Today was a special day at Land Lab camp because we had a special guest - Judy, our Woodshop expert. Today we transformed our morning choice period into two blocks, similar to the afternoon, and in each of those two blocks and our two afternoon blocks, we cycled all the kids through the Woodshop working with Judy and Dylan to make some really cool birdhouses.  This way, a small group of 7 or 8 kids could really get the attention necessary to maximize the safety and productivity of the Woodshop.

While others were working in the Woodshop, the rest of us carried out a normal day. In the morning we went on several adventures, like gathering various pieces of nature to use in our art on the porch, collecting frogs, snails and crayfish from the pond to make an aquarium, and gathering wildlife from the "play woods" to make a terrarium. We found about 7 or 8 salamanders, at least 12 frogs, a crayfish, and many other little bugs alongside worms, and slugs.

During lunch, we ate a hearty meal and played Capture the Flag. Then the sun finally began to shine as we spent quiet time sanding, reading, and doing arts and crafts on and around the porch. In the afternoon the kids all either continued working in the Woodshop, did arts and crafts with the materials that they had gathered earlier this morning, or accompanied Allie and I into the woods for a lesson in stalking and moving quietly in order to better observe the nature around us.

Although I haven't had a chance to stop by, I have heard that the birdhouses are coming along quite nicely, most are ready to be sanded and painted, and the Woodshop has lived up to its reputation.

See you all tomorrow for what looks to be another sunny day at the Land lab!
Alex