Summer camp 2015

I am at the final week of an amazing summer school age program. My current co teacher and i at the day care we work planned a history based theme for every week of summer. Our kids learned about Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome and Greece, the 60s, 70s, and the 80's 90's we learned about music and fashion trends from each time period and created costumes and projects form each time period. We also had a dance party each week learning dance inspired by the cultures and history dance trends of the time.

Patriotic projects for school age

UIn honor of the Fourth of July we did a whole weeks worth of projects. Food projects that were red white and blue.Strawberry Shortcake, jello parfaits, and others.

Hats with paper plates and  false wigs with tons of cotton balls glued to cut paper bags.

Red, white and blue candle holders from old glass food jars red, white and blue tissue paper glue and water.

Can vases(painted tin cans)Yeah recyled patriotic crafts.We even made Patriotic Eagle finger puppets with the paper plate scraps from the Statue of Liberty hat projects.

 Being that I have been in school or taught in schools most of my life I tend to think of things in terms of school years instead of calendar years.  So this last year I tried some new professional directions. After the several years of subbing, private tutoring, art camp coordinating, after school care and even a grant I started a search for fulltime employment in ONE place.  I was working with adults in a residential home. I formed strong bonds with individuals I cared for and I enjoyed the times I sat around the dining room table with them crafting.

I found another gig at a Daycare center.. So I have been working in a preschool room and will be working with school age children this summer.

So here are some highlights from what I have been doing in the last few months.

 Preschool two week themes included: Food and Manners, Bugs, 5 senses and Outer space.

We read books for learning manners the first two weeks, made paper lunch box projects that also had how we should sit and eat for meals, We used paper sandwich's  that I made up for a math center activity, Students made me sandwich's with a certain number or ingredients for more advanced students I gave them a prefilled tablet with ingredients written on them and they "waited" on me and  wrote in the number of items to put on the sandwich. We made paper sushi rolls and used chopsticks to practice picking them up as a spatial activity.

For bug week we made Lady bugs on a Leaf with painted egg cartons for the bodies, we did bug math with bug math games I created. We also created a terrium with live snails in it and worms.

For five senses week with used a mystery box, we tested scent jars with mystery scents in them, we made texture t-shirts we explored seashells and sand tubs. we did a blindfolded trust walk where teachers lead them.

Preschool lessons food themes

One of the projects that we did was to make fake California Roll sushi. We  put rolled up colored copy papers inside a cardboard tube and then rolled the outer tube into a piece of green construction paper coated in Elmer's white glue. We cut the tube into slices. We tore up Kleenex and stuffed it into the slices as a filler that would look like rice.

This set we glued into a box another set I wrapped in clear packing tape and let kids practice picking the pieces up with chopsticks for a fine motor activity.

Easter crafts

I have been working with adults lately in a very different setting. I craft with these adults when I can, they enjoy it. So we used large white paper, crayons, watercolor, construction paper, scissors and glue sticks and created bunny eggs!