[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9611","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-1064","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"2304","height":"1728","alt":"img_3688"}}]] It was a BE-A-U-tiful day today! We warmly welcomed the sunshine for some outdoor play (and even indoor coloring) during morning free play. Then we washed up and did some food prep for our first cooking experiment: banana boats! We had helpers practicing some fine motor skills who cut our bananas in half. Then we had the option to stuff them with marshmallows, graham crackers, and cereal, before wrapping them up in foil. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9606","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-1063","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"2304","height":"1728","alt":"img_3691"}}]] Then we grabbed all of our stuff and headed to forest camp for snack. We hadn't finished our fire ring last time so we gathered rocks to complete the fire ring and the safety ring. Afterwards, we ate our snacks and talked about fire safety around our newly completed fire ring. Then it was time to build, explore, and create at Forest Camp. We found a few amphibian friends too! Red-backed Salamanders. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9626","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-1067","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"2304","height":"1728","alt":"img_3706"}}]][[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9631","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-1068","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"2304","height":"1728","alt":"img_3701"}}]] Working on our fort! Its so big, half of our group fits inside! [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9616","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-1065","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"2304","height":"1728","alt":"img_3697"}}]] Then we got to work to make a fire to cook our bananas. But, most of the sticks we could find were wet, so we had a really smokey fire. While it looked pretty floating through the trees, Debbie promised to fix the fire pit before our next fire so we can sit around the circle in comfort. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9621","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-1066","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"2304","height":"1728","alt":"img_3694"}}]] After lunch and banana boats (they tasted like banana pudding!) we were back, getting to know Forest Camp. A few of us went back to building forts while some of us worked on creating a fence around our fire area and "garden". We found some more salamanders too! [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9636","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-1069","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"1728","height":"2304","alt":"img_3703"}}]] Some of us got a little silly with Victoria and made a nest in (and out of) her hair. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9641","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-1070","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"2304","height":"1728","alt":"img_3708"}}]] We came back together to end with a gratitude circle before grabbing our  things from the backpack tree and hiking down to the barn to meet our parents. Its been so wonderful to get to know forest camp and make it our own. I can't wait to see what it becomes!   Happy Trails! <3