Home >> Building & Nature Camp
July 3, 2010
We had so many magical moments at this week’s Building & Nature camp! Each day as we entered Thatcher Woods for our nature discovery, we were visited by beautiful butterflies: Mourning Clokes, Monarchs, Painted Ladies, Skippers, and a Summer Azure to name a few. We walked down a path following two bucks who tolerated us for about ten minutes. Kids listened to downy woodpeckers, cardinals, wrens, chickadees and goldfinches high in the trees. They learned how to spot poison ivy and poisonous bittersweet nightshade vs. sorrel and elderberries which are edible. We found handfuls of tiny toads by the marsh and saw dragonflies the size of a small bird. One of our campers was fearful of everything at first, but learned what to watch for and by week’s end was a confident little explorer. In the middle of each hike, we’d find a clearing in the woods and spread the big blanket like a big drawing table. Kid’s recorded everything that they learned in handmade satchel/journals.
Back at the workshop after our hikes, each child stretched their engineering skills and built a RoboClock. Each robot was full of personality and functionality. For me, it is such a thrill to see kids expand their abilities and their minds.
Lily, I love that RoboClock! She’s adorable!
Some of the children had never been this close to a deer.