Day 5 of camp started with Miss Sherry reading about the Native Americans and the impact our presence has had on their way of life. After their discussion concluded, the kids had a few minutes of free time while Miss Sherry and Miss Abbie were getting their craft project ready.
At 10:00 the little kids came for “Toddler Time”. Both the campers and the little ones participated in the craft project, which was painting a small flag made out of popsicle sticks, to celebrate the upcoming 4th of July holiday. After the project was done, Miss Abbie read a story to the students about the flag makers who sewed the flag that flew at Fort McKinley during the War of 1812. Next Miss Vicki led the students in singing “You’re A Grand Old Flag”.
The students finished reading the rest of Deirdre Abrams’ book and had some more free time before lunch. Lunch today was a choice of salmon, fish fillets, or chicken nuggets, with a side of veggies.
The campers discussed what stewardship means and why it is important. They also talked about what impact their personal actions have on the environment, and what they can do to make sure their impact is as positive as possible.
The kids wrapped up their storyboards on the life cycle of salmon, which they have been working on all week. After this week of camp, students should be able to talk through the basics of the salmon’s life cycle, including hatching from eggs, growing from alevins, going through the stages of fry, smolt, juvenile, adult, and eventually coming full circle to spawn and die in the same water in which they were born. They should also be able to identify the 5 types of salmon we have in our area: chum, sockeye, king, coho, and pink.
The students’ Native American studies ended today with a discussion on preservation and honor for the tribes and their heritage. The kids also heard the legend coyote breaks the fish dam at Celilo.
It’s been such an incredible week of learning and adventure with our campers. Today was bittersweet, as it was the end of our first camp and getting to know all the wonderful children, but it was also a moment of pride knowing that we helped educate them on the importance of Native American culture, the salmon, and perhaps most importantly, the impact they can have on the future of both. Thank you for trusting us with our community’s most precious resource, your children!