Our girls are 3rd-6th grade, and we have never gone tent camping. When our 5th graders were in Kindergarten, our Service Unit went tent camping at a state park, and our girls went to visit on Saturday only. Since then, we have camped several times (at least once a year), but we have never done it in tents. We decided that they needed the experience, but we would do a backyard campout to ease everyone into it. I don't like showing up in the dark on a Friday evening and then trying to put up tents, so we decided we'd meet in the middle of a Saturday, put up the tents first thing, and then do other activities. We did just that starting at 1:00 pm yesterday through 8:30 am this morning.
We think our tent camping experience was a success. Despite the extremely strong winds, everyone stayed the entire night in their tents. There were a few moments of wanting to go in, but they just got back in their sleeping bags and went to sleep. Some were a little cold, but it turned out warmer than we thought it would be. Yea!
We began Saturday afternoon by working together to learn to put up one tent. Once it was done, the girls worked in pairs to put up 3 more tents. They did very well and did it rather quickly too.
We gathered in a circle and discussed the Girl Scouts' movement to ban "bossy." Historically, when girls step-up to take a leadership role, they are considered to be or called bossy. Girl Scouts is getting others on board to back this idea. When girls step-up or take on leadership roles, they are not bossy, they are leaders, and we need to help develop them as such. We then discussed bullying--what it is, how to handle it, how to help others, etc.
The girls were given a little time to read over some camping related badges--Camping, Hiking, Bugs, Trees, and one other. We decided to go on a hike. While gone, they listened for sounds and looked for different plants and animals. They got to see horses and ponies close-up and a few cows from a distance while e walked more than 2 miles.
When we returned, our special guest had arrived. A Senior we know from church and Juliette Girl Scout, needed to finish a Journey by doing a Take Action Project. Before she began, we went on a hayride (minus the hay).
For her project, she planned to help our girls learn about healthy foods and healthy food choices as well as how to make a healthy meal and snack. She planned our dinner, dessert, snack, and breakfast. She talked about the food groups, had the girls create a pretend meal, and then make changes to that meal by choosing the healthiest foods they would eat or could think of within each group. They then moved to the kitchen. The girls cooked Tortilla Soup (chicken broth, corn, black beans, diced tomatoes/Rotel, tomato sauce, chunk chicken, and Greek seasoning), to which they could add tortilla chips and shredded cheese, and Pita Sandwiches (ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, cheese, & condiments). For dessert, they made Frozen Yogurt Sundaes. They chose between vanilla and strawberry frozen yogurt and then fruit toppings (green apple, red apple, peaches, banana, strawberries, gingerbread granola, and/or pumpkin granola). For their snack, they made Trail Mix (sunflower seeds, pretzels, granola, butterscotch chips, and a few other items). They played a game to help mix it all up. Before Caroline left for the evening, she showed them how to make breakfast--Yogurt Sunrises. They opened an orange and made each slice a ray of sunshine and put a scoop of yogurt in the center with granola sprinkled on top.
Before bed, since the wind was so strong, we made S'Mores in the oven. Yummy! Before turning in for the night, the girls played Flashlight Tag. The girls grouped up in one tent to hear jokes before separating and turning in for the night.
We got everyone up around 7:15, and they instantly started getting ready, packing up their things, taking down tents, and preparing breakfast.
It was a great experience!
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