The Friendship Camp

Bo hands you a pair of camp binoculars. One lens is cracked. "Ranger Maple says a new camper arrived this morning," he says. "Raccoon. Stripy tail. Nobody's seen her since breakfast."

Below you, Hello Hill is chaos. A frisbee game, a queue for the water tap, someone chasing a runaway tent. Bo squints. "Here's the thing. Some people on their own want company. Some just want to be on their own. You can't tell by looking once. You have to read the clues."

The story continues in the mission.

First, a choice: 4 options

• Look behind the tents first
• Look at the mouse on the log
• Look at the queue for the water tap
• Look by the welcome sign

On the printed page: Circle the five campers, then write two clues beside each.

By the end they have: Spotted campers circled with their clues.

You will need: The busy camp picture on this page · A pencil

1. Search the busy camp picture for the five campers who are on their own. Circle each one.
2. For each camper, find two clues: what their face is doing, what their body is doing, or where they are looking.
3. Decide for each one: wants company, wants space, or can't tell yet. Write it or say it.
4. Compare your guesses with Bo's in what happens next. Where you disagree, decide whose clues were better.
5. Spot the mystery by the welcome sign and keep it in mind. It comes back.

Smaller step if needed: Find three of the five campers and give one clue for each.

The grown-up’s part: Let your child make the calls, including ones you'd disagree with. Ask what clue they used, not whether they're right.

At school or the park this week, quietly notice one person on their own and look for two clues about whether they want company or space. You don't have to do anything about it.

What it practises: Practise noticing people in a busy place and reading clues (face, body, where they are) to how each one might feel.