YMCA EAST BAY
OUTDOOR SCHOOL
AT CAMP ARROYO
Draw a picture of yourself at Y-EBOS
Name: _________________________________
School: _________________________________
Teacher: ________________________________
Welcome to YMCA East Bay Outdoor School
Here is an example of what your day might look like:
7:00am
Rise and Shine! Make sure you do your chores and get
your backpack ready for the day.
Breakfast time, eat up so you have enough energy!
Morning lessons with your Adventure group
Wash your hands and line up for lunch
Lunch time
Quiet Cabin Time (this is a great time to work in your
journal)
Get ready for your lesson
Afternoon lessons with your adventure group
Get ready for Rec in your cabins
Recreation time!!!
Wash your hands and line up for dinner
Dinner time
Cabin Time
Evening Program
Get ready for bed
Lights Out! Make sure you get lots of sleep, tomorrow
is a busy day!
8:15
9:00
11:30
11:45
12:30pm
1:15
1:30
3:45
4:15
5:30
5:45
6:30
7:15
8:45
9:30
Backpack Checklist:
These are the things you should have with you at all times
□
□
□
□
□
□
Water bottle, full of water
An extra layer (jacket or sweatshirt)
Sunscreen (even if it’s cloudy)
Your journal
Water bottle!!
Inhaler/epi pen (if you have one)
My Cabin’s Name is: ________________________________________
My Chaperones Name is: ____________________________________
My Naturalists Name is: _____________________________________
My Adventure Groups Name is: ______________________________
I am most excited about: ____________________________________
2
At the YMCA we have ______ core values, they are
_______________, __________________, __________________, and
__________________.
I have to ______________ and stay on the _______________ unless I
have permission from my naturalist.
Even though I have some really good friends here I still have to
respect other peoples _______________ ________________.
I don’t like it when people touch my belongings without asking, so
I am going to respect other peoples _________________.
I’m not going to go anywhere alone. I will always have an
________________ and a _________________ with me.
I will only go into my own _________________.
I will keep __________________ grounded.
I will not waste ________________, because it is a valuable natural
resource!
I will do my best to follow all of the above rules so that I can have
the best possible time this week at outdoor school.
Student Signature: _______________________________
Four
Buddy
WORD BANK
Caring Responsibility
Walk Space Bubbles Stuff Adult Honesty
Cabin Nature
Water Respect
3
Trail
My First Day at Outdoor School
Notes
My first lesson was: ______________________________
I learned about:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
My Favorite Activity Was:
______________________________________________________
The other students in my adventure group are:
________________
_________________ __________________
________________
_________________ __________________
________________
_________________ __________________
________________
_________________ __________________
________________
_________________ __________________
________________
The chaperones in my adventure group are:
_________________ __________________
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29
Notes
Our Evening Program was the:
______________________________________________________
My favorite part was:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
For dinner we had:
______________________________________________________
The thing I want to remember the most about today is:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
The thing I am most proud of from today is:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Tomorrow I am most looking forward to:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
My Nature Name is: ___________________________________
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5
My Second Day at Outdoor School
Lichen: a symbiotic organism made up
of fungus and algae.
Prey: an animal that is eaten by other
animals.
My chore this morning was: ____________________________
Limiting Factor: is the lack of a natural
resource which prevents populations
from increasing in size.
Producer: an organism that produces
its own food with the help of sunlight,
typically plants.
For breakfast we had: __________________________________
Macro invertebrate: invertebrates that
can be seen without magnification.
Reduce: to create less waste.
My morning lesson was: ________________________________
Mammal: a warm blooded animal that
has a backbone, hair and gives live
birth. (Exceptions are the spiny anteater
and the duckbilled platypus)
I learned about:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
My Favorite Activity Was:
_____________________________________________________
For lunch we had: _____________________________________
During cabin time I: ____________________________________
______________________________________________________
My afternoon lesson was: ______________________________
I learned about:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
My Favorite Activity Was:
______________________________________________________
6
Reuse: to use something over and over
again.
Recycle: to send materials away to be
made into something else.
Renewable: something we use that will
come back over time.
Metamorphic: under pressure and heat
a rock will re-crystallize and form a new
type of rock.
Riparian: relating to or living on the
bank of a waterway such as a creek or
lake.
Migration: the seasonal movement of
organisms that travel long distances to
follow food sources or to find optimal
weather conditions.
Rods: cells in your eyes that allow you
to see back, white and shades of gray.
They improve your peripheral vision.
Native: living or growing naturally in the
area where a species originates.
Rot: see compost
Niche: the role of an organism within its
community
Scat: an animals dropping.
Scavenger: an animal that eats dead
animals
Nocturnal: animals that are most active
at night.
Sedimentary: a type of rock formed in
layers, commonly hold fossils and ripple
marks.
Nonrenewable: something we use that
cannot be replaced when it is gone.
Ohlone: the tribe of Native Americans
who once lived in this area.
Stewardship: the careful and
responsible management of something
entrusted to one’s care.
Omnivore: an animal that eats both
plants and animals.
Sustainable: to only take from the earth
what is necessary, and to give back
what you can.
Organic: not using chemicals to garden
or farm.
Symbiosis: A relationship between 2
organisms, which may or may not
benefit both organisms.
Ort: food left in your plate or drink left in
your cup at the end of a meal.
Oxygen: a chemical that animals need
to breathe. It is released by plants.
Vertebrate: an organism that has a
backbone or spine.
Photosynthesis: the process by which
plants make their own food.
Watershed: all the land that drains into
a specific body of water.
Precipitation: in the water cycle when it
rains, snows or sleets.
Predator: an animal that hunts other
animals.
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For Recreation Time I:
______________________________________________________
Outdoor School Glossary
Cones: cells in your eyes that allow you
to see color.
Abiotic: anything that is not alive or
never was alive (air, water, etc.)
Conservation: a wise use of resources.
Adaptation: a body part or behaviors
that help a living organism survive in its
environment.
Consumer: an organism that needs to
eat other organisms and cannot produce
its own food.
______________________________________________________
Amphibian: a type of animal that lives
in and out of water. They have slimy
skin and many can breathe through their
skin.
Crepuscular: an animal that is most
active at dawn or dusk
For dinner we had: ____________________________________
Cultural: abiotic or biotic things that
have been changed by people.
Our Evening Program was the: __________________________
Bioaccumulation: a process when
pollutants are ingested or absorbed by a
plant or animal. The pollutant is then
stored in the cells of the plant or animal.
Decomposer: an organism that eats
dead or decaying material and turns it
into soil.
My favorite part was: __________________________________
Diurnal: an animal that is most active
during the day.
______________________________________________________
Ecology: the study of the natural
environment and of the relationship of
organisms to one another and their
surroundings.
The thing I want to remember the most about today is:
______________________________________________________
Ecosystem: all the interconnected
parts, physical and biological, of a
particular area.
______________________________________________________
Biodiversity: many different kinds of
living things in a particular environment.
Biomonitering: the study of an
ecosystem’s overall health by surveying
the presence of its living inhabitants.
Biotic: anything that is or once was
living (birds, dead leaves, etc.)
Camouflage: the ability of a living thing
to blend in with its surroundings.
Carbon dioxide: a chemical that is
breathed out by animals and taken in by
being used by plants.
Environment: an organism’s
surroundings, including the plants and
animals it interacts with. Also, the place
where people live, work and play.
Carabineer: equipment that clips the
climber to the rope.
Erosion: the carrying away of land or
soil by the action of wind, water or ice.
Carnivore: an animal that eats mostly
meat.
Evaporation: the conversion of water or
other element into vapor or invisible
particles.
Carrying Capacity: how much an area
can hold and still provide the necessities
of life.
Gri-Gri: belay device.
Habitat: the place where an animal or
plant lives that provides what it needs to
survive.
Chlorophyll: a chemical in plants that
allows them to produce their own food
by photosynthesis.
Herbivore: an animal that eats mostly
plants.
Community: plants and animals living
together in areas that have resources
they need to survive.
Interdependence: a condition in which
two or more species must depend on
each other for survival.
Compost: a mixture made largely of
decayed plant matter used for fertilizing
and planting.
Invertebrate: an organism without a
backbone.
Condensation: a part of the water
cycle, when clouds form.
Igneous: a type of rock that was formed
by volcanoes.
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______________________________________________________
The thing I am most proud of from today is:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Tomorrow I am most looking forward to:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
7
My Third Day at Outdoor School
My chore this morning was: ____________________________
For breakfast we had: __________________________________
My morning lesson was: ________________________________
I learned about:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
My Favorite Activity Was:
______________________________________________________
For lunch we had: _____________________________________
During cabin time I: ____________________________________
______________________________________________________
My afternoon lesson was: ______________________________
I learned about:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
My Favorite Activity Was:
______________________________________________________
Color in the map. Where did you go while you
were at YMCA East Bay Outdoor School?
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25
Use the space below to write a letter to the Earth. Talk
about what you learned this week, tell the Earth what
changes you’re going to make when you get home.
Date:
Dear Mother Earth,
For Recreation Time I: _________________________________
______________________________________________________
For dinner we had: ____________________________________
Our Evening Program was the: __________________________
My favorite part was: __________________________________
______________________________________________________
The thing I want to remember the most about today is:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
The thing I am most proud of from today is:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Tomorrow I am most looking forward to:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Love,
______________________________________________________
_____________________________
(Signature)
PS
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9
CREATE-A-CRITTER
Memories from Y-EBOS
Create your own critter. Give it three adaptations to help it survive. New Friends I made this week:
The funniest thing that happened to
me this week:
A portrait of my naturalist:
Something I learned that I will never forget! My biggest fear was:
My favorite plant or animal:
Critter Name: Habitat: Description: I conquered it by:
Adaptations: 1. 2. 3. An Adaptation is (hint: look in the glossary): 10
Two Ways I can change the world:
1.
2.
Now I see the secret of the best persons.
It is to grow in the open air and to eat
and sleep with the Earth.
23
-Walt Whitman
My Last Day at Outdoor School
My chore was: ________________________________________
For breakfast we had: __________________________________
My Last lesson was: ____________________________________
I learned about:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
My Favorite Activity Was:_______________________________
For lunch we had: _____________________________________
Try to do everything on your BINGO card before you go home!
B
I
Look at
Poison Oak
Eat Lunch
Outside
Do your
chores
every
morning
Meet your
adventure
group
Make a
new friend
Have ZERO
ORT
Inspect a
rock
Read all of
the signs in
your cabin
My favorite part of the week was:________________________
______________________________________________________
My least favorite part of the week was: ___________________
______________________________________________________
The first thing I want to do when I get home is: ___________
High 5
your
Naturalist
Hug a tree
N
Look at
the stars
Find an
acorn? Do
you know
where it
came
from?
Go on a
hike!
Take a 5
minute (or
less)
shower
SING A
SONG
Have fun
at Rec
Time
The thing I will miss the most about Y-EBOS is:
______________________________________________________
22
Play a fun
game
See an
animal
that lives
at Camp
Arroyo
See a
turkey
11
O
Laugh at a
skit
FREE
FREE
FREE
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
G
Kiss the
ground
Lay in the
GRASS!
Be a
hopper
Give
someone a
compliment
What can YOU do at home to conserve energy?
Renewable Resources:
Nonrenewable Resources:
Is something that we use that
will come back in time.
Is something that we use that
cannot be replaced once it is
gone.
Write some examples here:
Write some examples here:
The 4R’s
____________________________________
____________________________________
Write the meals (ex: Thursday Breakfast) across the bottom of the graph (X‐axis) and the quarts along the left hand side (Y‐axis). Then fill in the amount of ORT that the entire Turkey Lodge had for each meal. Hint: You can use the big ORT chart as an example! ____________________________________
____________________________________
R__ __ __ __ __ __ _________________________________
R__ __
Use this graph to keep track of the mealtime ORT What does it all mean?
R__ __ __ __ __ ____________________________________
R__ __ __ __
ORT REPORT
What does ORT mean?
____________________________________
____________________________________
I promise to: _______________________________________
___________________________________________________
__________________________________when I get home.
Natural Origins:
Paper comes from ________________
Aluminum comes from ____________
Glass comes from _________________
Plastic comes from ________________
My t-shirt comes from _____________
12
What are some ways you can reduce your ORT? 1. 2. 3. What was your lowest amount of ORT? _________ What meal was it? ____________________________ 21
Pass this around your cabin. Using the parts of the flower have
EVENING PROGRAMS
everyone write something they like about you.
Goodnight and sleep well my friends. Goodnight and sleep well
my friends. We’ll all be together tomorrow again so goodnight
and sleep well my friends.
Draw a picture of your favorite Evening Program: What is your favorite nocturnal animal? __________________ What cells in your eyes help you see color? ________________ How about black and white? ____________________________ Connect the stars to create a constellation
What is one new thing you learned about someone in your cabin
this week?
Create a story about your constellation: What is one new thing you learned about someone in your
adventure group?
What is one new thing you leaned about someone at your table?
20
13
THE FBI
Some people may think the FBI stands for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, but here at Y-EBOS we know the truth…
Imagine if you were to grow a garden what it would look like. Use
the space below to create your perfect garden (would it have flowers,
fruit, vegetables, chickens, a pond?)
F ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
B ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
I ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
What is the job of the FBI?_________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Illustrate the song below with different kinds of FBI:
THE FBI
by the Banana Slug String Band
The FBI…. whenever something dies Oh, the FBI…. is there on the scene The FBI…. is working overtime Oh the FBI, to pick those bones clean Fungus….Fungus, Bacteria…. Bacteria, Invertebrates…. Invertebrates, The FBI There's fungus all among us and its breaking things down Returning nutrients into the fertile ground Millions of mycelium underground that's why When you hold a handful of earth you hold the FBI There are millions of bacteria in that soil over there Microscopic life is in all water, land and air You should know that they are there though they are too small for your eye These are secret agents of the FBI Insects, bugs, slugs and worms are working night and day The invertebrate crew are special agents of decay To remove whatever's rotten, they will hop, crawl, hide or fly Enforcing nature's laws, they are the FBI Lay down very still in the duff and learn their ways Lift up a rotten log and you will surely be amazed Go creeping through the forest, learn to see and be a spy In search of evidence of the FBI 14
Find a quiet space all to yourself. Take some time to reflect on your
week so far. Use the space below to draw a picture, write a poem or a
story, or you can just sit and enjoy the beauty of your surroundings.
19
Nature Poetry
A Haiku is a Japanese poem with 3 lines.
Example:
Now you try:
Green grass in April (5 syllables)
Birds begin to sing in trees (7 syllables)
Children play outside (5 syllables)
Close your eyes. Think of your favorite place in the whole world.
Imagine what things smell like, look like, and feel like. Open your eyes
and fill in the blanks…
I see _________________________________________________
Cycles
Did you know that everything in the world is cyclical? That means that
everything is constantly cycling around. List all of the worlds that you can
think of that have the world “cycle” in them:
Cycles are very important to the environment. Can you think of any
cycles that affect the environment? List them below…
I hear ________________________________________________
I smell _______________________________________________
I taste ________________________________________________
Draw an example of one of the cycles you listed above, use a lot of
detail:
I feel _________________________________________________
I think _______________________________________________
I believe ______________________________________________
Create your own, original poem. Be creative. Breathe deeply and write
whatever comes to mind.
18
15
Cabin Name Word Search
Can you find all of the cabin names below?
D
R
O
I
B
W
A
B
L
J
L
W
Z
J
H
ALDER
BAYLAUREL
BLUEOAK
I
O
Q
O
O
S
A
U
W
J
A
Q
Y
K
S
S
E
O
L
T
O
M
C
P
L
L
B
T
Y
D
R
H
L
W
F
Q
F
K
D
A
R
E
C
C
S
T
I
X
I
N
H
T
E
Y
L
G
A
D
K
P
W
U
X
Q
T
O
R
Y
E
O
M
S
U
H
I
G
R
N
B
B
P
T
E
X
O
A
O
B
K
P
D
Y
A
L
F
L
F
T
R
N
U
B
D
D
I
BUCKEYE
COTTONWOOD
MADRONE
R
Q
F
D
A
Z
U
E
O
T
Z
A
E
K
N
B
G
X
T
K
W
Y
E
S
C
U
U
R
A
E
T
R
Z
E
L
P
A
M
O
Z
E
R
E
E
J
V
N
R
J
K
L
E
R
U
A
L
Y
A
B
J
G
R
O
H
A
D
G
V
C
X
K
T
M
D
B
MAPLE
PINE
REDBUD
M
A
D
R
O
N
E
H
N
E
D
F
H
S
C
YMCA East Bay Outdoor School Crossword Puzzle
Use the clues below to fill in the crossword puzzle (if you need help, check out the glossary).
O
C
B
U
U
M
U
Q
R
B
V
V
F
K
D
SYCAMORE
WALNUT
WILLOW
What do all of the cabin names have in common? ____________________
________________________________________________________________
Draw a picture of your cabin:
Across
1. When clouds form in the water cycle.
8. Plants and animals living together in an area that has the resources they
need to survive.
10. A body part or behaviors that help a living organism survive in its
environment.
Sustainable means to only take what you need from the earth, and give back what you can.
Down
2. A type of rock that was formed by volcanoes.
3. An organism that eats dead or decaying material and turns it into soil.
4. An animal that is eaten by other animals.
5. The carrying away of land or soil.
6. An animal that hunts other animals
7. The role of an organism within its community.
9. The place where an animal or plant lives that provides what it needs to
survive.
16
17
What are 3 sustainable features used to build your cabin?
1.
2.
3.