About the Homeschool Enrichment Series
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(For info on SLNC’s Day-off from School Camps, please click here)
SLNC’s Homeschool Enrichment Series is an option for families who take a different approach to educating their children (ages 5-14). Our 4-week program provides an opportunity for children to get hands-on experience within the STEM disciplines, without the formal constraints. Each of the lessons are developed with the PA Standard Aligned System (SAS) in mind and ensure that children will excel in all settings.
There are five sessions per year: Fall, Fall II, Winter, Winter II, and Spring. The topics covered are relevant to each season. We enjoy all types of weather at SLNC and will encourage your children to feel the same way. It is important to make sure that your child dresses for the weather and is always prepared to get dirty! We love seeing students in closed toe shoes and long pants as we do explore in our forest, meadow, and marsh.
The program is a drop-off program run by our environmental educators. We encourage parents to minimize interactions with the class in order to reduce distractions. Parents are not encouraged to stay on site, but are welcome to hike the trails on their own during this time.
**UPDATE: Effective Monday, 2/28/2022, masking in County buildings is optional for all employees and visitors regardless of vaccination status.**
Registration Open Now.
Fall I 2023
Homeschooling Enrichment Series: Topic – Stream and Lake Health
AM (10:30 – 12:00) from October 11th – November 1st
During the Fall I AM series we will be focusing on stream and lake health. Over the course of 4 weeks students will learn to identify common aquatic invertebrates, observing and mapping stream qualities, the river continuum concept, and how to determine water quality through the collection and identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates. We will start with an introduction to identification as we will be practicing our identification skills over the course of the 4 weeks. Then, students will learn how sunlight, riparian zones, and fallen logs will change stream habitats and will learn to map these regions. The animals that you will find in a water body will change depending on the order of the stream or river. Students will learn how to predict the animals in the water by its physical characteristics using the river continuum concept as a model. The final week, students will put all of these pieces together, determine the health of Silver Lake, and use this information to build an informational poster.
October 11th – Introduction to Aquatics
October 18th – Stream Health and Mapping
October 25th – River Continuum Concept
November 1st – Biomonitoring of Silver Lake
Homeschooling Enrichment Series: Topic – Human Uses of Natural Environments
PM (1:30 – 3:00) from October 11th – November 1st
During the Fall I PM series we will be focusing on human uses of our natural environments and spaces. We will do a short hike through each of the habitats that we are learning about and then use items that we find on our hike and discuss their uses both now and historically. The first week we will focus on homemade dyes and inks from leaves and berries that we find in the forest. We will continue the next week discussing the fine clay at the base of streams and rivers. We will create paint out of the clay while discussing its medicinal and historical uses. During week 3 we will be focusing on the marsh. A marsh differentiates itself from a swamp by the amount of sunlight and open space! We will be using the sun’s light to create beautiful images using cyanotype. The final week we will pull invasive species from our meadow and learn to make ropes out of a plant that we otherwise have no use for. Although, it did have a historical use… which is why this invasive plant is in the United States. I look forward to meeting your learner and teaching them of the large number of ways that we, as humans, benefit from our environment.
October 11th – Forest Uses: Homemade Inks & Dyes
October 18th – Stream Uses: Sifting and Painting with Clay
October 25th – Marsh Uses: Cyanotype
November 1st – Meadow Uses: Homemade Ropes
Fall II 2023
Homeschooling Enrichment Series: Topic – Human Uses of Natural Environments
AM (10:30 – 12:00) from November 6th – December 20th
During the Fall I PM series we will be focusing on human uses of our natural environments and spaces. We will do a short hike through each of the habitats that we are learning about and then use items that we find on our hike and discuss their uses both now and historically. The first week we will focus on homemade dyes and inks from leaves and berries that we find in the forest. We will continue the next week discussing the fine clay at the base of streams and rivers. We will create paint out of the clay while discussing its medicinal and historical uses. During week 3 we will be focusing on the marsh. A marsh differentiates itself from a swamp by the amount of sunlight and open space! We will be using the sun’s light to create beautiful images using cyanotype. The final week we will pull invasive species from our meadow and learn to make ropes out of a plant that we otherwise have no use for. Although, it did have a historical use… which is why this invasive plant is in the United States. I look forward to meeting your learner and teaching them of the large number of ways that we, as humans, benefit from our environment.
November 29th – Forest Uses: Homemade Inks & Dyes
December 6th – Stream Uses: Sifting and Painting with Clay
December 13th – Marsh Uses: Cyanotype
December 20th – Meadow Uses: Homemade Ropes
Homeschooling Enrichment Series: Topic – Animals of SLNC
PM (1:30 – 3:00) from November 6th – December 20th
During the Fall II PM series we will be focusing on the animals of SLNC. Over the course of 4 weeks students will learn to identify and find signs of common species of turtles, mammals, birds, and invertebrates. We will start with an introduction to turtle identification and go over the many species of turtles in this region. We will then go out to Silver Lake with binoculars to survey the species of turtles that we can spot. During our mammal week, we will learn not only the common species of mammals but their tracks and scat while we go on a hike to find signs they are here. During week 3, students will each receive a pair of binoculars and we will not only go looking for birds but we will talk about their life history, where they nest, what they eat, and what times of the year you can find them. Our final week will focus on invertebrates. Students will learn basic adaptations of invertebrates and design their own insect before going out into the forest to find signs of their life. I look forward to meeting your learner as we dive into the animals that can be found in our own backyard!
November 29th – Turtles
December 6th – Mammals
December 13th – Birds
December 20th – Invertebrates
Pricing for Fall 2022:
Entire 4-week Session- $60/member; $80/non-members
Refund Policy:
If you have any questions, please contact Summer Camp Director/ Environmental Educator, Patricia Nichols at v-pmnichols@buckscounty.org