Dirt, Rocks, and Clay! June 16-19, 2014

We began the week by learning about each other, camp rules and a Rock Song about the three types of rocks: Sedimentary, Igneous and Metamorphic.  Our adventure took us to Deer Creek where we got to see some great examples of sedimentary rock and talk about how it formed.  We collected special rocks for painting the next day, and had fun hiking and getting wet in the pools (Eagles) at Deer Creek!

Ditto for the Owls, except they explored different pools and played games!

Tuesday: We began our day with a great game of Park Ranger and some Rock Painting!  We sang the rock song and did a Dirt True and False before heading up the mountain.  The Eagles did a HUGE hike up to Raven’s Ridge!  Nice work, Eagles!  It was chilly, so we had to stay moving to keep warm!

The Owls also hiked along the Winsor Trail to a beautiful meadow where they played rock games and explored.

Wednesday: Galisteo Basin Preserve.  Morning games and working with clay were followed by a quick stop in Galisteo where the mosquitoes were out and biting – one of the drawbacks of all the lovely June rain!  We quickly aborted this location and found some great dirt, rocks and clay to explore at the Galisteo Basin Preserve.

Thursday: Tsankawi.  Our final stop for Dirt, Rocks and Clay was the amazing ruins at Tsankawi.  We talked about volcanoes and made a human volcano at Fort Marcy before we headed out.  it is always impressive to see the remains of the supervolcano that erupted and is now the Valles Caldera.  We found pottery shards and obsidian and arrow heads on our hike to the caveates.

 

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The Secret Language of Birds! June 9-12, 2014.

The Secret Language of Birds is a new theme this year, and one which we LOVED!  We talked about “what makes a bird and bird” by playing a True and False game with our bodies.  Once we arrived at the Beaver ponds, everyone received their own bird behavior checklist and we talked about why birds perform each of the behaviors.  We acted out the behaviors and had the campers guess which one we were doing. Before setting off, each buddy pair received a pair of  binoculars to use during our hike.  It was awesome to witness the kids focus and interest in finding birds and deciding which behavior they were engaged in.  We saw lots of birds, some animal tracks, and found fossils as we hiked around the entire pond.

On Tuesday we ventured to Deer Creek after a story about birds and games at Fort Marcy.

The Owls (5-7 year olds), hiked, played, did sit spots and worked in their nature journals.

The Eagles did a big hike all the way to the pools where they had a chance to cool off in the icy cold water!

On Wednesday we talked about the five different voices of birds and the kids had a chance to act out the voices and talk about why birds will use each voice.  We compared some of these to human behavior (i.e. juvenile begging!).  On the Winsor Trail we had the opportunity to hear the bird language in real life and made educated guesses at what we thought the birds were saying to each other, or to other animals in the forest.

On Thursday we talked about some common birds and played games to learn what they are. Our adventure was to the Wildlife Center where we got to get up close to owls, hawks, eagles and some small mammals including fox and bobcat.  It was fascinating to hear the stories about how the animals got there and how we can help keep them in the wild.

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Owls Explore Amazing Animals (and more!:) June 2-5, 2014 (5-7 year olds)

Hello Owl Families!  If you read and enjoy the BLOG, please let me know…. write a comment, or send me a quick note.  Constructive feedback is also appreciated!  BTW, any of the images below can be enlarged and viewed as a slideshow by clicking on them.  Enjoy! :~) Katie

Monday: Before we took off for the mountains, we played games, we learned names, and made a group contract (rules about how to have fun)!  We snacked and buddied, and then loaded up for our adventure at the Big T!

The Owls hiked and paused for lunch and play.  We talked about animals of New Mexico and played animal charades  and frog detective.  We got animal names and got into our roles as we listened to the forest and tried to think like our animal.  We had story time and snack time before heading back to the Adventure van and Fort Marcy!

On Tuesday we hiked along the Rio en Medio.  Before we set out, we played a game where we learned and practiced various animal gaits.  At circle we got to examine the skulls of various forest animals of New Mexico and thought about how certain traits aid their survival. Some kids drew animals using the Ed Emberly books.

On the trail we played “Stalk”, drew in our nature journals, played in the river, explored the forest, had fun, got wet, and found wondrous things!

We learned a song called Bats Eat Bugs on Wednesday.  It’s a great reminder that “nothing out there wants to eat you, nothing out there wants to make you it’s meal!”  We looked at Animal pelts and paws today and talked about each local animal and some if it’s characteristics.

Our adventure took us to the Ski Basin where we found out how cold that water really was by dunking our heads!  It was silly and felt great on this hot summer day!  We played the Habitat Web game and learned how everything in the forest is connected and depends on one another for survival.  We pressed flowers, found insects, sang songs, and got dirty.  A super day!

Thursday: We were busy as little beavers today!  We learned about Beaver adaptations and dressed up some unsuspecting children to illustrate them.  We hiked along the Little T(esuque Creek) and tried our hand at beavering, a.k.a. dam making.  It was hard to make the water stop completely, but we sure slowed it down, and had fun working together in the process. I wonder how beavers need to work together to build their den?  We played some (other) team building games and made scrolling animal stories.  The End ~ of a(nother) and (FUN!) week.

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Eagles are Animals! June 2-5, 2014 (7-11 year olds)

Hi Eagle Families!  If you read (or just view) and ENJOY the BLOG, please let me know. Write a comment below, or send me a quick note.  Feedback of any kind (constructive, of course!:) is also appreciated. Also, any of the images below can be enlarged and viewed as a slideshow by clicking on them.  Enjoy! :~) Katie

Monday: We really took off this week!  Before we flew to the mountains, we played games, we learned names, and made a group contract (rules about how to have fun)!  We snacked and buddied, and then loaded up for our adventure at the Big T!

At first building forts, then playing games to build awareness of our presence in the forest.  How to be quiet and sneaky like an animal (Fox Walk) while playing games like Capture the Flag and Camouflage. Then getting quiet to create sound maps to focus on all the natural sounds of the forest.  Did anyone hear a stick crack?  What could that be?

Tuesday the Rio en Medio waterfall was our goal.  Before we set out we played a game where we learned and practiced various animal gaits.  At circle we got to examine pelts and paws of various forest animals of New Mexico and ponder how certain traits helped them. Some kids drew animals using the Ed Emberly books.

The hike to the waterfall was challenging, but the reward is always great. It was hot, and the refreshing mountain waterfall makes you forget that in a hurry!

We learned a song called Bats Eat Bugs on Wednesday.  It’s a great reminder that “Nothing out there wants to eat you, nothing out there wants to make you it’s meal!”  We looked at Animal Skulls today and noticed how different features help animals survive.

We hiked up to Carls’ Meadow from Aspen Vista – a great place for lunch, a good game of Capture the Flag, and a Habitat Web Game. 🙂

Thursday: We were busy as little beavers today!  We learned about Beaver adaptations and dressed up some unsuspecting children to illustrate them.  We hiked along the Little T(esuque Creek) and tried our hand at beavering, a.k.a. dam making.  It was hard to make the water stop completely, but we sure slowed it down, had fun, got dirty, and learned to work as a team in the process. I wonder how beavers need to work together to build their den?  We played some (other) team building games and made scrolling animal stories.  The End ~ of a(nother) (FUN!) week. 🙂

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May 27th-30th: The Eagles Have Landed!

Tremendous trees and wonderful wildflowers were greeted by exceptional Eagles last week in the mountains.  We “met” and identified evergreens and aspens, built shelters, found raccoon tracks at the beaver ponds, did some bouldering, bird watching and listening, discovered insects, made natural string, and played many games including a whole lot of Capture the Flag. From shelter building and learning about biomimicry, to flower pressing and hiking to the pools at Deer Creek, the Eagles had a tremendous time!

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Thursday, August 8th: Hyde State Park!

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Today was the last day of Mountain Kids for this summer. Before heading out, the kids began with some playing tag while others created tree art.  We all learned about the different components of a tree by creating a giant, living tree out of all of us!!

After a snack, we drove up to Norski Trail for hiking and shelter building, but found that when we arrived it was simply too cold!  We headed back down the mountain to Hyde State Park, where we quickly warmed back up while eating our lunches in the campground at Group Shelter #2.

The Bobcats went with Jeremy and Ashley on short hike to a waterfall. They learned to identify spruce, fir, and ponderosa pine trees. Along the way, they saw a black widow spider eating a moth. Everyone learned some Spanish from Carmela and Nico today.  Thanks to the Venezuelans and their cousins for teaching us, and making us realize the importance of learning a second language!

The Otters played Frog Detective, Freeze Tag and Meet a Tree (They go out in pairs. One is blindfold and the other guides them to a tree. The blindfolded one must get to know the tree – by touch and smell. Then the pair walks to where they started, the blindfold is taken off and the child must go find the tree they had just met without seeing). Wrapping up the time in the woods, the kids all had the chance to paint or draw a leaf they had gathered or what they had seen during the day.

Thursday was the last day of Mountain Kids for the summer. We are sorry to see it end, yet delighted that another year of Mountain Kids camp has taken place with much magic, play, learning and sharing.

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Wednesday, August 7th: The Wildlife Center

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Mountain Kids went to the Española Wildlife Center today, but first we worked with clay, glass marbles, pebbles, stones, wildflowers and twigs to create fairy houses, or crazy houses!  The kids loved playing with the clay and making their own creations.

The Wildlife Center focused the kids’ attention on birds – particularly raptors. The three main characteristics of raptors are that they have powerful hooked beaks, strong talons/feet, and amazing eyesight – all which serve them to capture prey. The kids held their breath as  – one by one – the Center guides introduced them to different birds, starting with a red-tailed hawk, followed by a peregrine falcon, the fastest animal on earth (yes, it is faster than a cheetah!). They also met two owls and a turkey vulture.

After learning some basic facts about these birds and getting a good close up look at them, the kids toured the cages of various owls and hawks. They saw a beautiful American Bald Eagle, an Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Goshawk, Red-tailed Hawk (to name just a few!) and two bobcats.

The animals at the center are there because they have been wounded, often by cars, and can no longer live in the wild. A strong message came out of the visit that we all need to be more aware of the impact we humans have on the animals with which we share our land and skies. The kids asked a lot of questions and often knew the answers the questions the guides asked. It was a magical day!

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Tuesday, Aug 6th: Tsankawi

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Mountain Kids went to Tsankawi for the day. The Bobcats went on a hike to caves and petrogylphs. We learned about the history of Tsankawi and the indigenous peoples who once inhabited it. We found tons of pottery that the rain washed down, and were able to see petroglyphs very clearly because of the wet stone. We even saw a kokopelli and a hunting scene in the rock which would have been hard except for the dampness. We  played in a lot of the small caves.

The Otters did a short walk to the top of a mesa, bravely climbing a ladder en route. The Otters drew what they saw and enjoyed the sunshine while playing games.

All of us experienced stunning views, took the time to observe the rocks and the plants. As per usual, we ended the day back at the Children’s museum sharing stories of what we saw and experienced.

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