June 12th, 2018
The first scheduled activity of the afternoon was kayaking. The
kids had beautiful weather for kayaking this afternoon - it wasn't
too hot, and the lake was nice and smooth. The kids were pretty much
free to paddle around wherever they wanted (within a certain section
of the lake). All of the kayakers grouped together a couple of times
to talk and they played a game or two, but it was difficult to make
out what they were doing from the shore. All of the kids seemed to
have a great time, and Marissa and Jayden ranked this activity as
one of their favorites. |
Kayaking
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Jayden's classmates listening to directions from the kayaking
counselors.
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Patterson's 2018 motto: "Great things never came from comfort
zones."
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Jay showing off her Strawberry Shortcake-like life preserver.
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Jay and Marissa posing for a picture.
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Jay posing for a picture with her paddle as her friend Allison
looks on.
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Jay posing for a picture with her paddle.
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The kids getting ready to climb in their kayaks.
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Jay cruising out onto the lake...
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...and working on her paddling.
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Jay looking back to land to smile for a picture.
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Jay and a couple of her classmates trying to avoid a collision.
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Jay's class coming together on the water...
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...and trying to stay together.
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Jay paddling across the water once again.
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The second afternoon activity after kayaking was Living Science
at the Teva Nature Center (the building that Tyler and Samantha's
class was in, the Environmental Education Building, apparently
burned since I was last here). This building was located just a
short distance from the kayaking beach and the dining hall. While we
were in the Living Science classroom, the kids were able to pet or
hold a tiger salamander, a painted turtle, a corn snake, and a
skunk. Jayden thought the snake felt really weird, and she loved the
skunk! |
Living Science
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Jayden and her classmates listening to the instructor.
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A look at Jay's class in the Teva Nature Center.
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Jay was getting bored with the speeches...
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...but was excited when the animals, like this tiger salamander,
came out.
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Jay touching the painted turtle, which was a little bit bigger
than our former pet Mia.
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Jay braved petting the corn snake...
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...and she thought that it felt pretty weird...
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...but I was proud of her for touching it!
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Lord knows I wouldn't!
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The counselor bringing out the skunk.
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Jay petting the skunk.
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Jay was pretty excited by this one...
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...as she thought it was really cute!
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This poor skunk was kept as a pet in someone's basement, and fed
poorly. It fell into poor health and lost it's sight as a result.
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The entire class (parents and teachers too) was enthralled with
the skunk.
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A list of the animals that the kids could see today.
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The red tailed hawk wasn't brought out as we ran out of class
time, but we were able to see it in it's cage.
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Our last dinner at camp... Tonight we were served spaghetti and
meatballs, along with a vegetable medley thing, which neither Jayden
or I touched. The noodles were fine, though they were definitely on
the cold side. I didn't brave the meatballs, though I heard they
were undercooked. |
Dinner at the Dining Hall
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Spaghetti and meatballs, along with a vegetable side dish was
our meal for tonight.
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Today's final activity was the "Minute To Win It" games. This is
the lone event that parents are welcome to come to camp and see
their child participate in the activities of the evening. With Tara
out of town, Grandpa Gary, Grandma Terry, Samantha, and Uncle Steve
came to see Jayden. Although this is different than the Mock
Olympics that Tyler and Sam participated in, it was still held in
the gym, and like last time, the floor was dusty and covered in bird
crap. I was disappointed in the switch from the Mock Olympics to the
Minute To Win, as it didn't give as many kids the chance to
participate. Jay, for example, didn't get to compete in any of the
games until the final one, which everyone participated in. Though
the kids had a great time, it was more the chance to interact with
their parents that they were thankful for! |
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