Good afternoon!

               Today was another day of rain and cold at camp, but we had a great time! As we were all arriving, we decided to enjoy the outdoors before the rain came, and had a 15 minute time when the campers could run around outside. We then gathered for our daily meeting in the barn, discussed the day’s activities, and what indoor activities the campers might be interested in.

               In the morning, Dylan and Chantelle took a group of campers to start gathering materials for our shelter, and returned two hours later with stories of adventures dragging trees through the mud and rain. Allie stayed on the porch with campers who didn’t want to get wet so early in the day, and Rene and I took a third group on a walk around the Land Lab, gathering bark and other cool materials for an upcoming project. Although it is hard to quantify the progress we made on projects today, it definitely helped prepare us for the rest of the week.  Allie and the campers who stayed on the porch created some great works of art, ranging from drawings to flags to colorful bracelets.

               We broke for lunch, and enjoyed the shelter of the barn while watching the rain pour down outside through our great view out the garage doors. We had indoor recess because of the rain, and had an extended full of sanding wood, reading, and more arts and crafts on the porch.

               In the afternoon we had mainly indoor activities. We had a group on the porch playing board games, card games, and continuing work on bracelets and other arts and crafts projects with Rene and me. Another group went on a rain hike with Allie and Chantelle gathering even more cool artifacts, this time for the “feely box.” The “feely box” is a box in which we put different pieces of nature that we have gathered and we try to identify them by the way they feel, rather than how they look (choices such as moss, pine needles, or mushrooms are common). Dylan also taught a group of kids in the barn how to tie all sorts of different knots.

               We had a great time today, and enjoyed plenty of outdoor time, despite the rain. Remember to continue dressing your children appropriately for the weather, sending sweatshirts AND rain coats, extra clothes and socks, and waterproof shoes. If your camper asks to bring a book from home to read during quiet time, feel free to send it along.