June 6-10 Day 1

After gratitude circle, we started with a game of 7 Stones from India (1 team has to restack the 7 stones before getting tagged by the other team).

Then we talked about Diwali (the Indian festival to celebrate the victory of light over dark) and how it relates to the folktale "Rama and the Demon King" which I will share with them tomorrow. In celebration of Diwali we did Rangoli sand art and Henna tattoos. Next we had snack and discussed characters and a plot for their original play. Then we went to the obstacle course for a few minutes. Back at the art studio, we discussed the Ring of Fire and why volcanoes erupt. We also labeled the parts of a volcano before taking a model outside to "erupt" with baking soda and vinegar. I also showed them how the Kawah Ijen volcano in Indonesia has blue lava because of burning sulfur. Then we talked about how Batik is made (an ancient form of resist dyeing) and started the first step in a Batik Art Project (creating a design and using glue rather than wax as the resisting agent). Tomorrow will be the next step to paint over the dried glue. Then we played Aankh Micholi (one kid tries to tag others blindfolded).

After lunch, we hiked to the creek. We saw a white-tailed deer run in front of us and across to the field! Then at the creek there was a black Slimy Salamander with tiny white spots and a very small brown salamander. Lastly, we did some archery practice with targets.