Today was the first day of Outdoor Adventure Camp!
We went over our C.A.R.E.S. contract and had short skits demonstrating how to follow all the rules.
- C: Cooperation
- A: Attitude
- R: Respect
- E: Empathy
- S: Safety
This week our groups are elements. The youngest are earth, then sky, fire, and water.
We started the morning by doing chores. This morning we milked Jenna. Ms. Andrea explained how goats produce a signal when it is time to be milked that opens the muscle that releases the milk in the udder. We learned how to squeeze the top of the teat then roll our fingers down to squeeze the milk out.
We went on a bug hike this morning around the pond and in the garden. We found all sorts of cool things like beetles, caterpillars, and grasshoppers. After we found them we sat down and talked about how each thing affects the ponds ecosystem. We started talking about invasive species that can affect the ecosystem and how things evolve or become extinct in order to survive.
For our garden kitchen snack, we had chive dip. We picked chives and some broccoli from the garden for our snack. While we were in the garden Ms. Mandy showed us the dill plant and if you rub the stem of the plant it smells like dill. Then we went and saw how an invasive species, the Colorado Potato Beetle, affected plants in our garden.
To begin we talking about how important it is to wash our hands when making food for other people. We sang a song for 20 seconds and made sure that we scrubbed between our fingers and under our nails. Once we washed our hands, it was time to wash our garden veggies. We ripped up our chives and added them to our dip. After we made our dip it was time to use our “sheep” cauliflower and broccoli to eat the dip.
On our reptile/amphibian hike we saw frogs and some groups caught some. We continued our discussion on invasive species when we saw a whole plant affected by tent caterpillars. The caterpillars create the tent to bask in the sun during the day because they need to elevate their body temperature to 60 degrees otherwise they cannot digest leaves. Trees typically recover after the caterpillars leave.
We went on an animal hike out to the woods. Everyone got to help each other walk the goats, llama, and calf. After the hike we got a chance to pet the Rita, the llama, and Montie, the calf. We learned that Montie is a jersey cow and a jersey is a dairy breed. Jersey cattle actually produce more milk than holstein cows (the typical black and white cows) and are more docile. Llamas are used for wool and packing. They are from the Andes mountains and used to haul supplies.
The kids made natural art using things they found around the pond. They saw example cards then got the opportunity to work on a project alone or with a group. We only used things that were already on the ground and tried not to pick things that were still living. Some groups made some awesome art!
Remember our camp is peanut and tree nut free when packing lunches.
Garden Kitchen Recipes
Broccoli/Cauliflower “Sheep” with Chive Dip
· 1/2 cup sour cream
· 3/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
· 1 bunch chives, finely chopped (2/3 cup)
· 1 clove garlic, minced or roasted and mashed
· 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
· Salt and pepper
Broccoli and cauliflower chopped as “sheep” to dip!