Nature in Camping 5 



posted on the bulletin board and made into illustrated posters. Read them to 

 the children in your nature group and encourage them to make poem col- 

 lections for their notebooks. 



Decorate the Tables Keeping the camp tables decorated and changing the 

 flowers offers a good project for the nature group. The nature students are 

 familiar with the wild flowers and know which species are plentiful so that 

 no rare ones are picked. 



Floral arrangement is another important part of the program which such 

 a project should include, each flower in the centerpiece being labeled so that 

 the campers at the table can learn its name. 



Every once in a while it is well to surprise the campers by enclosing a leaf 

 in their napkins and asking the head of each table to see if all the children 

 know the name of their leaves. Attractive place cards can be made also by 

 using such natural materials as fruits or shells. 



A NATURE PLOT 



An excellent way to introduce nature to a beginner is to mark off a small 

 plot of ground, say 100 paces or more square, and identify all the plants 

 growing on the plot. This may be used for individual study, or for a group 

 of children working together. The method is good because it limits the 

 field of nature to a few square feet of ground and keeps the child from 

 becoming bewildered or discouraged. On the plot there should be three or 

 four species of trees, a half dozen flowers, a few ferns, some moss, etc. This 

 gives the child experience in identifying in several fields of nature and at 

 the same time enables him to decide which is the most interesting for him 

 if he wishes to pursue his study at a later date. 



