Week 6 Photo Recap!

This last week of camp was so fun and busy that I decided to do a photo recap on Friday!

Week Five: Tuesday!

This morning was spent with a lot of time in the shelter socializing with cats and smallies.  We visited many of the cat rooms.  We also all got to meet and pet the ferret, Piper.  Piper was so happy to see everyone and receive all the loving.

We were also joined this morning by Buster the bed bug dog.  Buster showed us how impressive his strong nose is.  He even searched out for bedbugs in the classroom.

This afternoon was a bit rainy, so we headed inside. We played some games inside and talked about dog behavior.  We all had fun acting out what happy, sad, and playful dogs look like.

We had a great day, we will have some more fun tomorrow as well!

Week 5: Monday

We cannot believe we are already in week five!!

Today was like most Mondays in that we started with a name game.  We all got pretty giggly about our adjectives and movements.

We then were lucky to meet with Nancy.  She outlined for us the mission behind the humane society.  We also discovered that humans and animals both need the same things to live and thrive.

We finished off the morning with a tour of the humane society building.  We were able to meet the cats and start to get a feel for what cats we like.  While half of us were in the cat rooms, the other half were decorating our water bottles.

We spent the afternoon with some reptiles and a hedge hog! We were all very interested in the snakes and the reptiles.  We also really liked the tortoise.

We finished the day with some games and animal trivia questions.

The parents were also given a tour this afternoon.  Looks like this week is going to be just as fun as all the other weeks!

Week Four: FRIDAY!!

We started the day with a presentation about feral cats from Jackie.  Jackie is the feline coordinator with the shelter.  After her presentation we made our own shelters for feral cats.  Three of us got to bring the shelters home to feral cats in our neighborhood.  To make these shelters, we just cut a hole in a Styrofoam box and then we decorated them.  Then when the girls bring them home they will put hay in them to keep them warm.

Next, we watched a presentation from the Police Dogs from Burlington. We were all very impressed with the tracking abilities of Capone. We learned all the jobs that police dogs have as well.

After lunch, we played a game of jeopardy. The counselors were amazed at all the girls knew! Some of our "hard questions" weren't even challenging for these smarties!

We finished off the day with tattoos and some fun games in the yard.

Week Four: Thursday

Today we visited Shelburne Farms!

We had so much fun! We started the day with a hay ride up from the visitor center to the farm barn.  Once we got there, we started learning about cheese in the cheese making room.  After the cheese making room, we split into groups and headed to the barn.  We met all different animals including 3 cows, some sheep, baby goats, and chickens.  We were enjoying trying to pick up the chickens.  Some of them are very friendly.  We also got to watch and participate in milking a cow!  We were very lucky to get all of this in before lunch.

After lunch, there was a large storm that moved through the area.  We watched the storm from a safe spot inside the educational center and on the porch. We finished the day with some more visiting of the farm animals, then took the bus back to the tent.

Back at the Humane Society, we wrapped up the day with some games of animal career charades.

We loved going to Shelburne Farms, here are some of our pictures.

Watching the storm

With the goat!

Modeling with one of the chickens

------ Sidenote -----

Below is a video of the girls and Ben.  Ben liked to tell jokes and the girls like to fake laugh at them.  We think this is pretty funny!

Week Four: Wednesday

We started the day by decorating the front entrance to the Humane Society.  We really enjoyed recreating the logo as well as encouraging visitors to adopt.  The sidewalk is now very colorful and inviting.

Next, we had the opportunity to meet two birds.  One was our old friend the Bard Owl and the other was a new bird.  The other bird was a small falcon.  Both the birds were very impressive and we had many specific questions to ask.  We finished the visit by looking at all types of bird wings.  We even got to touch a few.

Before lunch and after the birds, we visited the cats in the shelter.  Visiting the cat rooms is one of our favorite activities.

After lunch, we met Joann's reptiles.  We all really liked Tiki the hedgehog (of course), and we let her run around in the circle for a while.  Some of us got to pick her up, which was nervy at first, then fun.

We finished the day with some animal trivia and some games of zip zap and poison dart frog.
Tomorrow, we are off to Shelburne Farms!!

Meeting Joann's snake!!

Week Four: Tuesday

Today was a speaker filled day for our 10-12 year old girls.  We started with a visit from Joann. We all became animal investigators.  We now take our jobs very seriously and we know what tie-out dogs need.  We also learned that when we see an animal we think might need help, we should go to an adult, and not confront an owner by ourselves.

In the middle of the day, we met Buster.  Buster is a bed-bug sniffing dog.  We were all very impressed with his skill.  We were also slightly grossed out from seeing the bugs!!  Our favorite part may have been at the end when we got to pet Buster.

Our last speaker for the day was Dr. Nate.  He is a Qi Veterinarian.  He let us taste herbs and he also showed us how to do acupuncture on dogs.  Otis was a trooper and seemed to enjoy the treatment. We learned how the different herbs affect dogs' bodies and how they can be used as medicine.

We finished the day with some games of Zip Zap and up, down, look.  Below are some pictures from the day:

ZIP ZAP

Joann teaching us about Humane treatment of tie-up dogs in VT

Learning about Buster

Feeling for heat spots on Otis

Qi Vet visit 

Week Four: Monday

Today was a rainy one and we were basically in the tent the entire time.  As our first full day session, it went great!

We started the day with a visit from Harper and Ritter.  Both are labs from Therapy Dogs of Vermont.  We were really happy to see them and get to pet them.  We also though Ritter was really funny, especially when he was doing tricks for treats.  Harper was so calm.  It was nice to pet them and start the week with some doggy time.

After some puppy loving, we met Nancy, the President. She taught us all about the mission of the humane society.  We were all very interested in the meaning of humane, and luckily it came into play later in a different activity.

We finished the morning with visits inside to the cat rooms.  We loved being able to pet and play with the kitties in the cat condos.  We also liked painting our water bottles for the rest of the week.  It was a win-win!

After lunch, we started the afternoon with some games of WAH and Zip Zap.  We were happy to be energetic, and we even got to play outside for a bit.

We finished the day with two activities.  The first was a humane vs. inhumane spectrum activity.  The counselors read a statement and the campers decided if it was humane or inhumane action.  The campers did and amazing job deciphering and explaining their opinions.  It is great to be reminded about how thoughtful and caring kids are!

When the parents picked up, we treated them to a tour of the adoption floor of the humane society.  The campers were so excited to show their parents around where they would be spending the week.

The counselors are loving the full days, can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings!

Week Three Afternoon: FRIDAY!

Week Three is officially complete.  The entire week was a great success.  We met many types of animals, and we learned all about different animals.  We did all this with some Poison Dart Frog games mixed in.

This afternoon, we met a state police dog.  We were so interested in the dog and his tracking abilities, that we talked to the officer for nearly an hour and a half!  We got to see some obedience training, and some bite work.  We learned all about what it is like to be a tracking dog.  We also got to explore in the police car where the dog rides and keeps his equipment.

We finished the day with reading Before You Were Mine.  This story is always a huge hit with the kids, and is always very touching.

Thanks week three for all the fun! We were glad to have you.  We are also looking forward to next week, as we are moving up to the older kids.  The next three weeks will be full days with campers ages 10-12.

Today was also one of our CIT's last day.  Molly was an amazing help the past two weeks.  She did all her work as a volunteer!  The camp would not have gone so smoothly without her! Thank you Molly!!!!

Week Three Morning: Friday

The final day of a long week was just as exciting as the rest of the week! We started with a visit from the reptiles.  The snakes were a big hit, but of course, Tiki was the star of the show.  Tiki the hedgehog had a great time exploring the tent.  We had a great time petting her.  We also liked the water dragon and the turtle!

In between the reptiles and the police dogs, we had a special treat of popsicles.  We also each got temporary tattoos.

We finished the day with a visit from two Burlington police dogs.  The dogs showed us everything they can do to help our communities.  They even found one of us by sniffing out our scent.

Ben and Anna were both interviewed today by Fox 44!  Check for them tonight on TV talking about Camp and all the fun stuff we have been doing over the weeks. 

Week Three Morning: Thursday

This morning, we started with sidewalk chalk because all of yesterday's chalk had washed away.  We redecorated the front of the sidewalk and now the sidewalk is back to being fun and colorful!

We followed up our art session with a writing session.  Victoria walked us through a build your own story. After figuring out the first part of the story, we broke up into smaller groups and wrote our own endings.  We really enjoyed illustrating and writing our own stories.

In between the two speakers, we had snack and read Before You Were Mine.

Our next speaker was Jackson, a therapy dog.  We all sat in a circle and we were each visited by Jackson, and all his fur!

Week Three Afternoon: Wednesday

We had a very eventful half day for the afternoon session.  We decided that today would be an "art day" we focused around being creative and artistic.  We started the day by drawing pictures of our favorite pets and animals.  We really liked being able to talk about our furry family members. While we were coloring, we were surprised to find a stick bug in the tent with us!  Stick bugs are pretty rare, and we all wanted to catch a peek of the little creature.

Can you spot the stick bug?

We then decided that the front entrance to the Humane Society needed some sprucing.  We took the chalk out and started decorating the sidewalk by the doors.  We were happy to make such a nice entrance for the many people coming to adopt pets at the shelter.  We hope that our artwork encouraged some people to adopt some friends.

Our finished product!

Does anyone recognize this logo?

Naturally following chalking up the sidewalk, it began to thunder and rain.  How lucky are we?? Unfortunately, our artwork got washed away. We didn't get washed away because we were lucky enough to be welcomed into the classroom in the Humane Society Building.

When we got into the classroom, we finished making our pet puppets.  After we made them, we shared them with everyone. Making the puppets come to life was a great part of camp today.  While we were in the classroom, we were also able to meet the Shelter's adorable ferret, Piper.  Piper was so happy to meet everyone, and be given all the love.  After working the room, Piper went back to his cage.

Next, we were visited by another guest, Victoria.  Victoria helped us to create a "choose your own adventure story".  She started by setting the scene, then we finished the stories in smaller groups.  We drew pictures to go with our stories as well.

After sharing the stories, it was time for camp to end.  Time flies when you're having fun!

Week 3 Morning: Wednesday

Not only did we meet the halfway point of camp today, we also met a Red Tailed Hawk!  We started the day with sharing pictures of our favorite pets.  We really enjoyed telling stories about our pets and why we like them.  The pictures were all very creative.  Next we took a trip to the pet cemetery.  We were all very impressed with the old and new headstones.

After our trip, we were lucky to meet a Red Tailed Hawk.  Even though the hawk had a broken wing, she was still very impressive and big.  She showed us her large wing span and her red tail.  She had very impressive talons and a beak.

We finished the day by making puppets.  Then we acted out our puppets and their favorite thing to do.  We pretended we were on a TV show.  We were silly, but we enjoyed sharing.

Week Three Afternoon: Tuesday

The second half of Tuesday was as much a blast as the first half! We started with a rousing display by the animal society's gerbils.  The gerbils were happy to hang out in the office area with us.  We raced Acorn and Amber and the jury is still out about who is faster. 

When we were finished inside we headed out into the tent. We had a quick snack and we filled up our water bottles.  Then we headed to the pet cemetery.  We were all very touched by the love of the owners for their pets.  We also learned about feral cats and Grey Mama.  Grey Mama was a feral cat who lived behind the humane society. 

We finished the day with two games and a trip into the cat rooms in the shelter.  We played animal charades and poison dart frog.  Half of us went inside to play with the cats and then we switched.  We are all in love with the little kittens that recently came to the shelter!!

Week Three Morning: Tuesday

It was a hot one in the tent today!! We started with the animal card game.  We had alot of fun in the side yard guessing and asking what we were.  It was a huge surprise what each of our animal cards were.

After the card game, we were each sworn in as animal investigators.  Joann showed us all of the rules for tie-up dogs and then we were able to pretend that we were investigators and we investigated some pretend animals by the picnic bench.

We were so excited to meet the two gerbils in the air conditioning.  Then we got a surprise visit from the ferret!  We each got to pet the ferret, even though we were so distracted with the new kittens.

We finished the day with a visit from Buster the Bed Bug Dog.  We were all very impressed with his skill and his sharp nose.  The highlight may have been when we all got the chance to pet Buster.

We had a great day today, and we have been hitting the water hard all day and trying to stay cool.

Week Three Afternoon: Monday

We had a great start to the week today. We began the afternoon the way we begin most weeks, with a name game.  Even though we started off quiet, we were soon being more outgoing and ready to rock the rest of the week.

Once we learned every one's names, we started doing a rotation.  We rotated between the cat rooms in the shelter, and painting water bottles in the tent.  Yet again, Buddy was a huge hit. The cute little kitten got alot of love from all of us.  

Halfway through the session, we got to meet Joann.  Joann showed us all of her reptile friends. We even got the special treat of seeing Tiki the hedgehog!  We also really liked meeting the turtle and the fire breathing dragon.  

We finished the day with Shayla.  Shayla works for the Humane Society.  She was filling in for Nancy's talk about what the humane society does for animals and for humans. 

That's all for Monday. Very excited to see what the rest of the week brings!!

Uodate!!

Friday

For Friday's afternoon session, we started with a meet and greet with a state police dog.  Just when we started with the officer, the dog got a call into work.  He needed to go to a traffic stop and was the only dog available. 

After the short tour of the cruiser, we took a walk to Red Rocks Park. Red Rocks is right around the corner and we had a great time walking to the beach.   When we got there, we stuck our toes in the water and played around in the sand.  

When we got back, we played a rousing game of career charades.  The girls did a great job acting out the many different careers people can have with animals. 

Monday

The first day of the third week!  Today we started with a name game.  We had too much fun learning each other's name's and tossing a ball around.  After the name game, we went back to the tent and met Harper and Ritter.  These are the same two therapy dogs from last week.  We enjoyed giving the two labs lots of love.  We think they like getting all the pets too.  

We followed up the therapy dog visit with snacks.  We then did a rotation of decorating water bottles and visiting the cat rooms in the shelter.  There is a new kitten, Buddy, who was a huge hit.  We couldn't stop talking about him! 

After a quick t-shirt game, we were finished for the day!  We can't wait until tomorrow!

Week Two Morning: FRIDAY!

Happy Friday!!  Today was a fun-filled day.  We started the day with meeting Otis.  Otis is a puppy being fostered by our counselor, Kathryn.  Otis was happy to meet all of us, and he was so so good!  It was nice to be able to meet such a kind puppy.

Our next speaker was Joann.  Joann showed us some of her reptiles.  Some of us were very excited to meet the snakes and reptiles, but some of us were slightly more apprehensive.  Yet again, Tiki was the favorite of the talk.

Not too sure about snakes

After some popsicles and a game, we were lucky to meet two dogs from the Burlington Police Department.  The dogs showed us some of his skills.  We were all very impressed with the pop doors on the police car.

Today was such an amazing day, and a great ending to such a great week.  Thank you to all of our morning campers, we enjoyed all of you!!

Week Two Afternoon: Thursday

This Thursday, we had TWO speakers!  Our first speaker was Jackie. Jackie is the feline coordinator at the Humane Society.  She taught us all about feral cats.  Feral cats are cats that live in the wild.  We made shelters for feral cats living in our own communities.

The finished shelters!

After we learned and created our shelters for the feral cats, we met Helen and her dog Jackson.  Jackson was so nice to come and meet each of us. He was so patient, even though it was very toasty in the tent this afternoon.

 Very excited for our last day, always a big hit with the police dog and some reptiles.

Week Two Morning: Thursday

Happy Thursday! Today we had such a jam-packed day.  We started with an activity highlighting the differences between humane and inhumane treatments.  We stood on a spectrum as Kathryn read to us different scenarios of pet and animal care. We then had a great time explaining our reasoning for where we were standing.

With an introduction to humane and inhumane, we were able to transition very easily to working with Joann.  Joann is our humane investigator. She explained to us about her job.  We learned what dogs need if they are going to stay outside on a tie.  We then role-played and investigated a pretend scenario in the yard.

After a quick snack, we creating puppets of different pets.  Soon we were joined by a real pet, Jackson.  Jackson is a therapy dog in the area.  We had so much fun playing with Jackson.  Jackson is a husky and german Shepard mix.  He was actually adopted from the Humane Society! He was so patient and kind with all of us.

We ended the day with a game of poison dart frog.  What a fun day we had. Looking forward to tomorrow as well!!