity to choose what they want to do to contribute to the play (in other words you could choose to act OR write OR make costumes—- you can do what inspires you, you don’t have to do it all.)
Taari Felice is an artist, writer, activist and an exuberant, loving human! She loves to dance and play games and inspire creativity in others. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and has taught writing in a variety of settings.
OUTDOOR EXPLORERS! with Louise Omoto Kessel and camp staff!
This group will be led by Louise Omoto Kessel with assistance from other camp staff and volunteers. We will romp through the fields, forests, creeks and ponds of Clapping Hands Farm! Possible activities include: firemaking, foraging, hikes, games, letterboxing (a fun treasure hunt in natural areas), compass work, pond excursions, plant identification, campfire cooking skills, nature art, sit spots, canoeing, nature journaling and more!
Louise is a storyteller, artist, the mother of two grown-up homeschoolers, a nature lover, and the founder and director of Clapping Hands Farm. She loves getting to know each and every camper; creating a safe place for people to be themselves (and watching the community that creates) at Clapping Hands Farm!
Register for Homeschool Art Camp
