Kindergarten Goes to Camp Woodlands

Recently the kindergarten classes went on a field trip to Camp Woodlands. I remembered going on this trip back when Harper was in kindergarten and thought it had been fun so I decided to volunteer to go again. It was really cold when I went with Harper's class but it was much colder this time. You just never know what you're going to get in November, one day it's beautiful and the next freezing and raining. Luckily it didn't rain when we went but it was super cold.

The whole trip was based on learning about trees and their importance. The kids were divided into groups with tree names; Dakota was in the Gum tree group. Our first stop was to learn about how trees are important to bees and vice versa. 

It was so cold, even inside, that we had our coats and hats on!

Our next stop taught us about how birds and trees go together. The kids loved using the bird callers to make bird sounds and the rakes to look for bugs under the leaves.

Once we were done learning about birds and nests and bugs, we headed inside for lunch. I was really hoping the cafeteria area would be heated, but it wasn't and we continued to freeze while we ate. 

Our third station taught us how to measure a trees age by the width of its trunk and/or to count the rings if the tree has been cut down. The kids loved using the magnifying glasses for this activity! We also gathered and identified different seeds that fell from the trees. 

The final station was indoors and slightly heated (thank goodness!) and the kids played a game called Bug-O. Just like Bingo, but instead of numbers the kids marked bugs on their cards to win. 

When all of the kids had gotten a Bug-O, they then learned a little song about bugs. We finished a little early and to kill time we played a few rounds of simon says; it may have been Dakota's very favorite part of the entire day!

Before heading back to school the kids were each rewarded with a tree expert necklace. 

It wasn't a bad trip but I can't remember the last time I was that cold for that long! I've gotta remember to only sign up for indoor trips from now on.