The Last Day of Camp

Yes, I know it is after Labor Day.  Yes, I know the kids should be in school.  Yes, I know you get weird looks saying your kids are at camp all week in the middle of September.  Yes, I know we are slightly on the weird side.  I'm ok with it.  I'm also absolutely thrilled with being able to send the kids to a home school camp in September when the weather is cooler and the crowds are smaller.  The kids love having a special way of starting off the school year and truly seem to get a lot out of the experience each year. 

 This year Kieran participated in a camp focusing on Music of the 19th Century.  He learned to play a tin whistle and sing a few period songs.  They also spent some time learning about the role music played in the Civil War and in regular life in the 19th Century.  He requested a camp this year that was not attended by any of his siblings so he was thrilled to spend the week alone and not have to be someone else's brother for a while.

Sean participated in a camp on orienteering.  They learned how to use a compass, went letter boxing, geocaching,  took lots of hikes, learned about trail marks, went in search of the other kids in their group who got lost, made some crafts to leave behind in the boxes, and sang plenty of goofy camp songs.  He spent most of the week wearing his handmade duct tape hat and enjoyed what was likely his last year being young enough to participate as a camper.

Katie and Liam participated in a camp called Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer Days.  They spent time making slingshots, hunting, making journals, learning how to start a fire with flint and steel, cooking over a fire, making butter, making beef jerky, making a tin ornament, baking corn bread, and in general playing in the village.  They usually came home fairly tired.

Bryan worked as a helper for Katie and Liam's class.  He seemed to be the only volunteer who understood that you were expected to arrive early and stay late to help with the clean up and such chores but he did a great job even without the help of the other teens.