Outdoor Play & Imagination

Stories & Games

Arts & Crafts

Science & Nature

Cooking Fun

Farm Animals

June 4^th  - August 5^th  2022

Ages 5 and up only! 


Little Garden Patch is CLOSED the week of  Monday July 4th - Friday July 8th.  

Little Garden Patch Farm is enrolling for Summer Break fun and learning!  

Our play based, emergent program offers arts & crafts, outdoor play and imagination, stories & games, hands on science and nature with gardens, farm animals, and social learning in a beautiful outdoor setting.  A cozy home environment and nurturing staff completes a magical childhood wonderland that children and parents love.

This hidden gem is located on Fairway Drive in Soquel, just 5 - 10 minutes out of Soquel Village. 

Visitors soon find that hidden behind the humble facade of an ordinary ranch style home are 3 beautiful wooded acres with gardens, goats, pigs, chickens & ducks, ponies, a tramponline, rope swing, tree fort, a "mud" play kitchen, an outdoor art studio, fairy gardens, a magical reading area, a puppet theater, a small stage, a picnic area, swings and slides and so much more!

At Little Garden Patch children aged 5-8 enjoy story time and hands-on craft,  sewing, and science projects that develop creativity, self-confidence, social skills, and a deepening knowledge of science and nature.  Through observing wild life and participating in fun farm "chores" like feeding & petting chickens and pigs, brushing the pony, milking goats, and gardening children learn about and take joy in our natural world.

Little Garden Patch is currently an "outdoors only" program.   During the pandemic we will use our playroom only when necessary due to weather conditions.  Cooking projects will take place outside.  And children will wear a mask when coming in to use the restroom.  We apologize for any inconvenience.  However for the safety of our families outdoors is best for the time being.

Note - Enrollment priority will be given to children in our after school program. Limited positions available.

Little Garden Patch Farm is a fully licensed facility, # 444413332 

 Ages: 

For grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade.  

All children must be at least 5 years old to participate and be developmentally ready for kindergarten level activities.   All children must be able to use the toilet without assistance and to change clothes independently.

 Please be sure to review our Behavior Agreement thoroughly before enrolling.  It is very important that all children be able to consistently abide by limits set by the instructors for safety --including mask wearing, handwashing, and social distancing.  

 Hours & Cost:

 PART TIME Openings Available for Summer Farm Camp 2022.

Half day schedule:   1:00 pm - 5:30 pm   M-F  with a MWF or Tu/Th option for those enrolling for 4  weeks or more.

Early drop off and late pick-up available by arrangement.

Cost:    $40 per afternoon  (4.5 hours)  Craft materials included in fee.

Limited space available.  Little Garden Patch Farm emphasizes a smaller group experience and more encouragement and attention from teachers.  We average  14 children max with at least 2 fully qualified teachers.

Note that spaces cannot be held without registration/payment. 

Option to register with non-refundable deposit for those registering for 4 weeks or more.

 Registration: 

For questions and registration info please email: LittleGardenPatchFarm@earthlink.net or
contact us at (831) 476-0964.

 More Information: 

Summer Farm Camp 2022 begins Monday June 4th and ends Friday August 5th.

Farm camp will be closed the week of July 4th through July 8th.

Farm camp sessions run Monday-Friday afternoons, from 1 pm to 5:30 pm.

Early drop off or late pick up is available for an additional charge of $4.25 -- or $8.50 for those requiring both. Children may not be dropped before 12:30 pm.  And all children must be picked up no later than 6 pm sharp.  After 6 pm the after-hours fee of $1/minute applies, so please don't be late!

Children enroll for a minimum of two weeks, but are welcome to enroll for the whole summer.

All participating families must be able to comply with our current pandemic protocols including social distancing, mask wearing if required, bringing snack & water bottle from home, and submitting to a health check at drop off time.

Each child will bring a snack and a filled water bottle from home.

REGISTER NOW TO HOLD YOUR SPOT FOR SUMMER! General Enrollment Begins February 22nd

Check out what's going on

in our different sessions this summer:

Week One June 6-10th   _____________ Week Two   June 13 – 17th	Where the Wild Things Are:  Ponds, Predators & Polliwogs!
	Summer is here!  Let the wild rumpus begin!  We’ll grab our binoculars AND our magnifying glasses as we learn about the amazing plants and animals that live in and around our ponds and wetlands, including birds, amphibians, and lots of fascinating mammals.  See our polliwogs grow and develop.  Check out our marbled crayfish.  Find out which wild creatures visit the farm.  Make fun themed arts & crafts in a variety of mediums.  Play and pretend with costumes, face paint, puppets, and more.   And of course, meet the farm animals and enjoy our beautiful outdoor play space. Walking field trip on Friday morning June 21st to explore the woods and/or fields near Little Garden Patch Farm.   A naturalist from the Little Basin & Natural Bridges interpretative programs will be our guide as we learn about footprints, scats, and other signs that animals leave behind and hunt for creepy crawlies under logs and leaves.  We'll use our new skills to sleuth out the activities of the real-life wild things that live on the farm and in the adjacent redwood forest. Docent led walking field trip to the woods on Friday June 17th.
Week Three  June 20 – 24th    ___________ Week Four June 27 – July 1	Pioneer Farmapalooza!     Put on your down home duds because it's time to step back to a simpler time here on the farm.  Help us cook up a heap o' tasty grub, squeeze some lemonade, milk the goats, make butter, collect the eggs, and even scrub some clothes on the washboard.  Lots of fun farm themed arts & crafts, games, and outdoor play.  We'll also be busy in the garden and talking about where our food comes from.  Plus on Friday July 1st we'll take a pioneer walk to the nearby prairie reserve to have an early “4th of July” style picnic on the grass.  Campers can take turns pulling the wagon full of goodies and get pony rides in our mini covered wagon pulled by mini pony Cookie.  Y'all come play!    Walking field trip to the Soquel Prairie Reserve on Friday July 1st.
	Little Garden Patch Farm is closed July 4th – 8th
Week Five July 11- 15th	Medieval Make Believe Welcome ye young lords and ladies, jesters & wizards, knights and princesses and princess-knights too!  It's time to frolic with the fairies and help us defend the castle against rogues and dragons!   Partake in the festive revelry of sword play, and archery.  Sew your own dragon. Make clothespin   fairies.  Build a mini catapult.  Decorate your own shield or crown.  Create your own fairy wand or magic scepter and dabble in the science and lore of gems & geodes.  Daily dress up and impromptu performances on our outdoor stage. We will also be looking forward to another visit from the Terra Dragon!  And of course our resident unicorns will be expecting lots of love and attention.
Week Six July 18- 22	Fairy Tale Fun Fairy Tales come to life this week as we celebrate childhood classics like Snow White, Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Jack & the Beanstalk, and the 3 Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf.  Play, pretend, create, and enjoy some magical outdoor story time readings, dramatic performance on our outdoor stage and of course puppet shows.  Don't forget to make your own puppets and props to use here at the outdoor puppet theater and to take home.
Week Seven July 25-29	MORE Fairy Tales:  Ancient Greek Heroes & Legends
	Get ready for ancient Greek themed action & imagination, arts & crafts, cooking, theater, stories and more as we step into our time machine and go back even further in time in search of the fun and exciting fairy tales of Ancient Greece!   Perseus and the Minotaur... Zeus and the Titans, Pegasus & Theseus, Odyseus and his brave crew -- these are the tales so juicy that people were still telling and re-telling them 3,000 years later!   PLUS did you know that it was the Ancient Greeks who gave us our first stories of fairies, mermaids, unicorns, and other mythical beasts?  It's true!    So be sure to join us as we outwit the Minotaur, play and pretend, try our hand at archery and sword play, build a take-home Trojan Horse or catapult, make delicious tzatziki and baklava, try on a tunic or toga, make a Greek alphabet necklace of our name, and decorate our own "Ancient Greek" pottery.  And of course, we MUST go on a Quest or two!   When we're not out adventuring, playing dress up, reliving Greek myths and fables on the stage, crafting at the outdoor art table, or snacking on tasty Greek food, we'll try our hand at growing and harvesting, just like the goddess Demeter.  We may even muck out the pony stables like Hercules.  And then with inspiration from Arachne and Athena, we'll do some fun weaving with natural items gathered while out questing.  (Psst! We'll even learn a little bit along the way about the Ancient Greek way of life.)
Week Eight August 1 – 5th	Sharks, Mermaids, & Pirates Ahoy there!  Mermaids, pirates, and other sea denizens can join us for sushi making, shark lore, arts & crafts    and lots more ocean themed fun and learning. Our very own docent from the Seymour Center will be on hand here at Little Garden Patch to help answer our burning questions about sharks and other creatures of the deep.  We'll have a whale of a good time so don't forget a change of clothes because things are sure to get wet around here.

If you would like more information about signing up for Summer Farm Camp please send us some email!  Please note, with Farm Camp, the more the merrier.  So please tell family and friends about our program! 

Learn more about our philosophy.

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