Camp Bethel is honored to have provided the KinderCritters program to area schools since 1995. Thank you for your continuing support and participation in KinderCritters!

Fees: $8.00 per student, $4.00 per parent chaperone, and teachers and school staff are free.

Reservation Fee: Reservation requires a $10.00 registration fee to secure your date. This non-refundable fee is separate from and in  addition to your total fee. Be sure of your chosen date and Activity 3 choice upon making a reservation.

​Lunch: Bring your own lunch & drinks and enjoy a picnic together. Use our picnic shelter with restroom facilities and trashcans.

Rain: Don’t let a rainy day prevent you from coming. Check the week’s forecast (for Troutville, VA). If rain is possible or imminent on the day of your Field Trip, send notes home the day(s) before to have your students bring full rain gear (rain jacket with hood, water shoes or rain boots), and a full change of dry clothes and dry shoes. For rainy days, we alter the schedule to include activities in our Gym AND out in the rain to address SOLs K.2 (using senses in the rain), K.5 (water flow & properties), K.6 (basic needs of living organisms).

Cancellation or date-switch: Once scheduled, Camp Bethel is obliged to provide your program, so we will not cancel except for an extreme emergency. If you choose to cancel or change your dates, the $10.00 reservation fee is non-refundable. If you choose to reschedule your date a new $10 reservation fee must be paid to secure your new date.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE:
09:45am: Arrival and welcome.
10:00: Group A Activity 1, Group B Activity 2, Group C Activity 3 (*Option 1 or 2).
10:45: Group A Activity 2, Group B Activity 3 , Group C Activity 1.
11:30: Group A Activity 3, Group B Activity 1, Group C Activity 2.
12:15pm: LUNCH in the Shelter.
12:45: Load buses for home school.
*We can start and end earlier or later; indicate your times in your reservation inquiry form.
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ACTIVITY LESSONS:

Activity 1: Hike to the Big Oak
Students hike ¼ mile to our 200+ year-old Big Oak tree. During the hike, leaders point out a variety of plants and wildlife and ask students to compare them according to shape, size, color, etc. These activities require students to use their senses to feel, smell, and observe little wonders pointed out by the leader. After arriving at the Big Oak, students compare its size to other trees and non-living objects in the vicinity. Key Concepts: the five senses, biological diversity, life cycle, stages of growth, maturity, decline and death. SOLs: K.1, K.2, K.6, K.8, K.9
Rain Alternative: Water Water Everywhere! Students describe and observe what happens in a rainstorm, as well as discover the properties of water. SOLs: K.2, K.5

Activity 2: Tree Cookies Lesson & Birds and Worms Lesson
Tree Cookies Lesson: In this activity, students trace environmental and historical changes using their own individual cross section of a tree trunk, or “tree cookie.” The leader reads a story describing a tree’s life. Students can decorate their tree cookie and make it into a necklace to take home. Key Concepts: organisms change through life cycle: growth, maturity, decline and death, and organisms’ roles in the ecosystem. SOLs: K.6, K.8, K.9
Birds and Worms Lesson: Camouflage is an important survival strategy in the animal kingdom. In this activity, students discover the value of  Protective coloration as they pretend to be birds in search of colored worms (made from colored pipe cleaners). Key Concepts: organisms’ adaptations to change, camouflage, effects of altering the environment; interdependence of organisms. SOLs: K.1, K.4, K.6, K.9
Rain Alternative: lesson held indoors

Activity 3: Choose Option 1 or Option 2:

Option 1: Texture and Color Hunt. Students use their senses while walking in the woods to find objects of different colors and textures. Once the objects are found, we encourage students to increase their vocabulary in describing objects while blindfolded and match them to pictures with the help of their sighted classmates. Modified, these activities can take place rain or shine! SOLs: K1, K2, K4, K8.

Option 2: Animal Habitats and Movements: Students use games and observation to compare and contrast different habitats and experience the pros and cons of each one. Exploration of critters in their habitats help students disciver how they survive and how their habitat supplies all they need. More games cover how animals move and adapt to their surroundings to survive. These activities can take place rain or shine! SOLs: K1, K4, K5, K6, K8. 
FACILITY
Camp Bethel is located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, 8 minutes from exit 156 off I-81 (or 13 miles north of Hollins University off Rt. 11). Our 470 acres of forests, trails, ponds, streams, and meadows are perfect settings to reinforce your class lessons. Eat your packed lunches in our screened-in Shelter with bathrooms and refrigerators.

LEADERSHIP
Camp Bethel’s Outdoor Educator, Beth Wiegandt, coordinates the KinderCritters program. We work with community volunteers and Camp Bethel staff to provide excellent lesson and activity leadership. In addition to our staff we ask that you have one (or more) chaperone/teacher for every ten students attending.

TO RESERVE YOUR DATE
Programs are available weekdays during the Spring and Fall. Complete our "Reservation Inquiry Form" with your top THREE date choices, your Activity 3 choice (see descriptions above), your estimated headcount of children and adults, and estimated time of arrival & departure. KinderCritters Coordinator, Beth Wiegandt will contact you as soon as possible, so add her email to your contacts: YourOutdoorClassroom@gmail.com.
YOC Coordinator, Beth Wiegandt, 540-556-2594, YourOutdoorClassroom@gmail.com