Fun With Putty!

The Katom (orange) group had fun making Bio Putty today! That's right it's not play dough, it's not gak, we made putty! First we poured the clear Bio Putty into a bowl, added the Bio Color and stirred...Ta da there you have it, Bio Putty! Allison said, "It is more sticky than gak!" Alana said,"It feels wet!" Rachel and Jacob sat at the table and played with the putty for about twenty minutes. Let's just say the Bio Putty was a big hit with both the teachers and children!

All Star Fun!

Lunch Bunch was busy to say the least! We enjoyed creating turtles, seals, flowers, fishing poles, ice cream cones and some cool designs with bendaroos! The children decorated Purim cards and played one of their favorite games"Guess that Letter!" We went outside for a long time and did some swinging on the swings, played basketball, played "good guys and bad guys" and Sam R noticed a clear sign that Spring is on the way! Check out the first two photos!

Lunch Bunch had a Chanukah Party!

"Lauri come to our Chanukah Party!" That was an offer I could not refuse. There was music, dancing, fresh onions,potatoes to make the latkes and Daniel made fresh coffee. Sandy was kind enough to get the candles out and place them in the menorah. Avery and Sam R were in charge of the music. Joshua, helped his friends get their costumes on, as we danced around the room pretending to be Judah and his brave Maccabee Army! Oliver was the head chef, and wow what a menu! Everyone agreed, Chanukah sure is a fun holiday!

Swooper Cohen Super Parakeet

There were many questions surrounding Swooper's visit to summer camp. The children were fascinated with Swooper's cage and noticed many details. For example, one friend noticed there were two perches for Swooper to sit on. Alli explained that Swooper really doesn't like the one perch which prompted the following question of course "Why doesn't he go on the back perch?" To which Samuel replied " Because he thinks he might fall", but then he immediately tried to problem solve for Swooper saying " but, but, he can just fly a little and get to the back perch!" Such logical thinking!!! Maybe one day Swooper WILL get to that back perch!

Thinking Swooper is not different than us friends asked "Can Swooper play outside?" We asked friends why they thought Swooper could not play outside. The following responses are very logical: Teddy said: "Because he doesn't have any toys." Mia said: "Because the rain would swoop him away." Such caring loving friends want to make sure that Swooper has toys to play with and protected from the weather.

Dancing Action Is so much fun

Dancing Nancy comes to visit us with lots of "Animal Action". We first need to stretch and get our bodies ready for "Action". We twist around, make our bodies wide, point and stretch our toes, and tap our feet 1, 2, 3 and 4. We balance our bodies using balls, stomach muscles, sitting on top of our balls balancing carefully on top so as not to fall, and we try to roll on our back. We pretend to be different animals... bees, lions, spiders, and frogs.
Thank you Dancing Nancy for teaching how many different ways we can move our bodies and have fun!!!

Snails, Snails, Snails Everywhere

Friends, Jake, Lily, Avery, Ilana, and Sandy are playing the Snail Race Game. They need to roll the colored dice and then move the matching snail one step towards Friends, Jake, Lily, Avery, Ilana, and Sandy are playing the Snail Race Game. They need to roll the colored dice and then move the matching snail one step towards the finish line. Who will win? They had fun predicting which color was going to reach the finish line first. They waited patiently, taking turns, and discovered they were ALL winners in this snail race.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

We are discovering all the many beautiful "critters" we have to hold and take care of in our world. We learn in many different ways, through movement, song, touch, and reading. One familiar book is the "Itsy Bitsy Spider". We read throughout our morning, but ask the children to independently select a book to read to themselves as we change from outdoor play clothes to indoor play clothes. Avram was excited to select his book and immediately started to turn the pages. He excitedly said with much pride "I'm singing my book!!!" Thanks Avram for sharing your gift of song with us!

Look what is happening.... Sea of Vegetables

"This is totally big" said Jake. "That one, not too much."

Hooray for dramatic play

Caring for people is a Jewish value, whether it is modeling and teaching respect and appreciation for the maintenance people in school, or making it a regular practice to invite others into your home for a meal/snack or just to play.

The dramatic play center was a caring and busy place today! The children were very gracious and thoughtful as they opened up their home to all of their friends and counselors! The main cooks were Rylan, Mia and Drew.They cooked, they cleaned and even made a few phone calls to make sure everyone could make it. The children thought of everything, pancakes for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and Drew's chocolate lemonade was out of this world (you might want to ask him for the recipe)! I can't wait to see what is on the menu tomorrow!!

"Can we be Farmers?"

We asked friends: "What do farmers do?" "They plant and have animals" said Avram and Sandy.
"Can we be farmers for the day?" ( Sure we can!) We do not have real animals at summer camp, but we can plant. Leo and Lily are planting seeds. They need soil, water, and sun to grow. We will be observing them through out the summer.

We learned a new song to help us remember what plants need to grow:
The farmer plants the seeds, the farmer plants the seeds,
Heigh ho the derry o, the farmer plants the seeds.
The rain begins to fall, the rain begins to fall,
Heigh ho the derry o, the rain begins to fall.
The sun begins to shine, the sun begins to shine,
Heigh ho the derry o, the sun begins to shine.
The roots begin to grow, the roots begin to grow,
Heigh ho the derry o, the roots begin to grow.
The stem begins to grow, the stem begins to grow,
Heigh ho the derry o, the stem begins to grow.
The plant gets bigger, the plant get bigger,
Heigh ho the derry ho, the plant gets bigger!!!

Loving Act of Kindness / Mitzvah of Tzedakah

Joshua wants to go to the Food Pantry to bring food to the poor!

When we teach our children the Mitzvah of Tzedakah, we are teaching them that as Jews we are commanded to take care of the each other, Jews and non-Jews alike. Taking care of the world we live in, and the people whom we share it with, is such a gift we give to our children! We can make a difference by giving of our time and talents towards helping build a better world, whatever our age!

"What's This?" Inquiring minds want to know

Jake noticed the sea of vegetables on the window ledge and soon more friends came over, Alana, Jesse, and Drew, to observe. We will be observing through the summer and reporting our findings. What do we think will happen??? Will anything change ??? When children are provided an opportunity to observe, make predictions, and reflect over time, we encourage critical thinking and validate the importance of their ideas!