WILD Winter Wonderland Discovery Camp

Well, this camp was definitely WILD, but more in the wild weather category than anything else! We started Tuesday with rain, which turned into snow and then bitter cold temps and wind, but we still managed to have a great 3 days (even having to be stuck inside all day on Wednesday). We focused a lot on adaptations and looking for clues in nature! We ended up learning a lot and making some great observations!

Here's a recap of our 3 days of winter nature fun!

Day 1

• Rain kept us inside for an hour so we read Rabbit's Winter Walk by Lorna Hussey to imagine we were outside.
• Rain stopped so out we went for a hike. Saw deer, cardinal, & investigated an uprooted tree and another tree that had a hollow area at its base that we thought made an excellent animal home
• Rain returned so we came back in and recorded observations in our journals
• Lack of real snow led us to investigate some 'indoor snow'- which is Insta-Snow powder (I told the kids I'd let them know where to get it so here is the link: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/instant-snow) We did a variety of experiments with varying water amounts, salt and even food coloring
• After learning about salt and cold, we tried an experiment using ice cubes, string and salt. Since it didn't work the first go around, we added another variable and made the ice cube trick work!
• Snack was a science experiment too---we made popcorn in a big popcorn machine!
• Ended our day with q-tip snow storm/men painting

Day 2
This was an all indoor day (minus about 10 minutes) because of the single digit windchills and high winds but it was fun anyway!

• discussion of adaptation and what main types animals use in the winter
• Riley shared some nature scene clues from his house, including a praying mantis egg case, a snake skin and some deer bones (he even let each camper take a bone home!). Looked at the deer bones under a microscope
• Experimented protecting an 'insect' for winter with an insulation activity. Insect was small container of water that each camper tried to keep warm by protecting it with one of the following materials: feathers, wool, cotton, shredded paper, rocks, sand, and foam peanuts. (Look for our results in the picture slideshow)
• Our outdoor venture was to look for a natural item to use to make an ice suncatcher. While looking, we discovered a deceased red-winged blackbird. We made some visual observations about it and the campers worked together to bury it under the snow.
• Put together our ice suncatchers
• Made igloos out of cornstarch building blocks
• Created snowflakes out of old puzzle pieces
• Ended the day with a winter scene investigation map activity

Day 3
Despite another chilly day, we bundled up and headed out on the trails and it was worth the wait!
Today was also Bird Day-Birthday! One of our campers had a birthday and we celebrated by learning all about Birds!

• Learned how to use binoculars and made drawings in our journals of some bird mounts
• Hike took us to marsh, where we spotted beaver lodge and some fox tracks in the snow along the edge of the marsh
• Learned up close a little more about the black-capped chickadee
• Ended up spotting a trail of small blood drops that we followed to figured out what might've happened but the case ended up unsolved
• Hung up our ice suncatchers
• A couple of campers strapped on some snowshoes in the bit of snow we had and everyone had some free time outside
• Took a short walk up the mounds and stalked a large group of deer
• Made a pecking woodpecker craft
• Ended up making cardinal/chickadee headband

Below is a slideshow with photos from our adventures! To see the captions, roll cursor over bottom frame and click on the white balloon.



The time sure flew by and it was great to see some returning campers and meet some new campers! Before you know it, it will be summer and I'm looking forward to more camp fun!

Thank you so much for your support of Tifft and have a Happy Spring!
Miss Caryn and Mr. Jay