Nature Awareness Day Camps

Class Description

Once a month, come for a Fun Day of Outdoor Learning about the plants and animals in your own backyard in the North Texas area.  Let your children become comfortable and knowledgeable in their own environment.
This camp has been a favorite with the children for many years, and Outdoor Education is essential for healthy development.

What to Bring

• Your Lunches and drinking water.

• Note books or sketch pads with pencils. Children create their own "Nature Journal"  to help them remember what they learned, and then they continue to add things that they find in their own backyards.  The children can either draw, trace or color in handouts of the animals, plants or nature topics we are talking about. Fun games, songs and nature walks are held throughout the day to have interaction with new friends and nature. Older students can take notes, which is a great way to add to their Life Science Studies.

• Camp Chairs - bring for parents’ comfort; we have benches for the kids.

Bring "Show and Tell" - Share nature items you have found and researched, or items you may need to know what it is.
Age: Camp is open to ages 4 and up, but under 10 years of age will require a parent or designated one in attendance. This is not a pre-school activity, but younger siblings are welcome to be at the camp, free of charge, under a parent's supervision.

Each camp is age-specific. If we have a teen group in attendance, we will provide them with a higher level of learning and activity, or we can set up a special teen camp if needed.

Example of a Nature Awareness day

• BIRD - Great blue heron: size, nest, eggs, food, tracks, feathers, song/calls

• TREE- Bald cypress: leaf type, bark identification, height, uses to man and animals

• PLANT - Cattails: how to identify, when in bloom, what pollinates it, if edible what parts and who eats it, other uses

• MAMMAL - Beaver: size, various species, tracks, dens, chews, what it feeds on, what feeds on it, scat, habits, distinguishing features

• HERPS - Reptile, amphibian, or fish (same as mammal)

• INSECT - Dragonfly: Order they are categorized in, varieties, harmful or helpful, type of metamorphosis

Other activities may include:

• WEATHER OBSERVATIONS

• CONSTELLATIONS OF THE SEASONS

• NATURE CRAFT - Camps will include a simple craft for the children to take home.

Minimums and Maximums: We need at least 16 children to run a camp. Register early to reserve your places.
Field trips for schools:  Contact us to schedule for groups of 12 or more students.  Large class discounts available.

This camp can also be set up to learn the Symbols of Texas to correspond to Texas history studies.

ACORN ASSISTED PROGRAM (OPTIONAL*): At the end of 10 sessions a camper can take an oral quiz on the classes they attended. Upon passing this comprehensive review, giving a report at the camp, and showing us a well kept Journal, the title “ACORN” will be awarded. This honor and prestige allows them to come to the next set of sessions as Junior Counselors plus earn a free Camp Tonkawa T-shirt. This can easily be incorporated into your Earth Science Curriculum, especially for all you Homeschoolers. This is geared for an enthusiastic, nature-loving camper 10 years old or older.

*Discounted rates for assistants who return and help by giving reports, leading games and songs.

Bad weather: Just in case the weather is too extreme and it would hinder you traveling safely to camp, we will meet the next following week, same day of the week.