Friday, May 22, 2009

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum



Last fall, Rick Stoner generously donated a Shipwreck Tour trip to King Street.  So, this Wednesday, the Afterschoolers got to go to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, travel out on a boat, and look at shipwrecks.

This trip was great because we were on a boat.  No, really.  That's what was so great. 

Seriously. 

For example, the adults didn't know until we got there how many of the children had never been on a boat before, and the children were FASCINATED.  On the way down to the boat, a lot of the kids asked, "Why do we have to wear these lifejackets," and when the adults said, "They keep you safe on the water," the kids said, "But what if we fall in the water?"  And, as soon as the boat started moving, all the children were amazed by the wake.  One girl asked, "Why does the water move like that."  There were a lot of opportunities for impromptu science lessons.

Also, we got to learn about the Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV), which is what the scientists at the Maritime Museum use to film the shipwrecks. While we were out there, we got to see live footage of a shipwreck on the New York side of the lake.

Thank you, again, to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and to Rick Stoner.  This was a wonderful opportunity for the children of King Street.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Vacation Camp 2009


One of my favorite things about vacation camp is taking the King Street Kids on a hike. Extended time in the woods isn't a common event in a lot of our kids' lives, and their comments reflect an astonishment at every flower, tree, animal, rock formation, and view that they see.  In honor of that, when we went to Shelburne Bay this year, we gave cameras and video recorders to the King Street Kids so they could document their favorite parts of the trip.

Some of the highlights included finding the skull of a rabbit, identifying flowers, eating trout lilies, skipping rocks in the water, and just staring at the beautiful view.