Tekoa Mountain Outdoors

We link adventure through education

New York State Licensed Guides

27 Sugarhill, Rd.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
ph: 413-296-4249
fax: 413-785-5501
tim@tekoamountainoutdoors.com

See you in the Fall we are currently working on our Fall Programs

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER.

Hilltown Families Afternoon Program for 5-7 year olds

HILLTOWN FAMILIES
presents
Outdoor Adventures for Kids in the Hilltowns
Fall 08 Afternoon Program

A week Monday afternoon (4pm-5pm) adventure program for kids ages 5-7 at the TMO Base Camp in Chesterfield, MA, starting September and ending June 2009. Led by Program Coordinator, Timothy Vogel of Tekoa Mountain Outdoors.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Through age appropriate activities, young kids will explore their surrounding environment on foot and in a canoe while learning about ecology through outdoor adventures and activities. This nine week program will lead young Adventurers into the discoveries of spring while experiencing hikes, fishing and canoeing around the scenic 500 acre Base Camp in Chesterfield, MA. As spring arrives, bringing us April Showers, our young Adventures will explore vernal pools as the peepers emerge, make rain sticks to celebrate the season and hunt for insects. In May our young Adventures will go fishing while learning about fish habitat and local wildflowers and plants. And as we approach the summer months we’ll bring out the canoes and learn the basics of paddling and canoe safety. Our last day will conclude with a make-your-own ice cream social by using a tin can! Participants are asked to dress for the weather.

SPRING 08 SESSION

April 7th, 14th & 28th

Week 1 - Monday (04/07/08)
RAIN STICKS
We will be starting off our spring session by making Rain Sticks and sharing their origins. Our young Adventurers will make a traditional Rain Stick out of materials found in their environment, and like people of other cultures, imitate the sound of rain. Having originated in South America and attributed to many cultures, the Rain Stick is a tubular rattle that has been used by many diverse cultures in various ways and played by children throughout the world.

Week 2 - Monday (04/14/08)
STREAM EXPLORATIONS
As spring slowly arrives, our young Adventurers will trek down to the stream to explore our streams and surrounding areas. And there’s more than meets the eye! Upon closer look, we’ll identify different aquatic insects, animals and plants while discussing their importance to our ecosystem. Please bring shoes that can get wet and a change of clothes. Magnifying glass and reptile/insect ID books would be handy too.

Week 3 - Monday (04/28/08)
THE BIG BUG HUNT
As their environment warms up, insects begin to emerge. We’ll identify bugs that fly, swim, crawl and even slither near our watershed while learning their value to our environment. Our young Adventurers will explore under logs and rocks while discovering which insects are useful and which ones we should avoid. We’ll also discuss how to keep ourselves safe from tick and mosquito bites while being adventurous outdoors. Please bring shoes that can get wet and a change of clothes. Magnifying glass and insect ID books would be handy too.

May 5th, 12th, & 19th

Week 4 - Monday (05/05/08)
LET’S GO FISHING! (PART 1)
We are fortunate to have a rich resource of fish habitat in Western Massachusetts. For the next two weeks our young Adventurers will discover respectful fishing practices. We will learn about tying knots and casting a line while taking a look at different types of bait. We’ll also be discussing hook safety and fish habitat. Fishing poles and gear will be provided. Participants are welcome to bring their own poles too.

Week 5 - Monday (05/12/08)
LET’S GO FISHING! (PART 2)
We’ll continue our fish explorations as our young Adventurers are introduced to the TMO/MA Angler Education Program. We will continue with learning the basics of fishing, simple biology, fish habitat, fishing gear safety, and courteous fishing habits while instilling respect for fish and their environment. Fishing poles and gear will be provided. Participants are welcome to bring their own poles too.

Week 6 - Monday (05/19/08)
HIKING ADVENTURES
April shower’s bring May flowers, including Dutchman’s Britches, Trillium, Yellow Violets, and Trout Lilly’s. May is an excellent time to identify wildflowers, plants and trees while discussing how we can avoid poisonous plants while being adventurous outdoors. We will hike around the 500 acre Base camp, and see what April showers have helped to bring to life while discussing their importance to our ecosystem. Participants are welcome to bring along a plant press and ID books.

June 2nd, 9th, & 16th

Week 7 - Monday (06/02/08)
CANOEING (PART 1)
Our young Adventurers will take to the water for the next two weeks. We will access the waters here at the Base Camp and learn safety skills around the water and canoes. Wearing provided personal flotation devices (PFD), we’ll learn all the different paddle strokes and proper techniques while paddling around our beautiful 60 acre wild and scenic Scout Pond. Please bring shoes that can get wet and a change of clothes.

Week 8 - Monday (06/09/08)
CANOEING (PART 2)
Our young Adventurers will conclude their canoeing experience, beginning where we left off last week. Wearing provided personal flotation devices (PFD), we’ll continue to practice our canoeing techniques and safety skills as we explore our watershed on canoe. Please bring shoes that can get wet and a change of clothes.

Week 9 - (06/16/08)
TIN CAN ICE CREAM SOCIAL
Our last day will conclude our Hilltown Families Spring 08 Program with our young Adventurers playing outdoor games and making their own ice cream by using a tin can! They will learn how to construct their homemade ice cream maker from materials brought from home and follow through by making their very own to enjoy. And ice cream social will follow.

www.hilltownfamilies.org

Check out programs for the older kids in the
ALPs
After school programs page and Homeschoolers page.

Adventure Learning Programs

Tekoa Mountain Outdoors
Mondays After-School Adventures
Ages 5 through 7
Age appropriate activities
Schedule of events

Winter 08 Sessions.

January, 7, 14, 28, 2008 Games & Activities in Environmental Education (EE).
1/7/08 We will start off our program with indoor/outdoor games to help with introductions to our program, Talk about up coming activities, projects we will be doing in the future. Introduce all the gear and materials we will be using during our program. Hot cocoa /tea / coffee.

1/14/08 EE Activity. The shape of things: As humans we depend on all of our senses-touching, tasting, hearing, smelling and seeing-to gather impressions of our environment. Our brains sort out the diversety of sizes, colors, and shapes that we see. In this activity our adventurers / explorers will be able to identify common shapes appearing in our natural and man made environments. Hot cocoa / tea / coffee.

Our adventurers found a great snow shelter to explore.

1/28/08 EE Activity. Get in touch with trees: By way of trees in the area of Base Camp and a Mystery Box. Adventurers will explore their sense of touch and discover shapes and textures in nature. Hot cocoa / tea / coffee.

February, 4, 11, 25, 2008 Navigation with and without maps & compass, tracking.
2/4/08 We will start off our program with indoor/outdoor games to help with introductions to our Map & Compass program. Learn how to use a compass, what it does and how it does it. Hot cocoa / tea / coffee.
After a lot of hiking in different directions we found our way back to Base Camp for activities & Hot Cocoa.

2/11/08 Off we go, right out into the woods. Using what we learned the week before. We will use a TMO Base Camp map and try to navigate around the Base Camp using things called Bearings. We are also going to learn how to orient our maps, count paces and steps to measure distance to reach our goals Hot cocoa / tea / coffee.

2/25/08 We will be using Snow Shoes to explore the Base camp and see who or what is visiting our back yards. We will identify tracks, draw them, talk about why the track is there, and we'll incorparate our Map & Compass and matchless fire building skills while exploring. Hot cocoa / tea / coffee.

March, 3, 10, 24, 31, 2008 Eastern Bluebird box building projects, games and kites.
3/3/08 EE Activity. Eastern Bluebird box building project starts off with discussions about the Bluebird why it left New England and why it's important to help them return to our Watershed. this program will require the parent to help their child buid their very own Bluebird nesting box and then decorate them with natural objects found right here at the Base camp. Parent are encouraged to bring a hammer, safety glasses because supplies are limited. Hot cocoa / tea / coffee.

3/10/08 EE Activity. Finish building and adding our personalized decor to our take home Bluebird nesting boxes. After everyone is completed with their project we'll end our afternoon with a talk about Kites. Go fly a kite! We will take time and put together the kites, add string and tails, we will discuss kite safety and manuvers styles and more. We will build a Wind Sock and see were our wind is coming from. then off to our Athletic field area to try out this fun and breezy activity.Parents should buy their child a pre made kite from a store for this activity. Hot cocoa / tea / coffee.

3/24/08 We will introduce our Spring Sessions. This is focused around Wetlands in our watershed. We will be exploring the Base Camp Pond and streams to capture the signs of of Spring. Whos out and about? Whats turning green, Fiddleheads and a Trillium hunt. bring a bug /fish net, and we will try to make a hand lense.

3/31/08 Winter Sessions Home Made Tin Can Ice cream party. We will plan this day out on 3/10/08. Bring a CLEAN large coffe can 39oz =2.7 lb, and a small 12oz can with the tops, make sure that they fit inside one another. and your own flavor fillers like chocolate chips, jimmies / colored shotz, etc.......

In April we will start,
ALPs Spring session, April through June
Sign up soon!