We started camp Thursday with a rousing game of Habitat Relay. Each team had to collect all aspects of their seabird’s survival and habitat needs and then get their species’ little chick to bring back to the nest. Amazingly, each team did that perfectly! These kids know their stuff.
The younger kids had a lesson in forage food quality for seabirds. The ensuing “Feed the Seabird” game involved a bean bag toss activity that the kids could have played all day. They did a great job remembering which fish each beanbag represented and which was the highest quality forage.
Older students then joined Sonia, one of our YCC interns, for a lesson on invasive species. They completed a maze showing how rats could prey on birds and played a board game about rats that Ms. Kushin had made up. After this, Courtney, another YCC intern, presented a lesson on food chains and food webs both she and Kendra led a game reinforcing this concept.
Later, the younger kids played a game called “Bird on your Back.” They asked each other Yes/ No questions to figure out which bird they had hanging from their back. We then used those photos to play Bird Identification Bingo.
We cast and did first rehearsal for each of this year’s plays. Cloe is a natural as the lead in “The Little Fox,” the play for the younger kids. This is the story of how foxes came to St. Paul Island and discovered all of the wildlife here.
“Trouble in the Arctic,” the older kids play, explores climate change and eco anxiety. Henry became a clear leader as he prompted others to show their funky bird dance moves on stage. Hopefully he is saving a few of these smooth moves for performance day.
Older students then joined Sonia, one of our YCC interns, for a lesson on invasive species. They completed a maze showing how rats could prey on birds and played a board game about rats that Ms. Kushin had made up. After this, Courtney, another YCC intern, presented a lesson on food chains and food webs both she and Kendra led a game reinforcing this concept.
Later, the younger kids played a game called “Bird on your Back.” They asked each other Yes/ No questions to figure out which bird they had hanging from their back. We then used those photos to play Bird Identification Bingo.
The day ended with a playground game about murres surviving various hazards like foxes and predatory birds as they forage and bring food back to their chicks. More work on the complex pop-up cards ended the session for the older group and the evening included a prop painting workshop.
