I HAVE RETURNED FROM MY SCIENCE CAMP EXPERIENCE!

I returned Friday afternoon from 4 days of Science Camp with our 6th grade students .  I went along with 2 of our Special Education kids so they could go!  I was with them from 8:00 A.M until around 9:00 P.M. every day.   They had high school students in the cabins with the kids!  (I was glad for that, that's for sure)  I returned very tired, but had a great time.  For the most part the kids were great.  One of the boys I was with had a slight melt down but the camp staff handled it very well.  It was a great learning experience for us all!  Did you know that the big clover on the ground around Red Wood Trees can be eaten?  It tastes like Green Apples (or that's what I was told) I didn't try any, although it was offered!  Now come enjoy Camp Campbell with me!  Panasonic FZ7 Digital Camera

We were welcomed to camp!

When we first got to camp, the staff and cabin counselors met us in the Redwood Chapel.  They went over camp rules, introduced themselves and taught the students one of the camp songs.

John Deer, one of the camp teachers taught the kids about Continental Drift and how the mountains between California and Nevada were formed in the outdoor classroom.

Here is a shot I took of the Redwood Canopy looking straight up! Isn't it beautiful?!

A little Squirrel, come to visit!  Isn't he cute!?  One of my boys was amazed when he saw a Squirrel that was fairly close.  He had never seen one that close before.  (It was about 10 feet away from him.)  

This is the teacher's Cabin.  It sleeps 6 on each side.  We had 8 teachers from 3 schools there.

There are many different kinds of birds and animals.  This is a Steller Jay, his colors are beautiful!  They are noisey though. 

Lovely Flowers to be seen every where!  These are Forget Me Nots.

Here's an interesting critter....  He's a Banana Slug.  This little guy was almost 3 inches long and about an inch wide!  I think he's cute, don't you?  If you don't mind a little slime, that is.  I've heard that if you lick him your tongue goes numb!  Anyone want to try???? NOT!

In The nature Lab they have all kinds of creepy, crawley things.  Here's a colorful little snake for you to hold.... Who's next?

Then there's the food.... Very yummy indeed!  Here the kids are lined up waiting to eat!

Here are some "gentlemen" of the Redwoods!  I was laughing so hard at these girls I could hardly take the photo!  Gotta love the Unibrow...  :-)

Periwinkle is an invasive plant to the redwood forests.  It's so beautiful I don't know how they could mind it!  It is taking over and that's not good I guess.

Here the kids are on a field study of the river area. 

Oh what a cute little California Newt!  He's just a baby.

Nature hikes were done every day.  We hiked up and down many hills, in this gorgeous forest.

Time for a rest and drink of water!  This is one of my students, he had pretty much given up at this point, but with some encouragement he decided he could go on and catch up with the others who had gotten ahead of us quite a ways.  Luckily I had a 2 way radio and could call and tell the group leader stop because we had fallen behind.  

How many students does it take to form a ring around the Redwood tree?  (11)

We took a Night hike on Wednesday night and I couldn't resist taking a photo of the moon framed by the tree branches!

There were games to be played! Some of the boys playing Basketball.

The Redwood Forest, Camp Campbell in the Santa Cruz Mountains!  God's beautiful place!