'Tis the Season

Now that winter has arrived you might find you and your family spending more time inside playing the Wii or backing cookies. Scholastic has put together a fun and exciting list of winter activities that you and your children can do even when snowflakes are flying. Lets learn from and enjoy this wonderful season.

•Create a sundial. Find a long stick and set it in the snow. Try to tell the time throughout the day by where the stick's shadow is cast. (At high noon there will be no shadow.)

•Start a nature sketchbook. Buy an inexpensive artist's sketch pad or book and begin a winter nature diary. Each time you take a walk, observe something up close in nature. Draw the item, then write down descriptive details and date the entry. Continue you observations and entries throughout the year as seasons and locations change. This is especially fun if you visit the same area year after year — you can compare your observations over time.

•Identify trees during a walk in the winter woods. Observe the shape and bundling of evergreen needles and patterns on bark. Borrow a naturalist's guide from the library to help make your identifications.

•Go on a berry hunt. Pick berries with leaves attached and try to identify them (but don't eat them!). Use a naturalist's guide or check the Web before or after your search to find clues.

•Observe the night sky. Before your trip, research the constellations and planets that may be visible on a cold clear night at the latitude and longitude where you are staying. Practice picking them out in the heavens by first tracing the constellations on paper. Then, when you are away, it will be easier to find them. Your Sky is just one site where you can map your sky.

•Search for animal tracks. The best time is early morning when snow is pristine — you'll find the tracks of nocturnal animals. Draw and label what you see. Visit www.bear-tracker.com before you leave for your trip, and download pictures of tracks for black bear, porcupine, beaver, red fox, gray squirrel, moose, skunk, brush rabbit, deer mouse and black-tailed deer. You can also learn about their winter habitats at the site.

•Keep an eye open for skat, too. Droppings are another way to look for signs of animal life.

•Collect pine cones from different types of evergreens. Take them home as mementos of your trip.

•Take bird-watching breaks. Record your findings in your sketchbook. When you get home, do some research (using the Internet or an Audubon guide) to find out what types of food these birds forage for in winter.

•Listen and look for owls just before dark. In the daytime, keep your eyes open for "owl pellets" during your walks. Owls spit up these small, oval-shaped balls that may contain bits of undigested bone and fur.

•Hunt for icicles. See who can find the biggest.

•Explore lichen. To identify and learn more about various kinds, check out http://www.angelfire.com/ma/pondart/lichenpage4.html.

•Search for deer fields on foot, while showshoeing, or when you are in your car. Deers like to collect in meadows that are sheltered by trees.

•Blow bubbles outdoors in the cold. Do they freeze? Visit Bubblesphere for a host of information.

•Play snow "basket"-ball. Scoop out a large bowl-shaped area in the snow and make a ton of snowballs, then see who can land the most into the basket.

•Try snowball catch for variation.

• Team up for snow hockey or golf. Use a broom for hockey, or bring along a toy club for golf.

•Have fun with outdoor tic-tac-toe. Use a long stick to draw the grid and the Xs and Os. Or color snowballs (use a spray bottle filled with watered-down food coloring) and throw them into the grid to play - red against blue, for example, instead of X vs. O.

•Go snow bowling. Line up inverted pails of snow, then try to knock them down with snowballs.

•Build a snowman, of course. Use stones, branches and berries to decorate (and a carrot for his nose!).

Friday Morning at High Trails

Last night we saw some great skits! Each cabin performed for each other. The High Trails staff did a cowboy melodrama that received lots of laughs. The teachers told some good jokes and read cowboy poetry. It was lots of fun!

This morning the students finished packing and the High Trails staff helped clean the cabins. We had another delicious breakfast - hard boiled eggs, oatmeal, and fresh banana bread.

The students are all meeting at their stakes for the last time to head to Sunday Rocks. The High Trails staff read 15 - 20 of the quotes the students wrote during Setting the Mood on Tuesday. From the rocks, the students head on their last discovery group - Putting It All Together. They'll head back in for the Million Dollar Buffet before getting on the buses.

It was a great week up here at High Trails. The High Trails staff and teachers saw growth in their students. We expect they will have lots of new nature facts to bring home with them. We will miss all the students! And wish them luck for the rest of the school year.

Thursday Evening at High Trails

We finished another great night at High Trails! The snow has stopped and you can see the moon and stars. It is chilly outside, but everyone had fires in their cabins tonight and there was lots of marshmallow roasting!

Everyone had a good time on their discovery groups today. The cabins ate picnic lunches in their cabins with bagel sandwiches and more hot chocolate. We had lots of takers for sledding this afternoon! Marshmallow baseball was also a hit.

Everyone had their fill of ham, potatoes, peas, and fruit salad at dinner - with delicious cookies for dessert. The lodge was lively tonight with lots of conversation. It was fun to hear the highlights of everyone's day.

The skit night was very fun! Each cabin put together a skit, song, or dance - or all 3 - to share with the rest of the cabins. Each was different, and entertaining!

The weather looks better for tomorrow. While we have a short day, we have a few more activities planned for the morning before sending the students on their way.

Some Updated Links

I received an email from the ACA - American Camp Association - today about a new public service announcement they have put together called "Because of Camp..." The purpose of the two videos are to educate the general public about the benefits of camp. I followed the link and watched the short video. I then continued onto another link, connect with nature. This took me to a page with a number of tools about children and nature, how to connect children with nature, and other resources about going green. 

I just thought the ACA did a nice job of sharing resources and information about the benefits of nature and camp, and wanted to share them with you. 

Please share other information or resources you have with us!

“Free Play”: is this a new school activity?

On a Sunday evening this past summer I was hanging out with about ten 5^th grade boys at a campfire where we were grilling up some hotdogs. One of the boys went over to grab an armful of firewood. When he returned, he mentioned that he had an idea for a game we could play. He explained that we could slide the lid off the firewood box to create a gap at the top. We all needed to find three pinecones. We gathered our pinecones and got in line. We each had three throws to see who could get their pinecones through the gap in the box. We played one round when another boy spoke up and said that we needed a point system. Two other boys then suggested that if your cone goes in the gap of the box you get 3 points, if the cone lands and stays on the lid you get 2 points, and if the cone just hits the box you get 1 point. The game went on for an hour. We continued to play this game every Sunday during the summer and every time I line up to toss my pinecone, I am playing with a new set of rules. This is what I call “Free Play.”

“Free Play,” as scientists call it, is vital for children. Many children today do not have time to just play. Some are scheduled every minute of the day. According to a paper published in 2005 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, children’s free-play time dropped by 25% between 1981 and 1997. Some parents are concerned about getting their kids into the right colleges at age 5; they are sacrificing playtime for more structured school and sports activities. Pre-school children are being enrolled in after-school music and drama classes. This crazy busy schedule is reducing time for the type of imaginative and rambunctious interaction that fosters creativity and cooperation.

Let’s give our children time to play, create, and innovate. Let’s provide our children with a foundation which helps them grow into high functioning, healthy adults. Let’s take our children outside and hand them a stick, a ball, and a box and see what game they create. 

What is “Free Play” to you?