Tuesday - Bug Day

The theme for day two was insects and spiders. After harvesting okra and dill for our farm chores, we learned all about the importance of beneficial insects on our farm (including pollination and predation of harmful bugs that eat our plants.)  We then hunted for bugs using magnifying boxes and identified them with our Good Bug / Bad Bug charts. After that, our captured bugs faced intense competition in several bug races. (All contestants were set free.) The Oaks group then made okra pickles and the Willows made a lovely herbal sun tea. We finished at the day with a visit to the cows and plenty of awesome water play.

 Wednesday - Tomato Day

Wednesday was tomato day at farm camp. For farm chores, we took care of the chickens, harvested heirloom tomatoes and herbs, and helped mulch the herb beds. The Willows helped Ms. Tammy make herb bundles for our CSA boxes, then enjoyed a scavenger hunt. The Oaks taste tested the tomatoes they harvested, then took a hike in the hills behind our farm and enjoyed a picnic lunch with a beautiful view. After lunch, we enjoyed making pico de gallo and handmade tortillas.

 Thursday - Color Day

Thursday was a celebration of plant colors. After our farm chores and group games, the Oaks class harvested flowers from the farm. The campers learned all about the colors we get from plants and explored different ways to capture them in art such as pounding them onto fabric and paper for bookmarks, and making lovely flower jewelry. The Oaks group also started a dye pot with orange and purple cosmos. The Willows made delicious flower confetti canapés from edible flowers! More games and water fun at the end of the day.

Friday - Plant Medicine Day

On our final day, we focused on beekeeping and plant medicine. After farm chores (where the chickens got their first taste of a tomato hornworm), the Willows harvested herbs from the medicinal herb garden to make homemade tea bags. The Oaks saw a presentation on honeybees and beekeeping, visited our apiary, tasted honey from our bees, then made healing salves from beeswax and calendula / lavender oils. We decided that next time, we’ll make salves the FIRST day of camp to use for the bug bites we get the rest of the week! Finally, our plant dye project from Thursday was a success, as you can see!

Thank you to our amazing teachers and assistants for making this week such a success. And thank YOU, dear parents, for making the drive to the farm each day and sharing your awesome kids with us. We all had a blast!