We have had an absolutely amazing week with our campers learning all about animals!
We did all of the animal chores this morning, just like we do every day.
Green Peppers sing a song while they wait for their friends.
Campers took a goat with them on an animal hike around the farm. Just like humans, animals need to exercise, too!
Red Peppers take Jenna for a walk!
Walking through the woods.
The Green and Yellow Peppers took their turn riding Friday, our pony. We talked about equine care and maintenance and learned about a horse’s anatomy. Ask your camper for a fun fact about horses and ponies!
Yellow Peppers listen to Mr. Alan introduce Friday!
The Red Peppers did a vaccine activity with Mr. Alan because we ran out of time yesterday. See the Day 4 post for an explanation!
Red Peppers practicing giving vaccinations to their patients!
Ms. Janelle came to Garden Kitchen this morning and made ants on a log with the campers. We looked at a model of “MyPlate,” which helps people know what their bodies need for proper nutrition.
Orange Peppers munch their ants on a log.
We talked about birds and their survival instincts. Birds have to be very secretive as they’re building their nests and collecting food so that other animals or birds don’t steal their food and wreck their nests. For example, jays are rather ruthless birds who steal food and nests from other birds instead of getting their own. We played a game to illustrate this concept with the campers. One camper was the jay bird and the rest were wrens. The wrens were given a nest, which they had to hide from the jay. The wrens then began collecting food and taking it back to their nest, but they tried to avoid being spotted by the jay. The campers had lots of fun being sneaky and tricking the jay!
Yellow Pepper wrens scurry to hide their food from the jay.
We had maple syrup popcorn for snack this afternoon. The recipe is very simple, but extremely delicious!
We finished working on our STEM projects, and we focused on defense today. Our creatures may need a way to defend themselves against predators in cases where they are threatened. Campers were challenged to come up with a defense mechanism for their animal; this could include camouflage, sounds, specific body parts, etc. Ask your camper about their creature’s defense strategy!
Orange Peppers munch on their popcorn snack and work on their creatures.
To finish off this week of Animal Camp, we played relay games with all of the campers and staff. Check out some of the photos and ask your camper about the relay tasks!
Thank you for sharing your camper with us this week. We are thrilled that your chose MSU Tollgate Summer Camps for your child. We are truly passionate about instilling in children a love of learning and an appreciation for the natural world around us, and it’s all possible with your generous support. We hope to see you and your camper around the farm soon!
Maple Syrup Popcorn
Ingredients
1 large bowl of air popped popcorn
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 Tbs butter
Directions
Melt butter and maple syrup in microwave for 20 seconds or until butter is melted. Drizzle butter/syrup mixture over popcorn and toss to coat.