Kids fill camps offered by ISU Extension office

Butterflies, insects and frogs, oh my!

That was the mantra of 25 kindergarten and first-rade students who played several rounds of the game ?Frogs and Flies? Tuesday afternoon at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. The game was just one activity in the Insects and Butterflies day camp offered by the Jefferson County ISU Extension Service.

Taught by Fairfield High School and Iowa State University graduate Courtney Taglauer, Insects and Butterflies is one of four different summer camps being held on seven different dates at the fairgrounds this summer.

Last week, a photography camp was held for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students. Insects and Butterflies was offered twice this week. Shake, Rattle and Blow, a camp focusing on volcanoes and earthquakes for students, will be held Thursday for students in the second and third grades. Green and Growing, a gardening camp for students of the same age, will be offered next week as will Oceans of Fun, offered twice for kindergartners and first graders.

?These camps are a learning experience for the children,? said Shirley Stanley of the Extension office. ?There are definitely specific things that they are learning from each of the camps, but they are also getting acquainted with one another and learning how to work as a team.?

Day camps run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participants must bring a sack lunch, but snacks are provided. Each camp has a maximum capacity of 25 students, and all but one camp is already full. The day camps are a new offering of the Extension service this year. Stanley said due to the positive response, the camps will most likely be offered again next summer.

?We?ve had excellent interest and participation this year, ? Stanley said. ?We had to add additional classes to what we had originally planned because they filled up so quickly.?

The camps are open to all children, not just those who are enrolled in Extension?s Clover Kids or 4-H programs. However, Stanley said Extension office employees do hope that the summer camps will help boost enrollment in these programs.

Clover Kids is a program for children in kindergarten through third grade and is geared toward getting children ready for 4-H. Although they cannot join 4-H until they enter fourth grade, Clover Kids participants can complete projects to present to judges at the Jefferson County Fair. They can show small animals, Stanley said, explaining they do not leave their animals on exhibit at the fair as 4-H members do. Clover Kids members also can participate in the clothing event, presenting an outfit they have purchased. They meet with judges and also participate in the style show along with 4-H contestants. Clover Kids members earn participation ribbons for their efforts, Stanley said.

?Clover Kids really gives the kids the experience of knowing what 4-H is like by providing them some pre-exposure,? Stanley said. ?It builds their confidence so that when go into 4-H, they are prepared.?

Stanley said the Jefferson County ISU Extension Service has been blessed to have Taglauer available to run the day camps this summer. An agricultural science teacher at Mount Ayr High School, the Fairfield native is home for the summer. Taglauer, who has been assisted by several high school students in running the camps, also will stay on to help with the Jefferson County Fair, Stanley said.

4-H judging will begin at 8:30 a.m. June 25 in the activity building. The 4-H horse show will be June 26, followed by the fair parade at 6:30 that evening. The parade will begin at Fairfield High School, travel west on Broadway Avenue, turn north on Main Street for one block and head east on Briggs Avenue back to the high school. The parade is the official fair kick-off; the fair will run June 26 through July2.

For more information, call the Extension office at 472-4166.