Thursday

Today our day started with lots of word searches, games (including sandman, chow, and alibi), accordion animals, and lots and lots of friendship bracelets.

We had snack and played games until our guest speaker arrived. Vanessa is one of the MAC (Morning Animal Care) volunteers. She comes into the shelter every morning and takes care of the cats by cleaning their condos, giving them food and water, and helping to make sure they are all happy and healthy. Vanessa taught us all about cats. She started with some myths (fun facts: Cats can fit through any space that they can fit their head though due to their floating collar bones. Cats have only been domesticated for half the time that dogs have, making their dependency on us less strong.) Vanessa ended her presentation by giving groups of campers different problematic scenarios and having them brainstorm how they would solve the issue (your cat is attacking your ankles,

When we made our way back outside, campers share their ideas about the problems with the rest of the group and then we played some animal career charades. Finally, we wrapped up our day by making some pine cone bird feeders that we will hang up tomorrow.

At the end of the day, campers were begging to play more games, and learn more about those tricky friendship bracelets.

Follow this link to see all of our photos from camp this week!: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qim9wYEUrIXzLoPS2

PM Session Tuesday

Follow this link to see all of our photos from this week at camp: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qim9wYEUrIXzLoPS2

Our afternoon started with feeding our Feral Cats: Mr.Jingles, Aladdin, and Cameron. We then were visited by a very special guest, Franklin the Tortoise! Franklin is a 9 year old, 52 pound tortoise owned by HSCC staff Joann Nichols who rehabilitates wildlife and therefore has special permission from VT to own exotic reptiles such as Franklin. We were able to watch Franklin explore outside while eating veggies & berries. We learned about tortoise anatomy and behavior as well. Thank you Franklin for coming to visit us!

 After time with Franklin & snack we talked about how to handle smallies (approach calmly, pick up slowly, keep close to your body, support back feet, and make sure all feet are on the ground before letting go). Then campers were treated to a special surprise: Kittens! They just arrived to HSCC and will be available for adoption soon!

Day One at Camp!

Our afternoon was very hot to say the least. We still made the best of it and had an amazing time, though! Camp started with decorating name tags, coloring pages, working on puzzles, and hanging out with friends. Once everyone arrived, campers decided to hang out a little longer in the tent to avoid the sun, so we had our snack and worked on some crafts.

Once Linden Higgins, our guest speaker arrived, we made our way inside the to the classroom, and got to learn all about bugs. After we talked for a bit, we got to go outside and "hunt" some bugs of our own! The most popular finds were roly-poly bugs, daddy long legs, and ants! We did find a few spiders and grasshoppers too though!

After Linden said goodbye, we started our tours of the Humane Society. We learned about the feral cats, what the volunteers do inside the shelters (and how old you have to be to volunteer: 16), what the staff does, the layout of the building, and got to meet the sallies (guinea pigs, rabbits, and ferrets) as well as all of the cats! At the end of our tour, we explored out back and learned about the three feral cats that camp out behind the shelter. Aladdin, Cameron, and Mr. Jingles are the three feral cats that the Humane Society provides shelter, food and water to, every day, year round. While we may never get to meet them due to feral cats' tendency to avoid humans, we'll know that we are keeping them full, healthy and safe! Throughout the week, campers will be helping with three main jobs: feeding the feral cats, taking care of Carmen the box turtle, and filling peanut butter dog Kongs.

By the time tours ended, we had just enough time to hang out with Carmen and start working on some friendship bracelets!

We're hoping for another amazing (but hopefully less hot) day tomorrow!

If you would like to check out our photos throughout the week, click this link!

Important Information for Camp

We're so excited for our first week of camp! Here's some important information and dates!

Camp will begin a 9 am and pick up is at 12 noon (AM Session) & begin at 1 pm and pick is at 4 pm (PM Session). For each day of camp we will have a variety of guest speakers and activities planned that revolve around different themes: dogs, cats, small animals, careers, animal safety, and learning about the shelter.  Each day, campers will need to bring their own snack and a water bottle. Thus far, we are not aware of any allergies. However, if your child has an allergy, please let us know and we can notify the group.

          
Camp will take place in the white tent in front of the Humane Society building. On rainy or stormy days, camp will not be canceled. Rather, it will take place in the classroom (when facing the front of the building, the door to the classroom is down the path to your right).

This week we will also be making cat toys, so if possible please bring in any spare toilet paper rolls and/or paper towel rolls that we can use to make these!

Dates to Remember:

AM & PM Sessions-- On Friday campers will have the opportunity to share something about their own pets or anything animal related with the group. For this they should bring something to share (pet photo(s), a favorite stuffed animal, drawing of pet/animal, etc. ). Campers can bring in their Pet Share items any day this week for us to save for the share time on Friday.

PM Session Only-- On Wednesday we will be going on a walk to Red Rocks Park. This park is located about a mile from the Humane Society. Due to the fact that there is not a lifeguard on hand, we will not be swimming so a bathing suit is not needed. Instead, we will be walking through the trails, playing games, and learning about Vermont’s wildlife. Please have your child wear comfortable walking shoes.  Drop off and pick up will still be at the white tent in front of the Humane Society building unless notified otherwise.

Get to Know Your Counselors!

We are very excited to meet your campers! The counselors wanted to tell you a little about themselves before camp starts. This year we have three counselors and two counselors in training.

Our Head Counselor, Jessica Bachand (back middle), graduated from Saint Michael’s College with a degree in Elementary Education and Psychology. Jessica has a hedgehog named Quilliam. Fun Fact: Jessica also has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do!  

Heather Lockwood (front middle) one of our Counselors. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in Secondary Education and French. She now teaches French at a local middle school.  Heather has a rabbit named Ziggy whom she adopted from HSCC in February. Fun Fact: Heather taught English at a high school in Lyon, France from 2010-2011 and this is her first year at Camp Paw Paw.

Cameron Starkey (far left) is another one of our Counselors. She is going to be a senior in high school at Vermont Commons School. Cameron has a dog named Ella. Fun Fact: this is Cameron’s fourth summer at Camp Paw Paw.

Sonia Nussbaum (back right) is one of our Counselors in Training She will be starting her junior year at Mount Mansfield Union High School in Jericho in the fall.  She has a dog named Linus. Fun Fact: She attended Camp Paw Paw for two years when she was younger (and loved it!!).

Sophia Bornstein (front right) is our other Counselor in Training. She will be starting her freshman year at Champlain Valley Union High School. She has a cat named Penelope. Fun Fact: Sophia used to have 19 rabbits!

We're so excited to meet your campers - The 2017 Camp Paw Paw Staff