FAQs

For summer camps, if you cancel prior to March 1, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $50 processing fee per registration. If you cancel prior to May 1, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $100 processing fee per registration. No refunds will be granted after May 1 with the exception of cases of serious illness or injury.

For 4-day vacation camps, if you cancel at least 2 weeks prior to the first day of camp, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $50 processing fee per registration. No refunds will be given for cancellations less than 2 weeks before the first day of the program.

For the Swallowtail Adventures program, if you cancel 2 or more weeks before the first day of the program, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $60 nonrefundable deposit per registration for full year. No refunds will be given for cancellations within 2 weeks of the program start date. 

For the Forest Kindergarten program in East Chatham, if you cancel 3 or more weeks prior to the program start date, you will receive a tuition refund minus a $500 nonrefundable deposit for the 3-day program, or a $150 nonrefundable deposit for the Thursday program. No refunds will be given within 3 weeks of the program start date.

For the Forest Kindergarten program at the Cobble, if you cancel 3 or more weeks prior to the program start date, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $150 nonrefundable deposit. No refunds will be given for cancellations within 3 weeks of the program start date. 

For year-long Homeschool Programs, if you cancel 3 or more weeks prior to the program start date, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $200 nonrefundable deposit. No refunds will be given for cancellations within 3 weeks of the program start date. 

For semester-long Homeschool Programs, if you cancel 3 or more weeks before the program start date, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $150 nonrefundable deposit for the Fall and Spring sessions and a $75 nonrefundable deposit for the Winter session. No refunds will be given for cancellations within 3 weeks of the program start date. 

For the Saturday Explorers program, if you cancel 3 or more weeks before the first day of the program, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $130 nonrefundable deposit per registration for full year. No refunds will be given for cancellations within 3 weeks of the program start date. 

For Awakening Wild, if you cancel 3 or more weeks before the first day of the program, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $130 nonrefundable deposit per registration. No refunds will be given for cancellations within 3 weeks of the program start date. 

For Luna Moth and Sacred Fire, if you cancel 3 or more weeks before the first day of the program, you will receive a full tuition refund minus a $150 nonrefundable deposit per registration. No refunds will be given for cancellations within 3 weeks of the program start date. 

Weather cancellation policy: If a single day of a multi-day program (vacation camp, Homeschool programs, or after-school programs) is cancelled due to weather, no refunds will be made. See below for our policies on snow days and snow delays.

Flying Deer’s instructors and counselors are highly trained and skilled in finding or building shelter when necessary and keeping campers warm and as dry as possible! In cases of very extreme weather, we do have access to an indoor space.

For snow days, our decisions regarding delays and cancellations are informed by local school districts, since they are in direct contact with the Highway Department, but will not necessarily reflect the schools’ decisions. Staff will send an email to parents with updates regarding timing as early in the morning of the program day as is feasible, and will make every effort to run programs with no more than a 2-hour delay. We will also post cancellations or delays on our website as early as possible.

If a single day of a multi-day program (vacation camp, Homeschool programs, or after-school programs) is cancelled due to weather, no refunds will be made. Makeup days will be scheduled at the discretion of the director of the program.

You can read our current safety guidelines here. These may shift over time depending on the most up-to-date recommendations.

A child may not attend program sessions if they have

• A fever (100 degrees or more)
• Severe cold (cough/congestion)
• Diarrhea 
• Vomiting 
• Rashes (that you can not identify or that have not been checked by a physician) 

A child can return to the program when they have been free of fever or any other symptoms for at least 24 hours and have the energy to play as usual.

On each program page, you’ll see a Register and Pay Online button. When you click this button, you’ll be led through the registration process, including submitting a health form and processing payment. You can also begin the registration process by clicking on the Register button in the main menu. If you have already submitted a registration and health form in this calendar year and are returning to register for another program, we’ll skip you right over those sections so you can choose your program and pay quickly.

Please have the following information at hand when you begin registration:

• Names and phone numbers for two emergency contacts, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, or friends. When registering a child, please do not put the child’s parents as emergency contacts. We will attempt to reach emergency contacts ONLY if we are not able to reach parents.
• The name and phone number of your child’s doctor (or your doctor if you are registering for an adult program).
• A digital copy of your child’s most up-to-date immunization record, or the dates when the most recent immunizations were given. If you have not immunized your child, you will be asked to indicate that on the form. Flying Deer does not require participants to be immunized.
• A credit card, debit card, or PayPal account to use when submitting payment.

We offer a 5% discount when you register two or more siblings for Cottonwood or Bobolink Camp, or when you register one child for two or more weeks of Cottonwood or Bobolink Camp. Use the code SUMMER5 at checkout.

Yes, we offer generous financial assistance; each year, we award more than $15,000 in financial assistance thanks to the support of our donors. It is very important to us that no one is turned away from Flying Deer due to financial hardship. Find out more and apply.

We also offer a limited number of full Artist Scholarships each year, an initiative of the Pat Franklin Memorial Fund. Artist Scholarships are awarded to both children and adults. Recipients then create a painting, poetry, music, dance, film, or other art project inspired by their Flying Deer experience.

We pride ourselves on maintaining a high staff-to-student ratio, often as high as 1:3 during summer camp. Our staff includes directors, instructors, counselors, and counselors-in-training. Many of our instructors and all of our counselors and counselors-in-training are former campers or graduates of our rites-of-passage programs—they have grown up in the Flying Deer community and are inspired to share what they have learned!

You will find a supplies list on each program page, and you will receive one more more email reminders from our instructors and Registrar leading up to the program start date.

No, swimming is not on the list of activities—though we might wade in a creek or two!

Here at Flying Deer, we look for a natural balance in all things—and that includes photographing and videotaping our programs for marketing purposes. As parents and individuals, we understand the importance of privacy. Although getting the word out about what we do is vital for the strength of our organization, we balance that need and work hard to be sensitive in every step of the process. Our photographer and instructors work together to ensure that the times we choose to take pictures or video don’t interrupt the flow of programming or the intimacy of the experience.

Our goal is to show the activities and experiences that our programs offer, and we use these images and footage in print media, on our website, in messages to our email list, and in our weekly emails sent to parents from program staff. By enrolling your child in a program, you grant Flying Deer permission to use images of your child, yourself if you are the participant, and any additional participating family members in accordance with this policy. You will have the option to opt out of this agreement during registration.

Columbia County does have deer ticks. Download a tick awareness sheet that includes information about what we do and what you can do.