How the Animals Survive

On our hike out to "Camelot", we explored lots of the "Outback" of Nature's Classroom's 365 acres.  We woke 4 female deer who normally don't see students that far out in the woods.  My campers were thrilled to see Whitetailed Deer in the wild.  When I explained that the deer were nocturnal and had been sleeping in heir "day beds", one student exclaimed; "How can they sleep in all this light!"  At his young age, he has yet to pull an "all-nighter" cramming for an exam!  That's a good thing.  

We also played their favorite game, "Predator - Prey" which is basically a hide and seek game, similar to one I used to play all summer until it got too dark to see, called " Kick the Can".  One student is the predator but has to remain touching a central spot (like a post) while all others go hide and try not to get caught by being seen. They get instruction to move forward, make animal noises, and try to make it back to the benches of the classroom. 

The kids agreed that the three acceptable animal noises were those of a cow, a duck, or a dog. One young lady was extremely good at hiding and despite numerous calls for "animal noises", remained unseen.  She finally became the "sarcastic cow" with her style of "moo".  The kids all laughed at this. They said the predator made an enemy of the cow.  Another said he had already done that because he liked burgers. So one the next round, instead of "moo", we heard "I like cheeseburgers"!  Too funny.  

We also rubbed dog fennel on our arms as mosquito repellant today!  One camper stared out into the woods after this and said mockingly "What's up, Mosquitos?!?"

My daughter Kelly is helping with the camp, while juggling High School Cross Country practice at the same time.  She taught fire building today and did an excellent job.  When the kids practiced with the flint and steel, she finally told them to strike it like you're angry!"  That got them using their muscles!

We are also making a list of the 100+ uses of a bandana as a survival tool, and one young lady brought a typed list of all the things she could think of.  It was amazing!

We have been singing camp songs, shooting on the archery course, and holding animals in our collection at Nature's Classroom.  Making memories!  That's just what we do here at Nature's Classroom!  Here is me on a swing the kids built in their shelter. I love this job!