2022 Farm Camp Recap - Week 3 (June 20-24)
Monday - Welcome & Orientation
Willows (Mr. Austen)
What an exciting and fun-filled week at Farm Camp! We began our first day by discussing our “Classroom Agreements.” Rather than ‘rules’ set by an outside authority figure, these agreements allow the campers to take accountability for their actions, and set the tone for an enjoyable camp experience. Our agreements are (ask your kiddo if they can remember or provide examples of one or more of them):
1) I will listen to my guide at all times
2) I will be kind to others with my words and my actions
3) I will respect all life on the farm
Once we decided on our agreements, we played a quick warm up game of “Blind Samurai” then set out for a farm tour. The campers learned about compost (ask them if they can remember how compost is made), visited our laying hens and the weather station, toured the hoop house and investigated our irrigation system. After snack and story time, we began our scavenger hunt. The campers explored the farm, making many exciting discoveries along the way. We then headed to the tasting room where we enjoyed lunch and made some “stained glass pots,”in which the students planted marigold and tulsi seeds. To conclude the day we engaged in some water play with super soakers and many trips down the slip and slide.
Oaks (Ms. Tammy)
Our first day of farm camp together was a blast! We started off with a fun name game that included tossing a bandana ball around, learning each other’s names, then mixing it up by throwing backwards and adding another ball. There were a ton of giggles and we all learned each other’s name right away. Then we hydrated with water (which we do every hour or so in this heat), then as a group came up with agreements about how to be safe and respectful during our week on the farm. Next was the farm tour, where we learned about our well, aquifers, chickens, the hoop house, compost, plants and medicinal herbs we grow and our regenerative, biodynamic, beyond organic farming practices. Once the tour was complete, they played a fun scavenger hunt game where they had to find various items around the farm. Our main farm activity was to harvest some herbs (lavender, lemon balm and mint), then we made sun tea. We discussed how to make tea with either boiling water or using the sun’s energy to warm our glass jar and allowing it to sit for several hours. They learned that the heat is necessary to break down the cell walls of the plant in order to extract its flavor and Medicinal properties. As noon time came, we headed up to the Vineyard to enjoy lunch inside the tasting room. After lunch we made “stained glass” art on our terracotta pots. As the pots dried in the sun we all got to play on the slip-n-slide and with water squirters.
Tuesday - Honeybee Day
Willows (Mr. Austen)
Our second day began much like our first, with a review of our agreements and an “ice breaker,” where the campers were encouraged to share their name and their favorite animal. These ice breakers serve the purpose of increasing confidence in public speaking and helps the students find their voice. It’s also fun when we learn that our favorite animal (fruit, vegetable, insect etc) is the same as one of our fellow classmates. We played a game of “Big Wind Blows” and then began our lesson for the day. Tuesday was all about bees. We discussed the life cycle of a bee (ask your student if they can name the stages - egg, larva, pupa, adult) and read “The Bee Man.” We learned about the different types of bees that live in the hive and then Ms. Tammy and Mr. Neal brought the observation hive over so we could check out the inner workings of the colony. The campers learned that bees are a “super organism,” a collection of organisms that work together to achieve a collective goal, and we shared ways that we as humans can collectively engage to benefit ourselves and the world around us. We then created a “bee waterer” using glass beads as landing pads for the bees, and traveled over to our hives to place the waterer close to them so they could have a drink. We finished the day with lunch and water play (as we did each day).
Oaks (Ms. Nora)
We started our day with a game of Big Wind Blows by the sign in table to get to know one another a bit better by sharing something about ourselves. After that, we checked on the laying hens for our farm chore and talked about why hens sit on their eggs, what it means to brood, and the function of the bloom on the egg when it is laid. We headed back to our classroom to read the Flight of the Honey Bee and have snack time. Shortly after the story was finished, Ms. Tammy and Mr. Neal came by with the observation hive where we got to watch bees in the process of making honey, discussing their various roles and functions in the hive! When they left, we played The Story of The Bees, where we were all assigned different roles in the superorganism of the swarm, working together and having fun learning about what it's like to be a bee. As the heat set in, we hiked up to the tasting room for lunch and infused honey with lemon balm we harvested earlier in the day for a medicinal infusion. Ending the day cooling off with the slip n slide.
Wednesday - Harvest Day
Willows (Mr. Austen)
After our ice breaker and warm up game, “What Time Is It Mr. Fox?” our Wednesday began by taking to the field to harvest some okra, squash and pumpkin. The campers were a bit reticent at first, but were soon eagerly picking ripe veggies with glee. During snack time, we read, “A Seed Is Sleepy” and discussed the life cycle of a seed as well as what a seed needs to thrive (ask your child if they remember - the answer is soil, sunlight and water!) We then took a hike to the creek where we explored this unique micro-ecosystem and its inhabitants. It was an exciting adventure that got our bodies and minds moving. After lunch, we made pickles using cucumbers from the farm. Hopefully you and your camper were able to taste these already and have the recipe in case you’d like to make some at home!
Oaks (Ms. Nora)
The Oaks came with a lot of energy Wednesday! We began with a lively game of Seagulls and French Fries, lots of running and excited screaming with this one. Working up quite the appetite, we took a break for snack after this and talked about our theme for the day, remembering the old ways. We discussed food preservation to lead us into our afternoon activity-pickling! We took a hike back to the herb labyrinth where we discussed a number of wild edible and medicinal plants and how to prepare and process them including the honey mesquite, greenbriar, juniper, nettles, horehound, yucca, persimmon, and yarrow. Everyone got a chance to nibble on the sweet mesquite pods that had fallen! After that, we took a peek at the pioneer houses on the property and talked about some of the building techniques including tongue-in-groove. We headed over to the adjacent forested area for a quick sit spot where we observed in silence, and listened to the sound of the calming singing bowls Ms. Nora brought to share! Before lunch, we learned how to make cordage from yucca leaves and sung the grandmother song. After lunch, we played in the water and had a 'seama' party-a game they invented.
Thursday - Flower Day
Willows (Mr. Austen)
On Thursday we learned about flowers and chickens. The kiddos harvested zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers and California poppies to use in our flower pounding activity (ask your kiddo to show you their creation if they have not already done so). We discussed the anatomy of a flower and what types of flowers attract different types of pollinators. We visited our young hens (called pullets), learned some basic chicken anatomy (see if your student can remember what their combs and waddles are for) and invented a fun rhyme to remember what a group of chicken is called (ask them to recite it for you!). The campers helped feed and water our pullets before hiking to the tasting room to make some fresh fruit popsicles to enjoy as a celebratory snack on our final day.
Oaks (Ms. Nora)
With such an active day Wednesday, our energy was low in the morning on Thursday, so we started with a game of poison dart frog. Hilarious and engaging without too much physical activity. It was a hit. After our game, we harvested some flowers in the fields for our afternoon activity, talking about ethical harvesting and asking for permission from the plants, as well as giving thanks and gratitude for their beauty afterwards. When we made it back to our classroom we took a break for snack and Ms. Nora told the story of the Woman and the black dog, and the golden apple tree which really got us thinking. We moved into our activity which was making flower presses, cutting pieces of recycled cardboard and fastening rubber bands around them to squeeze the flowers flat. We sang the grandmother song on our way up to lunch per the classes request, and after eating we spent some time making fruit popsicles, pureeing strawberries and peaches and pouring it off into molds. We ended the day cooling off in the water and playing in the sand.
Friday - Butterfly Day
Willows (Mr. Austen)
Our last day of camp focused on another important pollinator, the butterfly. We read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” as well as “Thanks from The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and discovered that the life cycle of the butterfly is very similar to that of another pollinator, the bee. We made our very own watercolor butterflies and caught a few black swallowtails in our butterfly nets for closer observation. We then embarked upon our final trek to the tasting room for lunch, water play and popsicles! It was such a fulfilling week getting to know your children. They are all so creative, curious, kind, intelligent and *hopefully* more excited to continue expanding their knowledge and experience of the natural world and their place within it. It is a blessing to serve you and your kids, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to do so.
Oaks (Ms. Nora)
For our final day of camp, we kicked off with a game of Flock of Birds, an imitation exercise where we split into groups of 4 and each person got a chance to lead the group in a movement activity. Still hungry for more play, after a round of this we moved into Fire in the Forest before taking a break to have snack. During snack time, we shared our rose/bud/thorn of the week, reflecting on all that we learned and sharing our triumphs and challenges of farm camp. After that, we moved to butterfly bingo, learning about a variety of butterflies and observing their beautiful shapes and colors on our bingo boards. The prize for getting 'blackout' was picking a flower from the garden! Little did I know, they would all get blackout at the same time, so we all went to harvest flowers and enjoy their bright colors and fragrant smells. After our activity, we played a few quick rounds of poison dart frog before moving to our most ambitious and challenging project yet, nature weaving. We collected sticks and made looms with yarn before weaving wildflowers, sticks and straws into them. We hiked up to lunch and learned a new song on the way called Wild One. After lunch, we got to eat the fruit popsicles we made the day before and sample the lemon balm honey! A yummy, sweet and healthy treat! We ended the day with water play as always and said our bittersweet goodbyes, what an end to a wonderful week!
Hope to see y’all back for more- we still have some openings in July!
