Semillitas Spanish summer camp plants love of environment and community
MILWAUKEE (CBS58) – Semillitas Summer Camp - or little seeds in Spanish - instills knowledge of the environment for children and parents. The camp started as an LLC in 2022 by Alejandra Jimenez as a way to spread her love of nature and build a community for parents, particularly those who, like her, are immigrants.
“Buenos días, ¿buenos días, cómo estás? ¿cómo estas? Es hora de explorar, es hora de explorar!” sang Jimenez, a way to say good morning and announcing it’s time to explore!
Jimenez has programs year-round for children. The summer camp CBS58 joined was for children ages two to six.
“I was born to be wild, I guess! I used to eat lunch in a tree with other friends like me. It’s just the way probably you are raised,” shared Jimenez. Now, she's raising the next generation to go outside and pay attention to the world around them.
Each class has a different topic focusing on nature. On Thursday, June 12, the topic was learning about where animals live. “Sometimes we don't know or don't pay attention to where they are. We know we have animals all around us, but we just walk and not open our eyes. We are going to be exploring the woods and the prairie to see where animals live.”
Jimenez led about a dozen kids alongside their parents through Havenswood State Forest, Wisconsin's only urban state forest. Along the way, the class stopped to look at ponds, trees, spiderwebs, ant hills, and more.
A hands-on approach, like making nests from materials found in nature, was very popular among the families. “I kind of got some twine and then I made it together and put mud and made a nest!” shared Owen.
Nature, Jimenez says, is for “everyone. It's really neat to be outdoors in contact with nature. We unfortunately have comfort in our houses with a couch, screens, and we don't take that time to go outdoors that often.”
Memories were created outdoors for parents like Alysse Gear Jutrzonka and her two kids. She says she wanted to do something with other “like-minded parents” and loved that she and her children could learn Spanish together. “Ale does such an amazing job doing a lot of things that involve their senses. We do a lot of different activities, but it’s not a regimented way, it just kind of flows so naturally while always somehow having time for a hands-on creative element, a walk, and throughout we learn a lot of new vocabulary about things we authentically enjoy, do, and use.”
The goal of Semillitas, according to Jimenez, is for kids to know, love, and care about nature.
Jimenez moved to Milwaukee from Mexico about 10 years ago and said it was hard to find a Spanish-speaking community where she and her children could continue to honor their heritage.
So, the biologist went out looking for classes, or spaces she could be herself with her children as a stay-at-home mom: “It’s tough to find new friends with little kids. New people and parents. When I had my kids, it was hard for me to find a new family... So I went to the park or library and was inviting people who speak Spanish to see if they wanted to come and join me, saying it's a new thing I‘m going to create.”
That’s when she realized she could blend her knowledge of nature, teaching, and Spanish to instill the love of her culture in the Milwaukee area.
“Parents that want their kids to be raised bilingual and we lift each other up, we’re very kind and helpful to each other, and it’s nice and rewarding to see our kids learning new things, new vocabulary, new activities” said Ketty Riley, who is a native Spanish-speaker and wanted to find a space for her and her daughter to practice their mother language.
Jimenez shared that being outdoors and teaching others is something she loves doing and is crucial to planet Earth.
Another summer camp starts on August 8 for 2nd to 4th grade. You can sign up here.