Today was the last day of the Fall/Winter quarter at Camp. The kids got to learn about salmon, estuaries, and marine invertebrates. My favorite subject! I know more than those young folk who run the classes. After all, I did get a Master's degree in this stuff. Well, almost. I corrected one "naturalist" when he said the steelhead is a land-locked salmon. Steelhead are actually sea-run trout; Kokanee are land-locked salmon. There are a lot of pictures, but the kids had so much fun. I will certainly keep signing my kids up for this program!
This picture shows the game the kids played that taught them the life cycle of a salmon. IJ is about to leap over the water fall (S already made it to the spawning ground) after going down a stream where a hungry bear waited, spending four years in the ocean without getting caught by the fisherman, and traveling up the fish ladder without getting caught in the turbines.
This picture shows S and a naturalist (aka camp counselor) playing the estuary game. In the estuary game, the leader shouts out the creature and everyone has to form groups with the correct number of players and make the right form. If you don't have the right number of people, you are out. Two players are a moon snail; the leader is the shell and S is the snail.
Three people form an anenome. The boy behind S is also in our Homeschool PE and swim lessons class. He is a sweet kid and talks to me when we are in the pool.
This picture shows a twelve year old girl (and her little sister) that we met here. She really likes F and E. They are moving next week, but plan on coming back for Homeschool day. She will carry F all day for me, which is a relief now that I'm getting bigger. I think they are an anemone, but they aren't counting F.
Four people form barnacles feeding. Which sounds (and looks) a lot like a funky yoga pose. They are supposed to put their heads on the ground and wave a leg in the air like a barnacle feeding.
Five people form the seastar. And when the shark attacks, everyone has to freeze or get eaten! And people who are out become sharks and try to make the frozen creatures laugh.
When the shark is gone, they become individual sea cucumbers and eviscerate. The boy next to IJ also likes Pokemon, so he and my two boys spend their lunch time talking about their cards. Another fun part of this group is the leaders and kids accept F as one of the students and let her participate when she wants to.
Here she is as an anemone with IJ and another homeschooler.
View of their cove on the way to the marine center. It was very cold today. We all wore hats and gloves and heavy jackets!
F's latest talent: the temper tantrum. She was tired. I don't even know what set her off. But she spent about 45 minutes throwing herself on the sidewalk and howling. I was entertained, as were the rest of the staff.
After the temper tantrum, her brother helped her hold a hermit crab at the touch tank.
And then we drove home, with F sound asleep.
This is our big city, for those who have never seen it. We boast a mini storage, a community center, and an unmanned fire station. There is also a small church and a cemetery. We live at least five minutes past the big city, after the dead end sign.
