Session 1 June 9

This morning we started with archery, the Native American game Hoop and Pole and the obstacle course. Then we came together for Gratitude Circle. Each explorer shared one thing they are grateful for. After Gratitude Circle, we finished filling in their animal books with all the missing information and pictures collected from each animal classification challenge.

Then they played an Invasive vs. Native plants game. They each picked a card with either a Georgia native or invasive plant. The back of the card showed how their plant was affected by various events (drought, seed dispersal, herbivory, etc). Then they either moved forward or backward according to their plant/card. There were some hardy natives (like Virginia Creeper and Sparkle Berry) that survived the best. The invasive plants Chinese Privet and Japanese Honeysuckle were hardier than some of the other native plants like the Green Pitcher Plant and the Fringed Champion. We discussed why some invasives survived better than the invasive plants and what events seemed to affect their plant the most.

During snack, I read the story of "Too Much Stuff" for a discussion about over consumption of resources and how buying lots of stuff you don't really need uses resources, causes habitat loss and more pollution. We talked about how Native Americans would make the things they need from nature. Then those who wanted to make a basket from Japanese Honeysuckle vines learned a simple basket weaving technique and worked on their baskets until lunch time.

After lunch, we went to a different part of the creek that had yellow and gray clay. It is perfect for making pottery, which the Native Americans would have done. It is also the same clay that potters from the local area come to Little Rose creek to collect and spin on their personal pottery wheels. Some explorers played with the clay, while others worked on a dam that was released before leaving.

Back at Main Camp, we did a quick run through of all the scenes we have so far for their play. They still need to finish the ending tomorrow!:)