Grandma Day Camp 2014 Day 1

Once again in Feb, we started planning Day Camp—and by planning, I mean making a list of what would be fun to do this year.  We start in Feb, because we work the polls, and Feb is a low turnout election, so we have all day to think and list in between voters.  We start by listing the popular things from last year, trying to think up a sewing project, and thinking of a theme.  We couldn’t come up with a theme, but wanted to do a preparedness type of camp.  My g-kids ages range from 13 to 1 and my sisters from 11 to 1.  I have 9 and she has 5.  Last year all mine came, but this year only those that lived near were able to come.  So we had a total of 9 kids from 13 to 1.

Kim came up with the theme—“Into the Woods”, because we were going to play in her woods.  She has acreage with a creek running thru and all kinds of fun.  Goats and chickens, also.  

 

My brother was going to come up for July 4^th—he usually does, and brings his snake, Xena, so he was put in charge of one day.  He had participated in ‘Mountain Man’ with his Boy Scouts. 

 

 

 

 

So on Monday, we started at my house with the flag ceremony

 

and camp songs—and it takes a long time for each kid to choose a song.  Even the non-readers have to flip the pages and look over each selection.  And the more verses, the better.  Even those too cool for school can't help singing!

 

 

 

Then, on to decorating the shirts.  Kim’s daughter- in- law helped designed the logo and her daughter cut it out on the silhouette.  On the back, we painted tree trunks and made leaves out of hand prints and finger prints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 While they dried, we started our rip-cord bracelets.  The kids loved making them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then lunch by the lunch committee, english muffin pizzas and veggie sticks.  Each day, there is a flag ceremony committee and lunch committee.  They rotate around, so everyone gets a chance for all.

 

 

After lunch, we made the buddy burners and hobo stoves. 

 

The burners are made up of rolling up strips of cardboard, putting them tight in tuna cans and pouring melted paraffin wax over the cardboard.  Do this outside, so the over pour of wax isn’t in the house.  Then Tom, my brother, cut the big cans with an opening in the bottom a little larger than the tuna can, and we put some vents at the top with a triangle punch can opener.  You need to save the tuna can lids—you use them to put out the fire.  The wax needs to go over night to harden up.

  

 

 Then, onto knife safety and whittling.  We used the Cub Scout books for this, and practiced on Ivory soap.  I think the soap is much more unsafe than using twigs and would not recommend it.  SAFETY HINT: The five year old thought he could really man a knife by himself and kept trying to sneak off to play with the knife on his own.

 

 

 

 

For the afternoon snack we brought back a crowd pleaser…POOP ON ICE!!  The lunch committee cooked the No-Bakes and dished up the ice cream.  YUMMY!

Somehow, we made can stilts and dream catchers.  Really the dream catchers aren’t finished, but we ran out of time.   Then quick singing and flag ceremony and they all go home!