Hello Campers, 
Last day of camp has arrived! 

We had a blast at the camp out last night! The campers went on a fun night walk and enjoyed s'mores by the fire. Today we spent the morning eating breakfast by the pond and cleaning up the tents. 

After that, the campers played a fun game of capture the flag! The picnic afterwards was great! Thank you to all the families for coming. 

Thank you to all the campers for a fun two weeks at land lab camp! We hope you all have a fun summer! 

Shannon & the Land Lab staff 

 Sunset on the hill!

 More photos with the sunset!

 S'mores by the fire!

 Relaxing by the pond!

 Singing songs by the barn!

Camper and her string art! 

Happy Thursday campers!
Today was a wild day! We stared off by setting up the solar oven for the cookies! The campers were very excited to get them cooking.
A big goal of the day was to finish up all of the crafts and projects. Josh took a large group of campers to the play woods for shelter. The shelter has made great progress since the shelter was started day 1 of camp. Allie and Laura had a group of campers to finish birdhouses, mason jar lanterns and marble frames! The crafts looked so beautiful and the campers loved working on them. Stephanie and I worked with more campers in the barn to work on paracord bracelets. The campers were able to make a two colored paracord today!
After lunch, the campers gathered in the barn and celebrated 3 June birthdays! Happy birthday to Rachel, Liam, Sierra, and Anna! Tammy brought in amazing nature cupcakes for everyone to enjoy :) 

During recess, the campers played a large game of soccer! Some campers pretended to play media coverage and announced goals.
In the afternoon blocks, Josh set up his famous obstacle course while more campers went to the porch to continue working on mason jars. Allie and I helped a large group of campers with tie dye. Every camper was given the opportunity to make a bandana and a t-shirt. All of the designs came out amazing! More crafts were finished up on the porch. The campers will be bringing their crafts home tomorrow! 

Later in the afternoon the campers played a game of soccer! They had loads of fun.

We are excited for the camp out tonight! 

Thanks for the great day,
Shannon 

 Camper with a fresh painted bird house!

 Making the mason jar lanterns

Drawing on the porch

 Group shot in the barn!

 Birthday kids and the nature cupcakes!

 Completed birdhouses!

 Fun obstacle course!

 Tie-dye in the barn!

Completed tie-dye!

Pond day #2

We had a very successful pond day. The weather cooperated nicely. Besides the usual swimming, campers played cards, worked on bracelets, and played hacky sack. We also had our annual talent show which consisted of some magic/card tricks, gymnastics, singing, acting, and juggling. It was a lot of fun. We warmed up with delicious stone soup. A great day indeed.

NOTE: Please don't forget your overnight items if you have a reserved space in the overnight. We do have enough tents to accommodate all of the campers.

See you tomorrow,

Chan

All the talent show participants and their rewards

Thank you to our MSS alumni for visiting and helping out today

Juggling

Stopping to pose for a photo

Fun canoeing 

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday campers! 

The weather was beautiful today and we took advantage!

Allie took a small group of campers to Jack and Carol's garden. The campers learned about the seeding process! Laura and Chantelle worked with a group of campers in the barn on their birdhouses. They are really coming together! The campers painted them today with beautiful colors. Another activity in the barn was making salt dough ornaments. The ornaments are a mixture of salt, flour, and water. The campers attached small leaves and flowers to them!  A small group of campers chopped up the vegetables with Josh. The stone soup is ready to go for tomorrow. I had a small group of campers on the porch to work on bark frames and bracelets. Most of the campers finished their frames and they will be ready to take home by the end of the week! 

After lunch the kids played soccer and climbed trees! The soccer game was fun and many goals were scored. 

In the first afternoon block Allie and Laura had a group of campers staining the birdhouses. They made more salt dough ornaments and they came out beautiful! Josh and I took a group to continue working on the shelter. The campers worked in small saw groups and so much progress has been made. Chantelle took a group of artistic campers out for a photography session through the forest lab. They took great shots of clouds, flowers and trees! 

In the second afternoon block a large group of campers went to the barn and to the soccer field. Everyone was having a great time! 

Tomorrow is pond day! Remember to bring/wear bathing suits. Please remember sunscreen, towels and an extra pair of clothes. If you forgot a vegetable for the stone soup feel free to bring it in tomorrow! 

We can't wait. Thank you for the great day! 

Shannon 

Collecting boat materials from nature!

 Making a bracelet!

 Making bark frames on the porch!

Photography in the play woods!

Salt dough ornaments!

Making birdhouses in the barn!

Happy Monday

What a difference a week makes...last Monday was cold and wet, but today it was a hot one. We had a great day. We started off by welcoming a few new campers. We took a little time this morning to do the blind string walk with the whole crew. Then, some went on a hike to collect flowers and sticks for afternoon projects and a group of campers stayed in the barn to work on sanding their birdhouses. They are doing a great job preparing them for the next step.

Lunch and recess came quick. During quiet time, Allie had a group on the porch for reading, bracelet making and journal writing. Another group stayed with Josh and I in the barn playing cards and continuing the sanding projects. Josh also played guitar which we all enjoyed.

During block one, Laura and I led a group in making salt dough for ornaments.....it turned into a science project, as we had the wrong recipe. It didn't faze the campers one bit as they loved experimenting. Josh and Allie took a group to work on shelter. Progress is being made for sure. Stephanie had a group on the porch and they created amazing frames made from some of the nature items that were collected this morning.

Block one and block two meshed together,  as campers were still working on frames, bracelets and shelter. We ended with a game of soccer before wrapping up the day.

*Reminder* - Pond day and stone soup will be Wednesday, so please remember to send in one vegetable item tomorrow, as we will be prepping for our soup Tuesday afternoon.


See you tomorrow,

Chan

Blind string walk

Working on birdhouses 

Enjoying the guitar

Sanding birdhouses

Yummy lunch 

Happy Friday!

The week has come to an end so quickly! We had such a fun week and the weather was beautiful.  The first activity that took place was setting up the solar oven! Thank you to Brian and Catherine Jean for bringing in the cookie dough!

The morning started off great. The campers had a lot of activities to choose from. Laura took a group of campers throughout the entire land lab to take photos. They took photos in the dark woods, the play woods, the bee field and even near the pond! Josh took an adventurous group back to the shelter to keep building. They had a lot of success. Allie took a group of campers to make the terrarium. The campers caught a frog, multiple salamanders and even a centipede! A small group came to the porch with Stephanie and I to work on bracelets and to play cards. Everyone had a lot of laughs!

After lunch, the campers had an extended period of recess and had a ton of fun. Some played soccer and hacky sac while others climbed trees and played with their Rubix cubes.

In the first afternoon block, a group of campers joined Allie at the pond for a watercolor activity. They painted nature scenes! Another group of kids participated in an obstacle course with Josh. The campers designed the course and then had time trials. Stephanie and Laura took a small group to the porch to work on bracelets and other crafts. The last group of campers worked on photography skills with me. They took some amazing photos and action jumping shots.

In the second block, a group of campers continued watercolor with Allie. Josh continued the obstacle course with another group. The campers loved this activity. Another group went to the porch with Laura. The campers played card games. It was a relaxing time after a long day.

At the end of the day the campers ate their cookies! They tasted great.

The campers will be bringing home their tie dye shirts today. Please rinse the shirts with cold water until the water runs clear. When they need to be washed, wash alone or with dark clothes to prevent color blending.

Thank you for the great week! We are excited for week 2!

Shannon

Making Bracelets on the porch

Campers making their plan for the next block

Rubix Cube Time!

Exploring the woods

Photographing Nature

Exploring the Pond

Thursday!

Happy Thursday everyone!

The morning started off fantastic. The sun was shining and the campers were ready to start the day. Stephanie took a small group of campers over to Jack and Carol's garden for a tour. One of the campers said that his favorite activity was planting the basil pots! Another group of campers went out to the shelter with Josh and Laura. They are making great progress and the foundation is almost built. Tammy and I had a group of campers making tie dye! The campers each got a t-shirt and a bandana to design. They are eager to see the outcome! All tie the creations will be sent home with the campers tomorrow.  After tie dye, some campers worked on their birdhouses and also on their paracord bracelets. All the crafts are looking great! 

Lunch came quickly and the campers were hungry. After lunch, a group of campers had a soccer game and some played games in the grass. During quiet time, the kids sanded their blocks and worked on their paracord bracelets. 

During the first block, after lunch, the campers played hacky sac with Josh and his co-teacher Christina. They had a ton of fun practicing new moves around the circle. Some campers went on short hikes and continued working on their tie dye projects. The shirts came out amazing and the campers did a great job working on them. A small group of campers also worked on string bracelets on the porch. 

In the second afternoon block the campers worked on string art in the barn with Tammy and Josh. Some of the campers made designs that included their initials, animals and interesting geometric shapes. Laura and Stephanie had a fun group on the porch working on string bracelets and also drawing. It was very calming! A group of campers also played a great match of soccer. 

We can't believe tomorrow is already Friday! Thank you to our alumni, Lesia and Ellie for their assistance today! 

-Shannon 

Safely sawing a tree for the shelter!

 Working as a team to build the shelter!

 Soccer action on the field!

 Using the sense of touch with the "feely box"!

 Having fun while tie dying!

Bird house construction and design! 

Pond Day #1

What a fabulous day we had for Pond Day. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The campers were geared up and ready for swimming, pond study, and canoeing. Some campers played cards, made bracelets and worked on their soccer skills. We also enjoyed some delicious stone soup after lunch. Then, it was time for round two of more swimming. The campers enjoyed every second of it.

A huge thank you to Fiona, our lifeguard, for making it possible for our campers to enjoy the pond experience. We look forward to having her again next week.


Campers will sleep well tonight.

Enjoy,

Chan

Soccer fun

Relaxing with friends

Pond study

Playing cards 

Yummy stone soup

Day two of fun!

Hello campers!


It was a beautiful day today and the campers had many things to do during their morning block!  A group of campers went for a hike to collect nature objects for the "feely" box. This box is used to engage the touch sense of the campers! Another group of campers went to Jack and Carol Lawyer's garden for a tour. They loved it! Some of their favorite parts were trying the homegrown parsley and exploring the greenhouse. Some campers also made paracord bracelets in the morning block. The campers chose their color and were instructed on how to make the fun design. Pond day is tomorrow so another activity for the morning was boat collection. The campers collected twigs, pieces of bark, pine-cones, and leaves to make their boats. They are eager to float them tomorrow!

Lunch time came quickly with such a busy morning. The campers had recess after and they played soccer, basketball, talked with friends, and some even showed their skills with the Rubix cube!

After lunch was quiet time. The campers listened to Josh play some guitar, continued their sanding projects and some drew quietly on the porch.

In the first afternoon block, the campers had some new activities to do. Allie took a group to work on string art. They make designs out of nails on a piece of wood and then tied string around them! Stephanie had a group of campers start cutting vegetables for stone soup tomorrow. Thank you to everyone for bringing them in!! Josh and I took a group to the dark woods to continue building shelter. The campers gathered sticks and small trees.

In the second block, many campers continued building shelter. Another group stayed in the barn to sand and to make more paracord bracelets. A small group of campers collected wood for the fire tomorrow! Soccer skills was another fun afternoon activity. The group of campers played a game together.

Tomorrow is pond day and we are excited! Don't forget to bring sunscreen, towels, bathing suits and a change of clothes! If you forgot a vegetable today, feel free to bring one in tomorrow for stone soup.

Thanks for the great day, campers!
Shannon

 Fun boat collection!

 Learning some new bracelet designs with Allie!

 Some campers sanding in the barn!

A group of campers found a great tree for the shelter!