Wrapped up Camp, School Year Here We Come!!!

Five weeks of camp has come and gone, and I'm looking toward the school year! I can't wait to get to know the new group of kids!

Upcoming School Year

For those who may be interested or able to offer referrals, I do have a few spots available for the school year. K - 12, Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 - 3:00, $800/month, eight children maximum! It starts the day after Labor Day, mostly follows the Berkeley Unified School District calendar, and ends the second weekend in June. All the information and the application is up on my website:

https://www.teachoutside.org/outside-school

Camp Wrap-Up

Camp was a ton of fun and we got lots of exercise! I was happily surprised that all-day mask wearing was not a hindrance to anything. Everybody got out of their comfort zones, got dirty and wet, and climbed, hiked, and played with sticks. The kids often had me tell them true animal stories during our snack, lunch, and break times. Here are some stories from the summer at Alvarado Park:

We attempted some invasive species removal, as the children sat still on a boulder and noticed goldfish in one of the small pools inhabited by native fish. The kids brought nets and containers, and some even had permission to bring the goldfish home as pets. They were elusive! Despite their best efforts, they were only able to catch the native fish, but it was pretty cool to get to see them up close for a while before we returned them!

In the mornings we'd vote on where to go, and a lot of the kids really loved the redwood forest. There are tons of sticks on the ground and the two favorite activities were stick battling and building. Some days there would be just piles and piles of sticks, and the kids would build forts and houses. Other days, forts would already be constructed by unknown others, and the kids would take them apart or improve them. My favorite part was the rooms they'd create... Bedrooms with beds and pillows made from sticks, dining rooms, and offices complete with computers made of bark to work on!

One week, the group decided to go on a hike to find cows and coyotes. While we never saw coyotes, we did see wildlife trails criss-crossing the hillsides. As we crested one hill we saw the cows in the distance, and some of the children were dismayed at how far away they seemed. We took food and water breaks on our way, and climbed hills steep enough that crawling was easier in some cases! The prospect of being able to eat lunch with the cows drove the group ahead and we made it!!! I think all-in-all we walked at least four miles without complaint. Getting to watch suckling calves, mama cows resting and rising, and raptors soaring at heights well below our own was an amazing experience. Fog-enshrouded San Francisco lay across the way and everyone appreciated the view of the bay was spread before us. We sat up there for nearly a couple hours, tranquilly enjoying the unique experience.