Adventure minicamp gives youth a taste of the great outdoors

MARYSVILLE — More than one young Marysville resident got his or her first taste of the great outdoors in the city’s Outdoor Adventures camp for 4- to 6-year-olds.

The crew of 12 or so day campers explored Jennings Memorial Park, hiking each day of the camp through the park’s 51 acres. Each day featured a project for campers, from making and packing their own snack boxes and trail mix to enjoying smores and stories read by city recreation coordinator Andrea Kingsford in the cool of a two-room Coleman tent.

It was an introduction to the outdoors “for lots of the kids,” said Kingsford, who led the camp with several assistants. “Some of the kids have been camping and some hadn’t done that until today.”

Projects didn’t just get kids out into the outdoors of Jennings Park, but were often built around things found throughout the park. One day, campers took leaves and painted leaf prints on wind socks. Another day, they made bird feeders out of pinecones.

Nevertheless, as young as the children were, the camp included plenty of playground time too, while counselors set up activities.

Meeting three days a week, the Mini-Adventure Camp series is designed to offer young children a variety of hands-on projects on different themes each week. They parallel the day-long summer camps for older children, ages 6 to 11. The next camp is Creative Kids, featuring crayon melts, sculpting, tie dye, games and pizza-making, running July 27-31. Other future camps include a taste of different sports and a safety camp, in which children meet police officers and ride through staged safety situations.

“It’s a great way for kids to get their first summer camp experience,” Kingsford said.

For more information about the camps offered by the city of Marysville, visit the city Web site at http://ci.marysville.wa.us/ and click on Parks and Recreation, or call the office at 360-363-8400.

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