- WEAVING with KERRY
- SCAVENGER HUNT with BRIDGET
- SOCCER with GRIFFIN
- ARCHEOLOGY with SHAWN
- LONG JUMP with LISA
- WILD ANIMALS with CAIT
- BALLET with JILLIAN
WEAVING with KERRY
This week in summer camps the kids were able to practice some fine motor skills weaving string, paper, ribbon and all sorts of supplies. We used wooden boards and elastic bands to create looms. A table full of fabrics seemed too enticing to not make a few costumes while we were weaving. Some students used the ribbons and created ninja costumes and vowed to "protect the babies".
SCAVENGER HUNT with BRIDGET
It was a great week for scavenger hunts. The weather was nice for a neighborhood walk, though a bit hot. I found some great resources online for scavenger hunts and was able to print a variety. Most were simple charts full of pictures of objects found in nature or in a city or neighborhood. Kids had a great time pointing out items like fire hydrants, stop signs, and flower pots, and there were also more specific things like a person wearing sunglasses, or a baby stroller. One day we did an alphabet hunt and found objects that started with each letter. We found most of them and it was great practice with letters and sounds. This was a great activity and we had a lot of fun doing it.
SOCCER with GRIFFIN
The sunny hot days were perfect for outdoor soccer. We wore lots of sunscreen and made sure to take plenty of water breaks. Each friend chose a color of a soccer ball and spent a lot of time kicking the ball off of the cone and then chasing it and bringing it back. Everyone was cognizant of parking lot safety and alerted the Soccer Coach (Art Director) when a ball went astray. We learned the basics of dribbling a ball and some friends really got the hang of it. They were able to dribble the ball in a square figure around four cones, which was very tricky and impressive. We used four cones to make two goals and had each goal about two yards wide. One friend took a turn to block the ball, as an "official" goalie, while the others did their best to score a goal. Goalies took being scored on surprisingly well and cheered on their friends when a ball went past them. Some friends could dribble from one side of the parking lot to the other without losing control of the ball. Passing was an advanced concept that friends were able to do back and forth with a coach. They are still learning how to do with one another. Once the passing concept was initiated we were able to try passing back and forth ending with a goal! That was very exciting! Everyone had a lot of fun playing soccer.
ARCHEOLOGY with SHAWN
This week in Archeology, we focused on the neolithic sanctuary of Gobekli Tepe; located in the fertile crescent, a region in southwest Turkey. We looked at images of artifacts unearthed from the dig sight. We looked at carved beams and surfaces reminiscent of steles from Egypt. We had great interest in the pictographs found throughout Gobekli Tepe, and looked into other languages that use a similar style of communication. On our search, we studied Egyptian hieroglyphics and tried our hand at creating the symbols ourselves. Our group was excited to take the information learned throughout the week, and apply it to group activities such as visual art, architecture, and writing.
LONG JUMP with LISA
The children have been so proud of their long jumping skills! We discussed terms of measurement, specifically feet and inches. We used ground markers and talked about a jump being measured by: where our feet leave the ground, to where our feet land. Friends worked on long jumps and long hops and decided which worked best for them to create the most distance. The children took turns jumping and measuring while I recorded the length of their jumps. We found their longest jump and made badges displaying their greatest hops and jumps. Friends were excited to share their score cards with everyone at the end of the day!
WILD ANIMALS with CAIT
During our explorations of wild animals this week, we talked about animals from squirrels and raccoons to grizzly bears and bald eagles. Different friends came to the group with their own interests and knowledge, and we found more information in books from both preschool rooms. After talking about the habitats of some of these animals, we also discussed what they eat (including the idea of a food chain) and saw some examples of the different kinds of tracks their feet make. Friends worked together to draw habitats for different animals, and got to feel two semi-wild animals as well! The rat at school does live in a cage, but other rats live in the wild; and we got to touch a taxidermy squirrel that was wild when it was alive.
BALLET with JILLIAN
This is week we kicked off July with some ballet! Friends explored the basic positions of dance and found creative ways to remember new moves. Every class had new ideas to bring to the camp. Some days we focused on technique and other days we made up our own ballet routines! My favorite part of each class was Freeze Dance Ballet! For the last ten minutes of camp friends would create ballet costumes from scarves and show off their new moves. Every time the music stopped, we froze in our positions. Ballet proved a lovely opportunity to stretch our legs, use our imagination and, at the end of each class, take a well desrved bow!
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