Carving, walnuts, fairy houses, fires, games and more! This past school break day on October 2nd was packed with fun. I joined the 5-7 year old crew in the late morning. When I stopped by, they were already gathered around a beautiful fire. Many of the children were familiar faces from our summer camp, with some new additions! Instructors Fiona and Melisa planned out a day full of both structured and child-led play.
Fairy houses were a hit this school break day. Campers worked hard to build a beautiful fairy house in the base of a tree. They gathered acorns, stunning fall leaves, bark, and more to create the perfect miniature rest stop for fairies. Hand made cordage and a woodchip became a tiny fairy swing! We then all worked together gathering sticks for a fire to roast black walnuts.
The walnuts were placed in the coals of this fire and set to roast. Instructor Melisa retrieved them from the coals and cracked them open so we could all try the unique smoky flavor. Depending on how long we left them, the walnuts changed their flavor profiles dramatically. We all had fun experimenting with the different flavors of our walnut treats during lunch. As the walnuts roasted, we also boiled many to create a deep rich brown dye. The dye was so strong that it could be used as ink. Quickly children began to make their own paintbrushes out of grass to dip and test our DIY ink. Drawing with the walnut dye on bark and rocks was very popular.
While some tended the fire and crafted, other children had a blast playing running games on the upper field. With the perfect weather, warm sunshine, and crunchy orange leaves on the ground– it was a picture perfect day. I ended my day with them around a warm lovely fire. Some children carved sticks, others made cordage from foraged plants, and some used the dye we created from black walnuts to paint on rocks and wood. It was a wonderful restful and playful day outside!
