Essential Information
If you're new to NBTSC, do start with this page, but also read our complete (14 page) 2012 brochure (in pdf format). Need a paper copy and don't have a printer? Please send us $10 and we'll mail you a packet containing that complete brochure, plus other important information from this website (refund policy, Not So Frequently Asked Questions, Is NBTSC for you?, Which Session Should I Choose?, registration form, etc.)
On this page
key facts
- who: Approximately 70-100 unschoolers ages 13 to 18, and a staff led (usually) by Grace Llewellyn.
- when:
Oregon Session 1, July 30-August 6
Oregon Session 2, August 21-September 4
Vermont, September 21-Oct 5 (1-week option: Sept 21-28, or Sept 28-Oct 5)
- where:Oregon 1: we meet in Medford and travel 35 miles east to Camp Latgawa. Oregon 2: we meet in Eugene and travel 120 miles SW to Camp Myrtlewood. Vermont: Farm & Wilderness Camp, 40 miles SE of Rutland.
- how much:Before March 31:
Oregon 1 or Vermont 1-week option, $730
Oregon 2 or Vermont 2-week full session, $1195
Price goes up $75 per session on April 1. Automatic $100 rebate if you get your money and information in on time. Some worktrades available. - why: To change ourselves and the world, teach each other great things, and sing under the moon....
What is Not Back to School Camp?
Not Back to School Camp aspires to create a sanctuary
- that affirms, inspires, and mentors unschoolers…
- where campers and staff transform spiritually, emotionally, physically, creatively, intellectually…
- where profound friendships begin and grow…
- and where adventure, mystery, music, wild spontaneous fun, and magic prevail.
Not Back to School Camp is unique.
We come together to savor and support each person’s gifts, and to build and celebrate community. Together, campers and staff co-create a week-long smorgasbord of workshops, spontaneous events, and special evening gatherings. We seek unschoolers who are excited about life, eager to share in what NBTSC offers, enthusiastic about offering their own workshops and other contributions, and willing (even if also terrified) to be themselves and to bravely reach out and connect with the rest of us. Most days, most of the time, campers make their own decisions—whether to attend a workshop or talk with a new friend, whether to go to sleep at 11 p.m. or stay up till 1 playing games, whether to linger over lunch or hike up the mountain or have a nap in the sun or start a soccer game. We come to camp to change ourselves and the world, teach each other great things, and sing under the moon....
What happens
We swim; talk; sing; drum; dance; hike; stare at the sky; play volleyball and softball and soccer; make nifty things in crafty workshops; take creative, emotional, and intellectual risks; encourage each other to do amazing things; have talent shows; teach and learn from each other.
Workshops—a sampling: We have dozens of workshops each session, reflecting the talents and interests of all staff and campers. They range from kung fu to cob-oven building to Zimbabwean singing to college applications to surrealist games to VW engine fixing to human digestion to youth rights. At our 2-week sessions, staff also offers longer multi-day “projects” that explore a subject in greater depth. Usually, you can decide each day what you want to do (or want not to do).
Sports: We typically play volleyball, basketball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, softball, and anything else anybody decides to initiate.
Unscheduled activities: Most of the time you're free to make your own fun if you don't feel like participating in a group activity. You can swim whenever the swimming hole or lake is supervised, hike on trails, talk with new friends, read, nap, swing, practice a new skill...
Talent Shows: Evening talent shows are a great highlight of camp. You can play music, dance, sing, show artwork, tell jokes, turn cartwheels, tell us the wildest thing that ever happened to your family, swallow a sword, read your poetry, or just stand up and tell us what makes you tick.
What parents should know
NBTSC is not as tightly structured as most other youth camps. For example, people choose their own bedtimes and sleeping locations (which include some public spaces, although girls and boys also have separate cabins and most people sleep in their own beds most of the time). We have clear rules which we firmly expect campers to observe, but they nevertheless have a great deal of freedom. Most of our campers are already accustomed to taking a lot of responsibility for themselves, so this works well overall, but some people feel a bit challenged by the open schedule. Feel free to talk with us if you're not sure whether NBTSC is a good match for your family. More on all of this and related stuff on the rest of this website.
Staff
Our multi-faceted, skilled, caring, funny staff is one of the best things about NBTSC. They teach outstanding workshops and coach sports, lead group singing, facilitate discussions, wrap twisted ankles, support people who are feeling challenged in any way, cook great food, and those who aren't exhausted sometimes stay up late and join in the after-midnight revels.
One person is your "advisor" during the week. You'll meet briefly with him or her and about 10 other campers each morning to check in, play games, and get to know each other.
For more about staff roles and the specific individuals who have worked on staff (and are likely to do so again), see our bio pages here.
food
Three yummy vegetarian meals each day with vegan alternatives. Except at Camp Latgawa, we prepare our own food and use mostly organically grown ingredients. (And at Camp Latgawa, meat is served occasionally but there are always vegetarian/vegan options too.)
money
If you register early (before March 31), your cost for Oregon Session 1 or just one week of Vermont is $730; Oregon Session 2 or the full 2-week Vermont session, $1195. After March 31, the cost per session increases by $75. If you send in all your information and money on time, you get a $100 rebate prior to camp. A $150 non-refundable deposit is due with your registration. For our refund policy, click here.
how to register
You can register online here. Or, ask us to mail you a paper registration form, but it is important that you read the details about camp here on the website. (For $10, we can mail you a paper copy of that information.)
miscellaneous good stuff
(Non) religious orientation: NBTSC is a non-denominational, non-religious camp. We strive to honor each person's religious beliefs or lack thereof, and ask that all campers do likewise.
Not Back to School Camp loves diversity. We welcome campers of all races, ethnic backgrounds, genders, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, economic backgrounds, political affiliations, and physical capabilities.
If you have special needs: Educate us about them, and we’ll do our best to support you in having a comfortable, safe, and rich experience.
If you're intrigued, please read the full text of our complete brochure. Thanks and we hope you'll join us!
Key changes for 2012
- New two-week session in Vermont. After running a two-week session in Oregon for two years, we’re yearning to bring to Vermont the same relaxed schedule and longer opportunity for friendships to simmer. For this year (and possibly another year or two) we’ll welcome one-week-only participants, but the session’s rhythm will be organized for a two week flow. The schedule will build in intensity for several days and then fall back to a cozy rest day-- and then that cycle will repeat two more times. Activities will include the NBTSC “classics” like workshops, bonding night, trust circle, prom, closing ceremony -- and also the most popular “wild card week” events such as the film festival, performance extravaganza, and blindfolded night. Instead of theme-based advisee groups, we’ll offer more satisfying “projects,” similar to the ones we do in Oregon -- these are in-depth workshops that span several days for a total of 7-9 hours.
- The Creation Circle. For “older” campers -- those who have previously attended NBTSC for at least two years -- we enthusiastically offer this new program. Creation Circle folks will opt in prior to camp (in late spring, during “enlightenment,” when we collect and disseminate details of all kinds). Before and during camp, they will engage NBTSC with meaningful personal intentions, help to create a welcoming environment for new campers, and help co-create, re-envision, and improve NBTSC in a plethora of ways. (If you hope to officially graduate from NBTSC in 2013 or after, we’ll want you to participate in the Creation Circle for at least one year before graduating. If you’re graduating in 2012, you’ll automatically become part of this year’s Circle.)
- Oregon Session 1 at Camp Latgawa is subject to cancellation. This was a new session in 2011, and all who participated loved the site so much that we feel compelled to try it again. However, we will need to cancel if we don’t get enough registrations, so don’t make irreversible travel plans until we’ve confirmed that this session is going forward. (Technically, of course all sessions are always subject to cancellation, but it seems unlikely at this point that that would apply to another session. In fact, when we had only a few weeks’ notice in 2011 that Farm and Wilderness couldn’t host us in Vermont due to hurricane damage, our resourceful and dedicated admin staff -- Matt and Sarabeth especially -- made dozens of phone calls until they found an available and compatible site just a few hours away in New Hampshire.)
- Sarabeth, our long time camper liaison, is taking a sabbatical this year. We are thrilled to welcome back Maya Toccata as camper liaison. She filled this position for many years and in recent years has worked instead as our staff liaison and as our NBTSC bookkeeper. (She has also filled pretty much every role at camp, from camper to junior staffer to logistics goddess to cook to advisor to assistant director.) We know you will enjoy your contact with her.
For a printable pdf version of our short brochure (mostly the same text as on this page, minus the section called "key changes & important reminders for 2012"), click here.