Crystal … Active is her middle name!

It is hard to believe how much Crystal has grown under the watchful eyes of the caregivers of Camp Danielle. Those eyes have to be alert and fast as Crystal races around the entire Camp Danielle area. She is one active youngster. One moment she is at the top of the playground chilling in a barrel making “shapes” with her mouth. The next moment she is in a tyre and then suddenly she is in the long grass leading away into the forest. Before we know it, Crystal has ventured far into the Learning Forest and is in the trees.

One way of keeping Crystal still for a few moments is to present her with a puzzle feeder. The OFI enrichment team drill holes into blocks of wood and wedge peanuts into them. Crystal then needs to work out how to extract them. Who said she was being idle when she was lying in the barrel pulling shapes with her mouth? Crystal quickly works out she can suck the peanuts from the feeder by pulling her mouth into an “o” shape. Her prizes attained, Crystal swiftly devours them. She takes the feeder with her into the trees and finds a stick to poke into the holes to check that all the contents have been found.  We will have to work on something a bit harder for her.

Crystal wears her heart on her figurative sleeve. She plays with her friend, Atip, in the playground and they roll around the floor happily grabbing at one another. “Home time” is Crystal’s least favourite part of the day and she does her best to prolong the day. Even back in her sleeping enclosure Crystal’s mind is active as she focuses on the door like it’s a safe and she can crack the code to unlock it! Eventually she will tire herself out and curl up in her favourite blanket for a rest. Her caregivers can also get some well-deserved rest too as they prepare for more of the same energy and joie de vivre the next day.

Click here to download Crystal’s August 2021 Foster Update