Session B Day 4 - Beach Time!

But first last night's Fourth of July activities, as promised.

Turns out the collaborators had lots of secret surprises. First off is knife training!

After a demonstration of the five rules of safe knife usage, we recite them back and practice on sticks. 1) Always cut away from yourself; 2) Blood bubble (no people within arm's reach); 3) Three points of contact (between your body and a stable surface); 4) Always keep your knife locked; and 5) Always keep your knife sharp. Draw and Athena whittle safely, adhering to all five rules.

Mads wants in on the fun and begins creating her own pointy stick.

Gwen and Zachary are next, each following all five rules.

Next, the collaborators have another surprise: glowsticks and LEDs! We break them out and begin playing with them, seeing how many lights and colors we can create.

We mess around with the camera and create cool, ghostly images of the lights.

We create light portraits using the glowsticks and LEDs. Sean, Athena, and Caroline demonstrate. Lee creates a headlamp by attaching an LED to his hat, while Mads models a Wonder Woman-style headband. (Click to cycle through the photos)

After finishing the evening of light fun, we head to bed.

When we wake up, we have breakfast and make sandwiches in preparation for Beach Day.

There's so much to do at the beach! Niyati, Lauren, Nisa, and Lilly head to the tidepools.

Nisa shows off some cool shells.

Later, Lilly, Lee, and Lauren love to leap through the waves.

Meanwhile, Liam and Spencer slide down a sand hill.

Oh no! Zachary's being pinched by a crab claw!

Sean + sand + mountain = The Shmountain.

Katherine and Liv come running after fun in the waves!

Ooh! A small sand cliff! Niyati jumps off, while Lauren and Nisa scramble up.

Parts of the sand cliffs are soft enough to write in. TINKER!

Portrait of a Tinkerer's Hands: Back from the beach, Athena holds her shell collection.

After everyone takes the mandatory Wednesday shower, we go play with the animals. Liam is the Goat Whisperer.

After the goats, we head to the chicken coop. Martha feeds a chicken.

We come back from playing with the animals and start movie night, complete with hot chocolate. Today was a day full of fun in the sun and a nice break from building. Tomorrow, we'll keep building, refreshed and ready to roll.