8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Arrival and sign-in
The gate
A camp day
The day, weekday by weekday
The frame stays the same, so every camper knows what comes next. The two blocks change by weekday and by theme.
Summer
Monday
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Notebook circle: the weather and the question of the day
Pavilion
9:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Observe: a slow walk and a sketch of one patch of ground
Prairie
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch from home, in the shade
Pavilion
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Notebook time: sketches, tallies and questions
Shade
1:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Sort and compare what we found
Pavilion
2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Closing circle and pickup
The gate
Tuesday
8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Arrival and sign-in
The gate
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Notebook circle: the weather and the question of the day
Pavilion
9:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Measure: tape, scale and stopwatch outdoors
Camp garden
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch from home, in the shade
Pavilion
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Notebook time: sketches, tallies and questions
Shade
1:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Chart it: graphs in the field notebook
Pavilion
2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Closing circle and pickup
The gate
Wednesday
8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Arrival and sign-in
The gate
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Notebook circle: the weather and the question of the day
Pavilion
9:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Sample: soil, water or plants for the week's theme
Creek or prairie
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch from home, in the shade
Pavilion
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Notebook time: sketches, tallies and questions
Shade
1:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Look closer: hand lenses and microscopes
Pavilion
2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Closing circle and pickup
The gate
Thursday
8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Arrival and sign-in
The gate
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Notebook circle: the weather and the question of the day
Pavilion
9:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Test: build it and try it outside
Lawn
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch from home, in the shade
Pavilion
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Notebook time: sketches, tallies and questions
Shade
1:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Change one thing and test again
Lawn
2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Closing circle and pickup
The gate
Friday
8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Arrival and sign-in
The gate
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Notebook circle: the weather and the question of the day
Pavilion
9:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Label and arrange what we found
Pavilion
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch from home, in the shade
Pavilion
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Notebook time: sketches, tallies and questions
Shade
1:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
The Friday share: campers show families their notebooks
Pavilion
2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Closing circle and pickup
The gate
Sample classes.
On a hot or stormy day the field block moves earlier or inside. We text families before 7:30 a.m.
The two blocks
What the blocks look like
Most days are one of each.
The field block
Outdoors, in the morning, with a counselor for every group. Campers look, measure and collect, and every question gets written in the notebook before it gets answered.
The lab block
In the pavilion or on the lawn, in the afternoon. Campers sort what they found, build something to test it, change one thing and test it again.
See the weeks
Every week follows this frame, and each one brings its own question.