Greetings from Mishashire
Once, we lived amongst cherry trees and horses
For the past couple of summers we’ve hosted a camp at my house called Imaginary Worlds. It’s led by Andrew and Owen, teachers at Milo’s school. The premise is that campers have 4 days to build a world using their imagination and whatever scrap materials they can get their hands on. They establish commerce, culture, government, philosophy, and lore. They name their town and they paint its flag. It’s a pandemonium of kid energy and ingenuity, each day building on the last, until it culminates on Thursday at 3:15 with a visit from the parents. This year’s visit included some literature and a map, the hoisting of the flag, a historic dragon festival, and a mock trial. Misha, my cat, was unanimously elected king on day 2 and worshipped as a god.
In case you’re wondering, Imaginary Worlds isn’t open to the public. It’s pretty chaotic and I think it only works because Andrew and Owen know the kids before they show up - they’re all students at the same school. It requires a lot of care and intuition to make the week run smoothly. My hat’s off to both of those guys. Kids are brilliant and we’re so lucky for the good teachers that guide them.
my siblings’ school did a weeklong program for two summers called “cardboard camp” where about thirty or so kids were given free rein (with some supervision, of course) to fill the school gym with cardboard box buildings to turn it into a little city. i remember going to the “grand opening” of the city and being blown away by how elaborate and delightful it was
first!