Sun Star Farm sits in northeast Chatham County, just outside Apex and a short drive from Jordan Lake. Founded by Don and Heidi Watkins, the farm runs on a no-screens philosophy and a simple premise: childhood should be spent outdoors, dug into the dirt, and not rushed. Campers and students here spend nearly the whole day outside, rain or shine. Offerings include a Waldorf-inspired preschool, toddler classes, farm birthday parties, and summer day camps, all built around small groups and close personal attention. Children meet the resident animals, stomp through the creek, plant and harvest, and build imaginary worlds out of pine straw and twigs.
Among the summer programs is Tinkering School NC, a hands-on building camp held at the farm. Campers work in small teams to design and construct large-scale, open-ended projects using real hand tools — the kind of ambitious, collaborative builds that come from giving kids time, materials, and trust. A separate Forest Tinkering week shifts the focus to individual projects in a primitive, pioneering-village setting. Both cap enrollment at twelve campers with a staff ratio of 6:1 or better, tightening to 4:1 during peak building time.
