Daily Inspiration: Meet Allison D’Andria

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison D’Andria.

Hi Allison, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Maple Hill Ranch here in Lebanon, TN off of Maple Hill Rd. I host field trips, birthday parties, and a summer farm camp here. We have 11.5 usable acres with mini horses, mini cows, alpacas, goats, sheep, and we have a guinea pig sanctuary containing about 15 cavies. We have 3 weeks of summer camps for children age 5-12. The children learn about our animals and gardening. They interact with the animals daily, feed them straight from the garden, they get to swim, do arts and crafts, jump in our farm themed bounce house, zip line, and learn about healthy food choices (while trying some healthy foods!). But mainly, our camp is focused on being kind to others—other children and our furry and feathered friends!
Before starting the camp I was a kindergarten teacher and a school librarian. Now I am living out my dream!!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Starting our farm camp sort of happened organically. We had the facilities, the land, the animals, and I had a background in education. Everyone who came over raved about our set up and we decided that it needed to be used to help children learn about farming and farm animals.
There really haven’t been many struggles. We invested our own money into a large classroom space with storage, a large commercial farm themed bouncy house, and all of the supplies we needed.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When designing our farm camp program, I carefully considered what our own three children would want in a camp. I knew they would want to feel safe, learn in fun interactive ways, make friends, and feel important. During our three weeks of summer camp, the campers stay extremely busy! They are feeding and petting animals, gardening, playing outdoor games, doing arts and crafts, cooking, trying new foods, swimming, going on scavenger hunts, watching eggs hatch in incubators, doing relay races, zip lining, etc. The children are constantly learning. They are learning how to be kind, they are socializing, they are being active, they are off of electronics, and they love every minute of it!

What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is that the children are having fun! The sound of their laughter, seeing their faces light up as they see all of the little animals, and watching new friendships forming is by far the best part of farm camp!

Pricing:

• Options are: Full time Monday-Friday 9:00-3:00 (we dismiss at noon on Friday). Part time Monday, Wednesday, Friday OR Tuesday/Thursday. Full time campers receive a t-shirt; part time campers can pay $20 for the t-shirt.
• $375 for full time campers (if signing up for a second or third week, tuition drops to $350)
• $200 for Part Time (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
• $150 for Part Time (Tuesday/Thursday)

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.maplehillranch.org
• Instagram: @maplehillranch
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maplehillranch