Today was Alice's first day of Nature Day Camp.
This morning as I packed Alice's lunch, I got that same feeling I had 2 years ago when Henry headed out for his first day of camp... How can I send my precious little 5 yr old to a camp for 5 whole hours each day where she'll be mucking through marshes, exploring lakes and rivers, eating a picnic lunch without me, and learning all sorts of stuff that I'm not a part of?
I spent way too long wondering if she would be strong enough to unscrew the lid on her water bottle without me. What was I thinking? That my poor little girl would return to me completely dehydrated if none of the adults were nearby to unscrew the lid for her? Oh my. Henry actually rolled his eyes at me over this. I won't even go in to what I went through worrying about bug spray and sunblock.
I'm gonna be a mess on the first day of kindergarten this fall. It's a good thing that my kids mostly ignore me and excuse my anxiety levels as "Mom just being Mom."
And at the end of the day.... She did great, as the rational part of me knew she would - she even returned with an almost empty water bottle. She was quite proud to report that she managed just fine. My little peanut is quite competent, actually.
It did help that she's good friends with 3 of the other campers, that I'm friends with one of the camp leaders, and that I've known 2 of the other camp leaders for the past 2 years as Henry has gone through the same program. I knew exactly what to expect, what activities they would do at camp. So why was I worried? I don't know. Because I'm a Mom and that's my job. Yeah, that's it.
She also made 3 new friends and can't stop talking about 1 of them. Leo - watch out!
What Alice learned today at Nature Day Camp:
- Flies eat poop.
- Flies throw up and then eat the throw up.
- Ants have 6 legs; 3 on each side.
- The real name for a ladybug is ladybird beetle.
- Frogs eat snails and worms.
- Water snakes can eat anything that lives in the water.
- Turkey vultures eat dead stuff.
- Beavers eat bark.
- Insects are special - they can look this way and that way, all at the same time.
- Never, ever run or jump on the boardwalk.
- Never, ever climb the lunch tree.
- And respect nature.
And that was just the first day of camp!
2 comments:
Did Alice tell you about playing dead for the turkey vulture? Owen said they saw one flying, so everyone played dead to see if the vulture would come and get them. Morbid... The bird didn't come near them, he said, with a little disappointment in his voice. What a boy.
Well, my niece, that sounds like a very cool camp. I can't wait for you to tell me about it when we are in Sedona.
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