The Rural Resources’Farm Day Camp is a hands-on farming
and food adventure that connects children of all ages with the natural world.
Nick Baumann, a teacher at Doak Elementary, opened the Gross!
Camp session on June 2nd by introducing a pair of giant cockroaches
to a lively group of 1st – 3rd grade students.
“When you
touch them, remember they’re a bug,” Baumann admonished, placing them on a
table with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “You don’t want to squeeze them, or it might get reeeaaal gross!”
The children erupted into gasps and squeals of, “Eeewww!” and “Gross!”
Baumann introduced a variety of smelly, slithery,
creepy-crawly critters throughout the day – snakes, insects, pigs and rats to
name a few – with an unexpected bonus of a tiny, pink, hairless baby in the
rats’ nest.
Baumann also produced a kitten. The children buried their fingers
in its fur and hugged it to their chests, while he assured skeptics, who weren't convinced she qualified as gross, that “she has stinky gas.”
The week also included art, crafts, feeding farm animals, milking the cows, visiting the Rural Resources garden, playing games, climbing trees and exploring the cool, shaded creek during the afternoon heat.
The days were filled with lots of amazement, laughter and good-natured
bantering between Baumann and his campers.
Although the sessions are pre-planned and structured,
Baumann said one of the key principles to creating a positive experience for
little campers is flexibility. He said he allows more time for activities they
are enjoying or moves on to something else if they are losing interest.
Campers represented a number of area schools, as well as the
home school community.
Watch for more Farm Day Camp adventure photos!
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