Last Day at Blacks Creek

This week was the last day at Blacks Creek. Now that the site is officially over I already miss it. I was able to relate to each kid who came to Blacks Creek. Usually when we start the day we start off at the water. The kids love catching sea creatures! And also freshwater creatures, since it is a brackish environment. There were days when we didn't catch any crabs, but when we did it would be in between five to seven of them. The largest crab the kids caught they called "Bob." At times the kids liked working together in groups to collect and explore things.

Sometimes dogs like to run down when they see the kids. The dogs get too excited when they see the kids down at the lake. One of the kids, a little girl, got chased by a big black dog. I ran after them, and the girl was crying because she was scared. The two big dogs chasing after her ended up being controlled by their owner. Another time a dog came down to the water with a tennis ball and the kids had a blast playing fetch while the owner looked on.

Later on in the day the kids decided they wanted to play games at the up the hill from the water, like usual. We had games like Gaga ball, kick ball, dodgeball and Uncle Sam. I personally think every game is a fun activity to be part of. I had a great summer at this site! Everything I was expecting was seen here at this site. This summer I had so much fun that I wish I could do all this again starting off at day one.

-Edward Calderon

Events: Family Fun Night at Carson and the Seafood Festival at the Fish Pier

Today there was an event at Carson Beach. Almost everyone around the neighborhood came and joined us for the night. They were giving out hot dogs and icy slush. Me and the Save the Harbor group were on the sand playing with a giant volleyball. Some of the kids were getting knocked down because of how hard the ball was being pushed. Even though it was tiring I was still having fun! Other kids would just make sand castles or go swim in the water. I decided to go for a swim and play football in the water with kids who didn't want to do the other activities.

A few days later, over the weekend, I staffed an event called the Seafood Festival at the Boston Fish Pier. There were a lot of people trying out the different plates of sea food that they had. I wasn't able to try the higher class of food, but I was able to try the clam chowder which smelled and tasted like tuna. I enjoyed getting fake tattoos, and also doing fancy fish prints with kids and the grown ups. They also including clam painting. I started to notice how every one was painting a drawing on the clams, which was a very cool craft!

-Edward Calderon

The Event at Hull

Today I had an event in Nantasket. On our way there we took the Purple Line. It seemed like the longest train ride I have ever been on.
Once we got there I felt welcomed already. They had stands everywhere with different activities to be entertained by. Our table was the black-topped one with the fancy fish. The fancy fish was a medium-sized flounder fish, which was being used to make prints using white special paper.

Fish printing!

My group had lots of kids come to our table. They were fascinated by being able to pick their own colors of ink. The people who came over to our table stand freaked out because the flounder was a once a live fish. Those who we knew wouldn't handle the truth we told them it was a fake flounder. Afterwards we took pictures with some of the kids and parents. Joe took the picture which came out great. Later that day Mary the pirate showed up. She was wearing her fancy suit. She was there giving stories to kids. Nora is good at what she does and I give her credit for that. Later, when there weren't any kids coming around anymore, some of us decided to walk around to see the other stands. We noticed a lot of great things to be entertained by, but what really caught my eye was the animal show they had.

Kids check out the animal show.

-Edward Calderon

Courageous Sailing

This Tuesday was our last day at Courageous Sailing.Sometimes we have long days there or the days end really fast, but today the day actually ended smoothly. As Daynaja, Kent and Sedny were setting up the fishing rods, I took four kids down to the dock. Pulling up the crab track is exciting: As you're pulling it through the water you never know what might be in the trap. Me and the team caught a large starfish and giant red rock crabs. I brought them up to the other group on the pier so they could see what we caught.

The kid were so amazed to see all the sea creatures, especially when they saw the mini lobster we caught on our last day. Later on that day I started cutting up the bait for the kids. The bait looked interesting, but I wasn't able to identify what kind of fish is was. Barely anyone needed help with the rods. Most of them already knew how to cast the line and handle the reel. Still, until this day we still haven't caught anything off the rods but green crabs. The kids love it when we visit Courageous. They enjoy the variety of activities we engage them with. Sometimes when the kids are done fishing we take breaks to color sea animal coloring pages, and even educate one another with fun and interesting facts about the creatures pictured. Not only are the kids are having fun and enjoy the heat, but am as well: I enjoy sharing a piece of the wild with the kids.


-Edward Calderon