Erupting Colors: An Art Experiment for Younger Children

Filed Under : Activities by Navajo Trails Summer Camp

Friday, January 28, 2011

Materials:

cake pan with edges
milk
food coloring
liquid dishwashing detergent

1. Pour milk into the cake pan until the bottom is covered.
2. Sprinkle several drops of food coloring on the milk.
3. Add a few drops of dishwashing detergent in the centers of the largest drops of coloring.
4. Watch the resulting eruption of colors.
5. If erupting slows down, try adding more food coloring and then more detergent. If the experiment will not work after awhile, begin again from clean milk and new drops of color and detergent.

Variations:
Use a clear baking pan. Have someone hold the experiment above eye level and watch the erupting colors from the bottom of the pan.

Milk contains water and fat. These two substances do not mix. Even though the milk looks like one substance, it is really separate water and fat. Detergent is a substance that will mix with water or fat. When detergent is dropped into milk, one end of the detergent molecule attaches to fat in the milk and the other end of the detergent molecule attaches to the water which causes a boiling effect.

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About ACA

Filed Under : Camp Information by Navajo Trails Summer Camp

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

About ACA

The American Camp Association (formerly known as the American Camping Association) is a community of camp professionals who, for nearly 100 years, have joined together to share our knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp programs. Because of our diverse 7,000 plus membership and our exceptional programs, children and adults have the opportunity to learn powerful lessons in community, character-building, skill development, and healthy living — lessons that can be learned nowhere else.

As a leading authority in youth development, ACA works to preserve, promote, and improve the camp experience. Our association is committed to helping our members and all camps provide:

Camp communities committed to a safe, nurturing environment
Caring, competent adult role models
Healthy, developmentally-appropriate experiences
Service to the community and the natural world
Opportunities for leadership and personal growth
Discovery, experiential education, and learning opportunities
Excellence and continuous self-improvement

ACA Accreditation Program
ACA accredits over 2,400 camps. ACA-Accredited® camps meet up to 300 standards for health, safety, and program quality. (Safety Tips/Accreditation).

ACA works closely with other youth-serving organizations and associations.

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Navajo Trails Adventure Camp--video

Filed Under : Camp Information by Navajo Trails Summer Camp

Sunday, January 23, 2011

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Frogs, Insects, and Flowers

Filed Under : Games by Navajo Trails Summer Camp

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Frogs, Insects, and Flowers

Description

Divide the group into three circles, one inside the next. The people in the outer circle are flowers, and remain stationary. The players in the inner circle are insects, and begin the game with one knee to the ground. The players in the middle circle are frogs -they begin the game standing.

When the whistle sounds the insects have ten seconds to run and tag a flower. They may avoid capture (being tagged by a frog) by flying (touching one knee to the ground). Frogs chase the insects and can "follow" an insect by turning 360° pivot during which the insect can dash off .

After each round, the results are noted. A successful animal remains as that animal for the next game. A captured animal becomes the same animal as his captor. An unsuccessful but uncaptured animal dies and becomes a flower .

Each round creates changes in populations and inter-relationships can be easily observed. A balanced game can go on indefinitely, but if frogs become too efficient, the insects are wiped out whereupon the frogs ultimately die. If the frogs are inefficient they may be wiped out and large uncontrolled fluctuations can result in the insect population.

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Benefits of Camp

Filed Under : Camp Information by Navajo Trails Summer Camp

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Benefits of Camp From ACA

Overview

The camp experience enriches lives and changes the world.

Camp provides children with a community of caring adults, who nurture experiential education that results in self-respect and appreciation for human value. All of the outcomes - self-identity, self-worth, self-esteem, leadership, and self-respect - build personal competencies. These personal competencies are reflected in the four "C's" of the camp community: compassion, contribution, commitment, and character! For years, campers' parents have reported that when their children return home from camp they are more caring, understand the importance of giving, are more equipped to stand up for what they know is right and are willing to be more responsible. These are the qualities that will help build a successful nation and a civil society.

Children are at less risk at camp where they have a sense of community, develop intergenerational relationships, and learn through first-hand experiences. Trained, caring adult role models help children feel loved, capable and included. Camp provides children with a safe, supervised, positive environment, which helps children grow.

Camp Professionals have enormous power in conveying simple teachable moments.special moments of passing experiences touched by the human spirit. These fleeting moments of time build three significant ACA values that are reflected in the benefits campers derive from camp.

ACA values people. The moments that result in the camp experience repeatedly express the value of people. We demonstrate that value through respect, honesty, caring, and sharing. Through the camp experience, young people learn to understand the strength of mankind. They also develop an appreciation for the qualities required to protect the fragile relationships needed to protect these relationships.

ACA values the natural world. We seek and appreciate what is real, genuine, and non-artificial. In seeking those qualities in people as well as in the actual world, we foster understanding of the importance of human connections for survival and of the critical connections to our physical world. Campers realize the need to protect not only one another, but also the environment in which they live. Our intent is to preserve and share that legacy with the next generation.

Finally, ACA values a sense of contribution. Our contributions are both obvious and subtle. The benefits of our work are both immediate and slow to emerge. Most significantly, although the experience itself is often fleeting, our impact on the human spirit lasts a lifetime. Children who attend camp develop connections with the world.