Summer Camp!

We kicked off magical Monday with some math activities and a visit from our friends at the liberty science center! Our campers used their measurement skills to create magic potions using colored water, beads, jewels, and other material based on recipe cards. They also decorated their spell books to keep track of magic numbers they found during a number scavenger hunt and matching activity! On Tuesday, campers performed some magical science experiments today including a potion explosion, using baking soda, vinegar, soap, and food coloring! They also painted using water colors and watched lemons work their magic on their artwork combining summer fun with a scientific twist! On Wednesday we wore pink!! Our Campers brought in a pink show and tell item to share with their friends on our magic microphone for our final show and tell day of the summer. We also played "hungry hungry hippos" using small scooters and balls on four different teams, focusing on gross motor skills and teamwork! It was a huge hit! On Thursday our Busy little Bee magicians enjoyed making their own magic wands, decorating and exploring various supplies to make each wand unique! They also made their very own fire breathing dragons, following step by step instructions to take home a magical pet! Miss Emily surprised them with a tunnel maze challenge and we even tried SEATED balloon volleyball which was hilarious! To close out our last day of summer camp we had an epic splash day followed by a karaoke dance party and ending with an ice cream truck party!
See you next summer friends!!

On Monday, we kicked off Sports Week by testing our campers' sports knowledge and putting all of their answers on a chart. We asked campers their favorite sports and sports teams, and included those results in our charts also. Campers also had a great time doing a number recognition game with ping pong balls. During outdoor time, campers played basketball and catch as they practiced sharpening their skills. On Tuesday, we did a science experiment to find out which balls bounced the highest and we logged our results on a chart! Campers made predictions before our experiment and then compared their predictions to the results. Then, at outdoor time, we had two special guests come to lead our campers in group stretching exercises followed by basketball and football. On Wednesday, our campers practiced their public speaking skills with another week of Show and Tell! This week our color was blue and campers had a wonderful time presenting all of their special blue items. Campers played a new basketball relay game during outside time and had a sensational time! On Thursday, we created our own custom jerseys using big canvas paper, crayons, and more! Campers also played soccer at outdoor time and the games were all closely contested. On Friday, we had a great splash day followed by surprise ice pops from Miss Emily! Then we took a group photo with all of our campers on our front steps as we get closer to the end of camp. After coming outside we finished our tissue paper football art projects and then had lunch before napping. It was a great Sports Week and we’re so excited for our last week of camp to start on Monday! It’s going to be magical!

Monday was all about bugs and bar graphs! We went on a classroom bug hunt to find tiny hidden insects, then worked together to sort them by color. After that, our little scientists learned how to use a bar graph—just like real researchers do! Together, we created a large bar graph on our anchor chart to track how many bugs we found in each color. So much math, sorting, teamwork, and fun all in one activity! During outdoor time we beat the heat with some indoor gross motor including several rounds of intense musical chairs. On Tuesday, we transformed simple balloons into caterpillars and then watched them bloom into butterflies—with science! Mixing baking soda and vinegar inside the balloon created a fizzy surprise that “popped” the caterpillar into a butterfly. Campers loved this hands-on experiment while discussing the life-cycle of a butterfly. We also changed our splash day from Friday to today which was a hit. Wednesday was crawling with fun at camp! We kicked things off with “Bring an Orange Item” Show & Tell, then got up close and personal with some real live bugs thanks to the Liberty Science Center who have been proud partners with us all year! The campers got to pet and learn about insects like a tarantulas, millipedes, and even a cockroach! Thursday’s activity was making beautiful butterflies using tissue paper, popsicle sticks, glue, and paintbrushes! The kids had so much fun creating their colorful masterpieces. We also played outside and enjoyed the sunshine together! To wrap up the last day of Insect Week, we enjoyed a cozy projector showing of A Bug’s Life along with a fun snack spread featuring pretzels, Pirate’s Booty, Oreos, and fruit snacks—a sweet end to a buzzing week of learning!

To start off Weather Week, campers used shaving cream to draw "cloud" numbers and shapes at their tables. Campers also used rainbow pegs to create beautiful pattern towers to sharpen their skills. During outdoor time, we played volleyball for the first time and used brand new building pieces to make huge structures together. On Tuesday, campers got to see a scientific demonstration as they made rain clouds by mixing blue food dye into a cup with shaving cream on top of water. After a while, the blue began to rain down and “rain” inside the cup! Campers also made marshmallow snow forts by using their marshmallows to hold their stick structures together. During outside time, campers continued playing volleyball and there was a new football toss game introduced! On Wednesday, our friends got a surprise visit from our mascot Bumble to celebrate yellow show and tell day!!! They were so happy to see him and the Orange Tigers even had a dance party with Bumble after they presented their items. Outdoor time saw campers continue to improve their skills on the volleyball court and work as a team to build structures with giant legos, Tetris blocks, and building rods. During read aloud time, campers read books about different weather events like thunderstorms, blizzards, tornadoes, and hurricanes. On Thursday, we had a snowball fight with letter cards and then after we were done we opened them up to identify and match our uppercase and lowercase letters.  We also did some math with rain clouds by adding raindrops that corresponded with the numbers on our clouds. For outdoor time, we stayed inside to beat the heat and did gross motor activities as the Yellow Ducks appropriately played Duck, Duck, Goose and the Orange Tigers had a dance party! To close out Weather Week on Friday, campers got a sensational surprise as there was a new giant bouncy water slide introduced to celebrate splash day! Campers had a great time cooling off and playing in the water. Then, campers got another wonderful surprise as we had ice pops before coming inside for work time. 

On Monday, we played a space counting pathway game. Each camper had chance to roll the dice, count how many dots when the dice landed on the floor, then they moved forward the number of steps revealed on the dice in a life size interactive game. The campers continued taking turns to move forward on the space pathway until they reached the end. Later in the day, we used fine motor skills with a space math worksheet with cutting, coloring, and matching. On Tuesday, we did a STEM activity of designing and creating our own rocket ships using paper and a straw! The campers especially loved making their rockets BLAST OFF! Later in the day we talked about the Solar system and hand painted a classroom Solar system! On Wednesday, we had Purple Dress up Day matched with Purple show and tell! It is so impressive to see how comfortable our campers have become sharing their items with their friends. Later in the day, we did a baking soda rocket experiment that the campers loved! On Thursday, our campers made a foil printed moon craft using tinfoil as a stamp, and then use paint to print with it. The foil texture worked really well to make the moon’s crater-filled landscape. They also used q-tips to dip and dot the white paint to make their own constellation. Later in the day they used play dough to make space objects like stars, sun, moon, planets, etc. On Friday, we had a great splash day filled with fun in the sun.  Following that, we had a pizza party at lunch to celebrate the end of the first session of Summer camp!

On Monday, we used snap cubes to measure the width and height of animals and compared their similarities and differences. Then, we sorted them into land and sea animals. We also read about some fun animal facts and then used play dough to make our own animal tracks. During outdoor time, we had a mini basketball clinic and loved every minute of it. On Tuesday, we transformed into mini scientists as we made our very own fizzy and bubbly jungle! We experimented with baking soda and vinegar to create bubbles in our jungle filled with animals and leaves, and watched as it came alive! We also examined giraffe skin and got to make our own giraffe skin experiments while exploring the wonders of capillary action. Science day is always a fun experience, our campers had a blast! Our safari fun continued Wednesday as we made our very own animal headbands to match some of the safari animals we’ve been learning about all week. Campers also got to color and use their teamwork skills to solve puzzles on a giant safari tablecloth. We finished out the day by painting some rocks that are authentically found in a real safari. Our campers got to bring some safari out of school with them as they all brought home the cutest safari animal bubbles to enjoy with their loved ones! On Thursday, we went on a safari and looked at the cutest little lions in all of the jungle! Campers created their own lion masks for arts and crafts and got to take pictures in front of a jungle backdrop! Later in the day we learned about some more safari animals and made our own zebra, tiger, and giraffe patterns. Friday was our last day in the safari! In the Art Area during Work Time campers got to make their own sticker animals. Later, during outdoor time we enjoyed the beauty of a mock rainforest in our very own splash pad. In the dry zone outside we played animal ring toss which was a crowd favorite.

During Camping Week, our campers learned all about the Great Outdoors and all the fun you can have in nature! To kick off the week, campers used tweezers to place marshmallows on their own campfire mats. Campers had to use their counting skills to determine how many marshmallows their fires needed, and they exercised their fine motor skills to carefully place them in the campfire. On Tuesday, we crafted and decorated tents using plates, construction paper, markers, and even twigs from the grass outside! Wednesday was Show and Tell Day, as campers wore their favorite red clothes and brought in their favorite red items from home to present to their classmates. Each camper had the opportunity to address their class and display their most cherished items, explaining why their items are special to them.  On Thursday, in preparation for a fun-filled Fourth of July weekend, campers got to cool off in the sun with an action-packed Splash Day!  This splash day was extra special, as campers were able to use a brand-new splash pad and all kinds of water toys while they played.  During outdoor time this week, we played hockey, soccer, basketball, Tetris Tumble, and used both jumbo and normal Legos to build magnificent structures. Camping week was a sensational time, and campers can't wait to return after the long weekend for Safari Week!

During Aloha Week our campers learned all about saying Aloha to new friendships, Ohana, and more! To start the week, our campers used fine motor skills to make Coconuts to place on their Palm Trees. They counted, subtracted and added to get the correct number of coconuts for each tree. On Tuesday we made our own Lava Lamps using different ingredients and measurements in honor of Hawaii, which is known as a Volcanic Island. Wednesday was our Splash day, where we got to enjoy the water in the sprinklers with various sand and water toys. On Thursday we made Tiki Statues and learned about their history and uniqueness. Each camper got to make their own Tiki. On Friday we did a color hunt and focused on the various colors in the Rainbow. Campers were asked to wear Tie-dye or Rainbow and bring in a Show & Tell item to present to the class that was Tie-Dye or Rainbow. This was a huge hit and helps develop public speaking skills at a young age. All week long our campers enjoyed outdoor time with various activities including Soccer, Tiki Toss Down, Bean bag Toss, Jumbo Legos and the star of the show..Tetris Tumble!