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Morning meeting
Sharing bird houses
Dylan teaches how to use a saw safely
Trimming the trees
and more trimming
Raking the area
Hauling lumber
and more lumber
Quiet time in nature
Dismissal
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
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
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
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Today was a very rainy day, so a majority of the day was spent inside, but some of the kids embraced the weather as an opportunity for a higher level of fun, and spent as much time as was possible out in the rain. This morning, Allie also made an exciting addition to our on site materials by bringing in a load of scrap wood and some sand paper. Many of the kids were fascinated to learn about how sand paper worked, and even more happy to use it to make some of the smoothest wood that you will ever feel. This was especially appreciated as an activity on this cold and rainy day.
First thing in the morning we started our morning choice block. Dylan and I took several kids on a rain walk in search of edible plants, Julie and Chantelle helped kids look for more items for our terrariums, and Allie worked with a large group of kids on the porch, sanding wood or painting with water colors. After we got back from our rain walk, Dylan took another group out to the site of our shelter this year to continue clearing the area. I stayed behind with a group of kids interested in further smoothing their pieces of wood, while everyone else went to the porch for games and tons of arts and crafts.
After lunch, some of the kids continued their work on the porch, but as per usual, most kids played Capture the Flag. We had a nice quiet time with sanding, reading and relaxing in the barn and on the porch, but only relatively quiet due to the scratching of sand paper on wood. During the two afternoon blocks we offered five activities. Allie and Julie took more kids on a rain hike around the Land Lab, Dylan taught several lessons on different types of knots, their purposes and how to tie them, Chantelle played nature bingo with kids on the porch, and I sanded more wood with many of the kids who continued to be drawn to the sanding enterprise.
I would like to remind all parents that their children probably went through their change of cloths on this wet day, so if necessary be sure to send a new set of clothes tomorrow morning. Socks are especially important. Also, tomorrow morning we will be having Judy come in as a guest to give the kids a lesson in the wood shop, so closed toed shoes are advisable.
First thing in the morning we started our morning choice block. Dylan and I took several kids on a rain walk in search of edible plants, Julie and Chantelle helped kids look for more items for our terrariums, and Allie worked with a large group of kids on the porch, sanding wood or painting with water colors. After we got back from our rain walk, Dylan took another group out to the site of our shelter this year to continue clearing the area. I stayed behind with a group of kids interested in further smoothing their pieces of wood, while everyone else went to the porch for games and tons of arts and crafts.
After lunch, some of the kids continued their work on the porch, but as per usual, most kids played Capture the Flag. We had a nice quiet time with sanding, reading and relaxing in the barn and on the porch, but only relatively quiet due to the scratching of sand paper on wood. During the two afternoon blocks we offered five activities. Allie and Julie took more kids on a rain hike around the Land Lab, Dylan taught several lessons on different types of knots, their purposes and how to tie them, Chantelle played nature bingo with kids on the porch, and I sanded more wood with many of the kids who continued to be drawn to the sanding enterprise.
I would like to remind all parents that their children probably went through their change of cloths on this wet day, so if necessary be sure to send a new set of clothes tomorrow morning. Socks are especially important. Also, tomorrow morning we will be having Judy come in as a guest to give the kids a lesson in the wood shop, so closed toed shoes are advisable.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Today was a beautiful day to set off on our Land Lab adventure! This morning, we all gathered in the barn before our morning activities to introduce the kids to the rules and guidelines on how to have a fun yet safe learning environment at the Land Lab. Then we chose to reintroduce one of our activities from last year that was a great success - the blindfold walk. This activity is tons of fun and great at building trust between the children as they lead each other through the woods. This activity is also really fun because it helps us realize that in wilderness, it is important to pay attention to all of our senses, because things like hearing and smell can tell us a lot about where we are. During the second half of the morning, Julie and Allie started working with some kids on the terrariums, Dylan and I went with another group to scout out a place for this year's shelter, while some of the veterans of the camp showed Chantelle around the Land Lab.
After lunch, we had the customary game of capture the flag, followed by quiet time. During quiet time everyone goes to the porch to read, draw, or just enjoy some quiet time outside. Our afternoon was split into two blocks: during each block the kids could choose any one of three activities being offered. There was an advanced blind fold challenge offered by Dylan and I, Allie took some kids to the pond to do sketching and watercolors, while Chantelle and Julie took kids out to find plants and animals to put in our terrarium. Around 2:30 or 2:45 everyone gathered back at the barn to clean up and gather for dismissal. If you ask me, today has been a great day to kick off the camp.
See you in the morning!
Alex
After lunch, we had the customary game of capture the flag, followed by quiet time. During quiet time everyone goes to the porch to read, draw, or just enjoy some quiet time outside. Our afternoon was split into two blocks: during each block the kids could choose any one of three activities being offered. There was an advanced blind fold challenge offered by Dylan and I, Allie took some kids to the pond to do sketching and watercolors, while Chantelle and Julie took kids out to find plants and animals to put in our terrarium. Around 2:30 or 2:45 everyone gathered back at the barn to clean up and gather for dismissal. If you ask me, today has been a great day to kick off the camp.
See you in the morning!
Alex
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