Last week, I went to a sleep away camp with all of the fifth grade
classes. The camp was called Outdoor Ed, and we learned about many different plants and animals. During the five day
trip, we saw many animals such as mule deer, red tailed hawks, and many ground squirrels. We were divided into
different trail groups, and we had a naturalist named Catherine that
explained to us about the plants and animals that we spotted. We also
had a counselor who was a senior in high school. She took care of us when Catherine wasn't with us, such as at night, and during our meals. On the
first day, I dressed in a skirt and a t-shirt with no
sweater. I almost froze that day because as soon as the wind picked
up, the temperature dropped. I learned my lesson to always dress in
layers!
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| In front of the dorms |
One of my favorite day during camp was when we did the all day, 7
hour hike. We were the only group that saw a family of mule-deer. We
also saw a dead bobcat along the way, which really grossed us out, but
we didn't let that ruin our day.
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| A family of Mule-Deer |
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| Dead bobcat |
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| View from the 7-hr hike |
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| Chumash lesson |
On a different day, we had a lesson on the Chumash Indian tribe. During the lesson, we learned how to make necklaces out of abalone
shells, tried to make fire without matches, saw different animal furs, and built a shelter from sticks. I was very surprised at how hard it is to start a fire
by spinning a stick. We all tried and tried as a group, but we only
got a little bit of smoke. We also saw animal furs from a coyote, skunk,
rabbit and dear. The coyote skull
was really cool, as it was large, and fierce-looking. I thought the best part of the whole Chumash
lesson was building the shelters. We had to learn
to build a small shelter with materials that we could gather in nature. I was in
charge of gathering the sticks, and everyone else was in charge of building the shelter. When we finished, we made a big tent, that all 4 of us could go into!I had an amazing time at Ourdoor Ed, and I will always remember my experience.
Have you ever been to a sleep away camp?
Did you enjoy it?
@ Sarah,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic week of learning in the outdoors! How exciting! When I was in school, there was no such thing as outdoor education.
I am curious about the dead bobcat. What did your naturalist say about how it might have died. I know that bobcats are top predators, so I wonder what happened.
I'm also interested in that photo of the frog. Did you take that? (If so, I'd love to use it as a photo-of-the-day!
Excellent post!
Your proud former teacher,
Mrs. Y♥llis
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
DeleteThank you so much for spending your time to leave me such a lovely comment. I really appreciate all of the long and wonderful comments you always leave on my blog.
Our naturalist said that they didn't exactly know how the bobcat died, but they guessed that he ate a diseased animal , and then the bobcat got also sick and died.
I took the photo of the frog quickly, and since my group was already way ahead, I didn't have time to ask what kind of frog it was. However, when I got home and showed Miriam my photos, she told me that it was a toad because it had bumps on its skin. I would love for you to use the photo for 365. I sent you an email with the photo attached the other day.
Sincerely,
Sarah
Sarah
ReplyDeleteI too was a bit surprised to read that you had seen a dead Bobcat. I have never seen one but from reading and what I know about them I thought that they would not have any enemies and I was intrigued to think what could have happened to it. I like how you said it was gross but still included a photograph of it with your post, I know the students in my class and when I show them the post to you they are going to gravitate towards that picture.
The scenery on the trip looked amazing, and a seven hour hike - wow! Did anyone find that difficult? I can think of teachers who I know wouldn't maybe be too comfortable walking that far, and it looked very dry in the pictures. I know that you said that you were cold because of the layers of clothing from the first day but how cool was it? Did you think about temperature and know what they were? I ask because we talked in our class about California the other day and one of my students said that it was always warm and then someone said they thought that it snowed, so we weren't sure as a class.
Mr Webb and Room One, Auroa Primary School, Taranaki, New Zealand
mrwebbauroa.blogspot.com
Dear Mr. Webb,
DeleteThank you so much for spending your time to leave me such a lovely comment. It is nice to get a comment from all the way across the world.
I also was surprised to see a carcass of a bobcat. Our naturalist said that they didn't exactly know how the bobcat died, but they guessed that he ate a diseased animal, and then the bobcat also got sick and died.
Many students and counselors thought that the 7 hour hike was going to be very hard, but once we started, we completely forgot about the time, as the scenery was very beautiful and there was many things to look at.
It never snows in Southern California, but we have many mountains in central and northern California that usually get a lot of snow and can be great for skiing. Unfortunately, California is in a bit of a drought and we haven't had much rain this year. Since the camp was located in the mountains it got cold. In addition, that particular week was rainy and windy in general. I think the weather was around 65 during the day and probably 50 degrees F at night. I guess for people that live in places that snows, they probably don't think this is very cold. However, for me it felt cold.
What is the weather like where you live?
Sincerely,
Sarah
Sarah
DeleteA great detailed reply to my comment. Thank you. We have a rather mild climate here in New Zealand. It dosen't really get too cold. We have had snow days at my school in New Zealand where I now work, but that was once four years ago. We don't use the same temperature as you as we measure in degrees centigrade. Our warmest would be 25c during summer or thereabouts. During winter (and I am at a new school so haven't yet spent a winter here) its gets to about 8c as its coldest. People have warned me that it is very cold and damp here during winter!
Mr Webb, Auroa Primary School, Taranaki, New Zealand
mrwebbauroa.blogspot.com
Hello Sarah! I very much enjoyed this piece of writing it was interesting I also enjoyed the pictures. It sounds like your trip was very eventful! I hope you had a great time. To answer your question I have been on "sleep-away trip" but we call it our school camp! Last year we went to a camping spot located an hour away from school, the lovely kiwi camping spot was called patea dam as you can tell by the name it is also a popular place for dam dropping too! On this camp we rowed the lake mouth, told stories around the campfire, eeled at the edge of night, climbed down a 7m rockface and even took an 1hour long trek into nature's finest bush walk! Although i didn't enjoy the food! it was a great trip, I didn't really want to leave! So of course i did enjoy it! I must also say i love your widget's and i would also love if you could check out my blog! emilyfauroa.blogspot.co.nz, I would love to hear from you! Great blog! Emily,Room1,Auroa School, Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI'm Ritihia. Your blog is ablsolutely amazing. The way you express the true you is awesome. I also love the way you have set up your blog, I especially love the jokes; they are hilarious. I am definitely coming back again Sarah, no doubt about it and come visit my blog if you wish.
From Ritihia :)
Dear Rithia,
DeleteThank you so much for spending your time to leave me such a lovely comment!I also like the jokes, as they are very finny. I would really enjoy visiting your blog. Can you please email me or write a comment sending me the link?
Dear Sarah
ReplyDeleteYou don`t know me but I do a blog like you, I am in year seven and my name is Sarah too!
I really like your blog it is nice and fresh.
I have never been on a camp but it sounds really fun, I love the pictures and amazing detail.
I can`t wait for your next post!
Maybe you could even visit mine!
I also love how you post constantly.
From Sarah
Your cousin Gail here! What an exciting adventure. I really enjoyed reading the blog. You did a lot for a city girl. I was at sleep away camp when I was about your age but did not see an animal carcass or start a fire with sticks. I am looking forward to reading your next entry and catching up on the previous ones.
ReplyDeleteDear Gail,
DeleteThank you so much for spending your time to leave me such a lovely comment. It was really exciting to get a comment from you, especially that you live in Canada. I am really looking forward to reading your next comment, and I hope you visit our home soon!
Sincerely,
Sarah
Wow! I can't believe you saw so many animals! I could have gone without seeing the photo of the dead bobcat....thanks for grossing me out too. It sounds like you learned enough to survive in the wild on your own. Maybe we will try that out the next time you don't do your chores....just kidding! I'm so happy you had fun. If you enjoyed yourself, you should apply to be a counselor at Outdoor Ed when you're in high school--that's what I did and it was a ton of fun! Love you,
ReplyDeleteAuntie Elana
Dear Elana,
DeleteThank you so much for spending your time to leave me such a lovely comment. Your really made my day, and made me laugh hysterically. I just can't imagine your face when you saw the picture of the bobcat. I didn't know that you became a counselor at Outdoor Ed!
We all really miss you, and hope to see you soon.
Love,
Sarah