We had a great time over the Thanksgiving Camps! The campers were excited to get outdoors and play with each other and so were we!
Monday:
On Monday the energy was way too much for our home base so we sang morning songs and did a few games quickly before heading to Chautauqua’s Enchanted Mesa/McClintock Loop for some outdoor exploring.
We decided to take explore the part of the trail that is under trees and found that it was covered mostly in ice. It was a huge adventure navigating the path (sometimes on our bottoms!) and getting to the top of it without falling. Some of the campers reported that this was the best and most exciting hike of the Thanksgiving Break. Others thought it was pushing their personal limits a bit. Everyone was brave and we celebrated with a great photo once we got to the top.
It was a chilly day so we ate our lunches quickly and then explored the other side of the park a bit more before heading back to our home base for play and crafts.
During Play, we made the “Bear Cave,” a giant fort made of Toobeez, tarps, paper and parachutes. It took the whole group to make and everyone had a job.
For our craft, we made cute “Dinner Wear” hats that had turkey legs on the sides of them.
Tuesday:
Tuesday brought us amazing weather, so good that we were able to be outside and exploring for over 4 hours!
We began with our usual songs and games, and then got ready to get outside as quickly as possible. We headed to Walden Ponds to explore some of our favorite summer places, they were sure different in the winter!
After hiking for a bit, we came across a pond that was completely frozen. It was a great invitation for rock throwing/skipping on the ice. We could have spent many more hours there, but our stomachs were growling and we went back to eat lunch.
After lunch we hiked out in a different direction. We found a huge area where we could play the Camouflage and loved it! The sun was warming us, our jackets were in a pile and we all tried to hide and camouflage ourselves the way real animals would so we wouldn’t be found.
By the time we finished and got back to the van we could tell everyone was a little tired because they were so quiet. We had some nice play time back when we returned and then made Fall Napkin Rings and played a bit more before our end of day songs.
We can’t wait until the next camp days on January 4 & 5!
