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Enter the Rainforest
Rainforests are lush places of marvel and mystery. You probably already know that rainforests get a lot of rain. But did you know that they are home to more than 5 million species of plants, animals, and insects? That's half of all the species on earth—and we're still discovering new creatures and plants in the rainforests all the time! And while rainforests only cover about 2 percent of the planet's surface, they produce 20 percent of the world's oxygen, which is why they are considered the "lungs of the planet."
This week at Camp Kinda, you'll trek deep into the world's rainforests, discovering amazing animals like poison dart frogs and bird-eating spiders, learning about efforts to protect the habitat of gorillas in the Congo, meeting the people who call the rainforest their home, and finding out how you can help protect and conserve the world's rainforests without leaving the house. So skip the bug spray but gear up for adventure, because we're taking a journey into the jungle.
what you’ll need
- Your Camp Kinda toolkit
- Shoebox and other small boxes
- Some thick, cardstock-type paper
- A straw
- Household items like chopsticks, clothespins, spoons, and pliers to use as "beaks"
- Small items like beans, marbles, pennies, rice etc.
- Popsicle sticks (craft sticks)
- Wood glue
- Toothpicks
- Empty water bottles or paper towel rolls
- Ribbon
- An empty cereal box (or other cardboard)
- A straight stick
- A rubber band
- A hole puncher
- Small rocks and twigs (optional)
weekly family activity
While watching the animated film FernGully: The Last Rainforest, you'll travel to an Australian rainforest inhabited by fairies. The adventure begins when Crysta, a brave fairy, meets Zak, a young logger, and accidentally shrinks him to the size of a fairy. With Crysta's help, Zak starts to see the world from the perspective of the animals and fairies and begins to realize how beautiful and important the rainforest is. Together, they work to protect and preserve the rainforest from loggers and Hexxus, the pollution monster.
(As always, check out the Common Sense Media review to make sure it's a good fit for your family first!)
this week’s content builder:
Mary Ulseth
Mary Ulseth was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, and spent the last six years living in Thailand and working throughout Southeast Asia in the field of experiential education and outdoor learning. She currently lives in Boston, MA, where she is completing a Masters degree in Social Work.
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ART. The word might make you think of hushed museums lined with Very Serious Paintings, or baffling splashes of color that look like something your little brother brought home from preschool. But the truth is, creating art is one of our most basic human instincts, and despite art's fancy-schmancy reputation, anybody can make it—including you!
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For centuries, civilizations have dreamt up whimsical or forbidding places, shrouded in mystery and lost in time. This week at Camp Kinda, we’ll journey into some of the legendary lands and stories that have captivated our imaginations to learn what makes them so unique, meet some of the most amazing creatures and fearsome monsters of all time, and try to decide what's fact and what's fiction.