Water Camp: Day 1

Welcome to Water Camp! We are thrilled to have your camper here at MSU Tollgate for the week, and we are looking forward to learning all about water!

This blog is a tool for family and friends to stay up to date on the activities and learning that goes on at camp each day. There will be a post each day with photos and explanations of what we accomplish, and parents are encouraged to use the blog prompts to start conversations about the camp day. Reflection is a crucial part of experiential learning, and your involvement at home will help solidify the lessons that we’re teaching here at camp.

The campers are divided into four “pepper groups” that are each led by one Education Leader and a few teen Stewards. The Green Peppers are led by Ms. Mandy, the Yellow Peppers are led by Ms. Erika, the Orange Peppers are led by Ms. Nicole, and the Red Peppers are led by Ms. Jenny. Click over to our 2015 Summer Staff page to learn more about our camp leaders!

MSU Tollgate is a working farm, which means there are lots of chores and maintenance needed to keep everything running smoothly. Campers are responsible for taking care of our farm animals each morning, and there is a lot to do! We have dairy goats, cattle, chickens, ducks, a rabbit, and a goose, and all of them need fresh food and water every day. Ask your camper what chores they did this morning!

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A Green Pepper finds a duck egg during morning chores!

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A Red Pepper learns how to milk Isabella, one of our goats.

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Red Peppers make friends with the goat kids!

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Red Peppers taking care of Alice, the farm’s rabbit.

We went for a hayride to tour the farm and introduce ourselves. Even though it’s called a hay ride, passengers actually sit on bales of straw. Straw is light, yellow, hollow, and low in nutritional content. For these reasons, it’s mostly used as bedding for animals. Hay is green, moist, and has very high nutritional content, and is used as animal feed.

Orange Peppers on their wagon ride!

Orange Peppers on their wagon ride!

We took a break from our hayride and each camper made a rain gauge using an empty pop bottle. Campers will get to take their rain gauge home by the end of the week.

Orange and Red Peppers work on their rain gauges.

Orange and Red Peppers work on their rain gauges.

We sampled corn-on-the-cob during Garden Kitchen this morning. Ms. Pam drizzled melted butter and salt on the ears of corn after cooking them, and it was delicious!

Red Peppers munch on their corn-on-the-cob!

Red Peppers munch on their corn-on-the-cob!

We will be fishing in the farm pond tomorrow, so we took some time to practice our casting techniques this afternoon. Campers have caught bluegill, sunfish, and bass in the past, so hopefully we have good luck tomorrow!

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Ms. Erika helps untangle a Yellow Pepper’s fishing line.

Yellow Peppers practice casting.

Yellow Peppers practice casting.

Campers went for a hike around the pond today to look for water creatures and talk about the water cycle. Ask your camper what kinds of critters they saw!

Orange Peppers discuss the stages of the water cycle.

Orange Peppers discuss the stages of the water cycle.

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Red Peppers use their bug net to carry a toad.

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Red Peppers scour the weeds for critters.

We made Chocolate Cherry Crunch in Garden Kitchen this afternoon, and it was a huge hit! The recipe can be found at the end of this blog post.

Red Peppers tell jokes while waiting for their granola to bake.

Red Peppers tell jokes while waiting for their granola to bake.

Each week, we work on a unique STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) project that is focused on the week’s theme. Campers are working on building boats every afternoon, and this is a chance for them to use their creativity and knowledge of water and watercraft to create something new. Ask your camper about their initial design: did it float?

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Orange Peppers work on the first version of their boat.

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Duct tape is always the answer!

We had a great first day of Water Camp, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has in store! Thank you for sharing your camper with us here at MSU Tollgate!


Chocolate Cherry Crunch

Ingredients

Cooking spray
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup corn Chex cereal
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup sweetened dried cherries

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300°.
  2. Line a jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Coat parchment with cooking spray.
  3. Combine oats and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine honey and canola oil in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat 2 minutes or until warm. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and chocolate, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Gently stir chocolate mixture into oat mixture.
  4. Spread chocolate mixture onto prepared pan. Bake at 300° for 28 minutes, stirring twice. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Stir in cherries. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
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