Girls First! 2011 - Monday Musings

Walking around campus on Monday, it was hard to tell who was more excited - the girls or the staff! After spending so many days preparing for the girls, the staff and I have really enjoyed getting to know the girls over the last few days. The girls are bright, energetic and passionate and they have impressed us with their inclusiveness. On Monday we helped Ellie celebrate her birthday by singing her Happy Birthday and placing the "birthday crown" on her head. At night her dorm mates helped her celebrate with cake.

By the amount of work that had already been done by Monday afternoon, one would have thought the girls had been in classes for days! I enjoyed peeking in at each class to see what they were doing. OK, well, I didn't exactly peek in on the Equine Management class. I tried being quiet as I approached the paddock but my unannounced presence started the horses. The girls and animals recovered quickly and the teacher thanked me for the "real world" situation and complimented the girls on their reactions and control over the horses.

In Interior Design the girls made self collages as introductions and reviewed the basics of design and drawing with a scale. This week they will measure a dorm room and begin drawing to scale.


A crime had already been committed in Forensic Science before the girls even arrived and the girls quickly learned crime scene protocol.


Veterinary Science students had a 4 month old chocolate lab named Julie visit the classroom as students learned what to look for when examining animals. They heard examples of both healthy and diseased heartbeats and lungs.


Creative Writing students wrote poetry and and did collaborative writing with similes and metaphors on topics like ice cream, camp life and Justin Bieber. Would you believe they even enjoyed the "grammar tip of the day" on subjective and objective pronouns?!


Our Psychology students were enthusiastic - even about statistics and research methodology! The girls practiced turning research questions they came up with into experimental designs and possible experiments. Does age effect perception? Does peer pressure influence a child's choice of toys?


The Digital Photography students divided their time between taking photos and discussing their pre-camp assignment of taking photographs of family and things in the home both new (during their time) and old (in their grandparent's time.) The girls also saw some of their teacher's work and learned what it was like to photograph a subject over many weeks.


Brightly colored animal-shaped fly swatters were used to draw inspiration from as Fashion Design students sketched garments based in some way on the fly swatter - color, pattern, animal shape, the girls had some very creative designs!


And after class? The girls just napped....just kidding! Activities like yoga, film making, bead work and an evening game of Jeopardy completed the day.