Twin Rocks Friends Camp

 For our most recent adventure, we headed out with excitement to the Twin Rocks Homeschool Day at Rockaway Beach in Tillamook. If you've been to this event, you know how refreshing the experience is. If you haven't been, what are you waiting for?! :) Twin Rocks Friends Camp  sponsors the homeschool day. They also have an Outdoor School for Homeschoolers and this is the next great program Twin Rocks Friends Camp is sponsoring!

Their registration process is a cinch to go through via their website. And do you know what is really nice? Twin Rocks sends out a weather update and a list of what to bring to help you be prepared and packed up before their event. If you are an organized individual, you'll appreciate it because it helps you get that check list checked off and it's one less thing for you to think about doing! If you're a not-so-organized individual, you'll love it because the list is all right there for you!

We took *the beach route* and my husband graciously drove so I could soak in all of the beauty leading up to our destination (it's tough being  in the driver's seat when one is an artist!). About half-way we pulled over to enjoy our lunch (the activities began at 1:00 pm so we figured we had plenty of time).

© LG 2012

And so... we may have had plenty of time except for this semi-truck pulling out in front of us once we got back on the road. Nooooo! It was literally miles before we could pass this truck. We figured it was an opportunity to help us practice patience. :)

© LG 2012

That is not to say there wasn't much rejoicing when we were able to finally pass it! How wonderful to see the open road before us once again! To see that speedometer once again climb up to the speed limit so we could get to the fun at Twin Rocks Friends Camp!

© LG 2012

Haha! Well how about that? Now we were behind another slow vehicle. Okay kids, how does that song go? Have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry, when we get impatient, it only makes us worry, remember, remember that God is patient too, and think of all the times when others have to wait for you!

Right! :)

© LG 2012

(I absolutely love this logo and sign concept. I could go on but I'll spare you.)

Okay! So we arrived half an hour late but we made it safely! We noticed in the kiosk window that dogs are not allowed (so that's something to keep in mind). The friendly gal at the kiosk gave us parking information and easy directions to the building where all things fun and wonderful began.

Before I continue, I must share that one of the first things I noticed when we stepped out of our vehicle was the atmosphere. Peaceful. 

© LG 2012

Twin Rocks had everything organized so well! 

There were handy signs staked throughout the 

camp ground to help guests along the way.

© LG 2012

 
Once we entered the building, we were greeted by more smiles and warm people. We were given a packet with a rotation schedule for each activity, an outdoor scavenger hunt sheet, a beach scavenger hunt sheet, a tree and shrub identification sheet, a tide pool identification chart, more outdoor school and camp information, and an issue of their "Sandpiper" publication. These were all great things for our visit and possible future plans.

While this was very structured and organized, we were never made to feel that we had to rush through anything. This is one of the biggest things that made the experience so pleasant. (Do you see there is special attention and care given to nursing mothers and infants? That made this nursing mama happy, feel welcomed and thankful there are people who appreciate a mother caring for her child!)

So, on the schedule all of the activities are categorized by ages that they are geared toward. There are four rotations and several activity categories. If you have a broad span of age ranges and you'd like to attend all of the categories, you'll need to attend the event again. :) I appreciated that they allowed a certain number of families to participate in any given activity at a time vs. a certain number of children; this guarantees that your kids will be kept together in your family.

Our family divided to participate in activities according to ages. We are accustomed to doing unit studies so we had hoped to be able to all stick together and enjoy learning as a whole family unit (later on we saw that camp staff was very flexible with various ages being mixed in). :)

***Sea Star Dissection***
The Older Kids

I don't know about your family, but ours loves being out in nature and learning about God's creation and evidence of intelligent design.

© LG 2012

Gloves, goggles and cover-ups are all provided.

© LG 2012

Mr. Thomas is passionate about sharing his knowledge about nature. His love for our Lord was evident as he taught; he shared about the logical evidence behind the design of sea stars and how it points to our Creator. He invited students to stay past the scheduled time for the class if they wanted to, engaged them in conversation during the class period and encouraged questions. It was wonderful. 

I'm going to share some dissection photos. If your child does not want to dissect and would rather watch, the camp staff is fine with it if parents do it. (It was pleasantly surprising that there wasn't a strong odor.)

© LG 2012

Do you know how a sea star feels between the feet?

 Do you know what the feet are called?

Do you know the speed they creep along at? 

What are pedicellaria and what is their purpose? How are they evidence against evolution?

Did you know they have eyes? Do you know where they are located?

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

 The water vascular design is fascinating.

How can a sea star pry open oysters and clams?
Do you know how they eat their food? You might be surprised!

Review by our son:
"I really liked how the sea stars function and eat. I liked how the teacher presented the information, broke it down into steps and had us dissect it ourselves."

Review by our daughter:
"I think it was fascinating. I liked how we were able to dissect the sea star because it helped me to understand how its body works. I like how Mr. Thomas talked about evidence for a Creator. It was nice to be able to ask assistants or Mr. Thomas questions as we went along."

~ ~ ~ I Spy Nature Walk ~ ~ ~
The Younger Kids

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

The kids enjoyed learning about nursery trees and the purpose behind those.

© LG 2012

As they walked along the trail, our guide stopped at 

various plants and trees to help with identification.

© LG 2012

It was a really beautiful area. We learned that
Twin Rocks Friends Camp owns about 2/3 of the lake.

© LG 2012

They installed this walk over the marsh land so people
can get a closer look at many of plants that thrive there.
This is great because normally people can't see these due
to the inability to walk in the marshy area.

*You'll see our double wide jogging stroller in the photo at the end of this blog post. The trails and the board walk were barely wide enough for this. You could probably get by with a single jogging stroller just fine. :)

- - - Flubber and More - - -
Our Whole Age Range

© LG 2012

 Each table had easy step-by-step instructions,
ingredients and materials to use.

Flubber is just fun!
Our family enjoyed making it together.
 

© LG 2012

There was a handy washing station on the way out.

This was nice so we could quickly clean up and then

head on over to the building with the art, craft and science exploration tables.

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

 Complimentary hot coco from a self-serve station.
They also offered complimentary cookies!

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

This is one craft activity to participate in.
They also had a table for exploring water color techniques
and one where kids could create a "God's Eye" craft.

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

There were a lot of pelts and other bio facts to explore.

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

   This was a clever way to help kids learn about animal tracks!
The footprints are stamps and they could stamp the footprint
on the informational sheet pertaining to that particular animal.

© LG 2012

  They were able to observe different soil samples with microscopes.

>>> Archery <<<
For ages 8 and up.

© LG 2012

The instructors are patient and kind.
They teach to your child's learning style, teach safety rules,
briefly practice the form and steps, and then let them go for it!
They also are experienced in teaching left or right handed individuals.

At the very end, they had a $270 scholarship drawing
 for the Outdoor School for Homeschoolers and then a closing prayer.

 Thank You Twin Rocks Friends Camp
for treating families to such a fun day!

If you *like* them on their facebook page, you can receive updates. 

Cost: Twin Rocks Friends Camp did not charge families for this event . 

Tips:
*Allow for extra travel time because you'll likely find yourself behind semi-trucks or campers like we did!

*Pack a lunch if you have a ways to drive.
*Keep you doggie at home...they are not allowed at the camp. :)

*Print off the map for the camp to take with you. You may want to laminate it in case it rains. A link for the map is offered via an e-mail they send out to you.

*Utilize their list of things to be prepared with that they send to you in an e-mail.
*It's Oregon so it's likely to rain! :) There are lots of covered activities so don't let that keep you from going!

*There are a lot of things to do, including trails to go on and the beach to explore. Be prepared for those types of things.

*They have souvenirs and espresso and food items available to purchase.

*Single wide jogging strollers are a better fit for the trails vs. the double wide type we have.

Restrooms: 

Available, clean, warm, have warm water, and showers!

Best Time of Year: 

Year round! Just be prepared for the weather on the day(s) you go.

Ages: 

All

All content is © LG 2012
Thank You!