Happy Pond Day!

            We all had a great time today with our guest counselor, a certified lifeguard, Julia Curtis! We had a wonderful and safe pond day, and made stone soup and tie dye. In the (slightly chilly) morning we all gathered in the barn, to start our preparations for pond day, and hear the rules of how to conduct ourselves while swimming. After a short morning meeting, we had some extra time, so Rene and Chantelle took a group of campers to help prepare the wonderful offerings that all the campers brought for stone soup. Julia and I took a group of campers on a short hike, and Allie worked with a small group to start this year’s tie dye. 

            After hearing from our lifeguard how to be safe in the water, we were all very excited to get swimming.  It was a little chilly in the wind for those who stopped swimming, but it was warm in the sun! Dylan demonstrated to those campers who didn’t want to swim how to start a fire with flint and steel, and we began cooking our stone soup.  The morning went by quickly, and before we knew it, it was time for lunch.

            We ate lunch at the pond, and kept warm around the fire, and before we knew it it became very warm afternoon. For quiet time, we read books, and sunbathed at the pond, and used our recess to have more swimming time. In the afternoon, some campers helped Dylan gather mud from the pond for our shelter, while others enjoyed the water and floating dock. Rene and Chantelle served us the Stone Soup that had been cooked over an open fire pit, and it was delicious! Allie continued to take groups aside to do tie dye, and we began our clean up.

            Towards the end of the day, we cleaned everything we brought from around the pond, doused the fire, and finished drying off. We headed back to the barn to change, and to eat fresh baked chocolate cookies that we made throughout the day in our solar oven. It was a really great day, and we look forward to more pond days to come.  Tomorrow is the first day of our overnight, so those campers that are spending the night at the Land Lab should come prepared with all the extra accessories described in the overnight handout that parents should have received after registration. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Rene.

See you tomorrow!

Alex