Camp Arrowhead Day Two

Day two of summer camp at the day care began with a dousing of bug spray, some sunshine, a long walk accompanied by a scavenger hunt.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and didn't have along during the walk.  My niece came to help so I was a tad braver to take a bunch of kids on a different trek.  We went down the driveway, towards the house, then made a right across the field of sunflowers and millet blooming beautifully.  We made it along the other side of the field and over to the bed and breakfast area that my father-in-law has.  The kids had their sacks with a list of pictures taped to the front of items to look for.  Every few steps it seemed someone would holler "I found a stick in a Y shape" or "Look! I found something green!"  We saw a good sized lizard and Gary's two puppies and headed back across the field to the driveway, made a left and tracked back towards the day care.  Truly we weren't gone but about forty minutes.  When we got back, we sat one the back porch and each child, one at a time, pulled out the contents and treasures found and told each one what they had found.  One of them, after showing everything, reached back in his bag and said "Oh, I forgot about this cricket!"  Sneaky boy!

 

 

After sacks of treasures were stored in cubbies to go home :) , we had one more activity before lunch.  I brought out some necklace thread, some wooden beads and some arrowhead courtesy of my friend Barb of Skywalkflutes (thanks Barb!) and made our Camp Arrowhead necklaces!  I had already made loops on the arrowheads with wire so they were ready to go.  The kids added beads and we tied them on to happy kids. 

 

 

Another sack lunch for day two that included a "lunchables"type theme.  We had round crackers with sliced of cheese and bologna for do-it-yourself sandwiches, sliced apples and fruity marshmallows for dessert.  Today we decided to eat our lunch outside on the play ground under the trees.  I wanted to make a make-shift tent from sheets on the swing set to eat underneath but the wind prevented me from this.  Maybe another day.

 

 

 

 

Naptime was once again a darkened playroom with a lit campfire and a semi-scary campfire story.

 

My niece took this picture of me reading and most of the kids asleep already. 

 

After naptime, I had one more activity planned.  I had previously cut out arrowheads from cardboard and on our scavenger hunt walk, I gathered sticks.  Each child got to paint their arrowhead a mix of gray and silver.  When they dried, I called each child into the craft room and let them pick out a stick and a couple of feathers and tied the arrowhead and feathers to the chosen stick to make a spear.  I actually had another game planned for the afternoon but after all this, and gluing on another badge to head bands for the spear, the kids wanted to play with their spears outside so I let them.  They played until parents began arriving and got to take their spears, scavenger hunts bags and arrowhead necklaces home with them. 

 

I made my prototype during naptime. 

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to make sure a craft is going to work!

Luckily it did.



I am in love with this picture!

 

 

Whew... what a day.  On to day three!!!

 



Camp Arrowhead Day One

Camp Arrowhead (aka one week of summer camp here at the day care) got off to a great start with happy and curious faces as each child walked in to a day care transformation.  I am lucky that they notice even slight changes to the décor in here so they REALLY noticed this!  Day one was full of surprises, from Miss Laurie blowing a whistle to signify a camp activity to lunch on the floor and a campfire during naptime. 

 

Our activities began with each child picking out feathers to go on their Camp Arrowhead head bands and also gluing on a "happy camper" badge.  The head band will be used during the week to add badges to as they earn them.  Some badges are easily earned and others they have to work at. 

 

 

Next, our day took us to the great outdoors for bird watching and to earn the bird watching badge!  I stapled toilet paper rolls together and added some yarn to each one.  I have talked about birds to these kids since they walked through my door... it's just one of my "things".  So each child can identify a few and some, more than a few species.  They walked around the day care yard using their binoculars to spy birds and call them out to me... which makes me proud. 

My oldest said "I spotted a cowbird... Hey a robin!"

Another said "I see one with white on his belly!"

One of my four years olds was walking around making bird caws trying to call 'em in.

My girl said "I see a black bird!"

Then the oldest said "Bird watching is kinda hard... but it's kinda easy too."

 

The reference guide to what they were spotting.

Their bird watching badges.

 

After bird watching badges were on I whipped out their brown bag lunches from the fridge.  We pretended there was a storm outside by listening to thunder and rain on my sound machine and all huddled onto a tablecloth with ferns on it spread out on the floor.  Sack lunches are not the norm around here.  They had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, grapes, a small dessert and a juice box... which is definitely not the norm here. 

 

 

After the "storm" we cleaned up and drug out the nap mats/sleeping bags.  I then blocked out as much light in the playroom as I possibly could with blankets, turned the sound machine on "night sounds" that sound like crickets and brought out the tea light filled campfire to a unison of awes.  The nap mats were circled around the fire and when everyone one was settled in staring at the stars taped to the ceiling, and instead of normally watching a television show while I clean lunch dishes, I sat down amongst them a read a scary story which luckily wasn't scary at all besides the voices I added to it. 

 

 

Our snack after nap time was a bit different than normal too.  I tried a different take on S'mores by using Golden Graham cereal, milk chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.  I liked it although it was incredibly sweet and the kids liked it only some liked some of the ingredients more than others and just ate which ones they wanted to.  It was worth a try.

 

 

After snack and once everyone was dressed in swimming clothes and the whistle blew indicating an event, we were all outside and Miss Laurie brought out the water balloons for a old fashioned balloon toss.  I only filled enough balloons to fit in a large pot that I have but they quickly burst away onto soaked little heads.  So after the toss we played in the sprinkler for a little bit. 

 

 

Everyone was dried off and changed back to normal when moms and dads arrived at the end of our first day of camp.  We made a lot of stories to be told on the way home I am sure.  The kids were pretty excited about all of the activities I had planned for them.  On to Day 2!

 

 

 

 



setting up camp

I have two of my kids at the day care who will be starting kindergarten in a few weeks.  I felt the need to do something special for them... everyone else included.  I decided to have a summer camp here at the day care.  We can't actually spend the night and we can't technically go anywhere but here.  So imaginations will have to be sparked.  I have several notebook pages full of ideas from decorating to lunches and crafts and games.  I have made head bands that will be used to glue merit badges to and will have feathers hanging from the sides.  I have such plans that I am almost nervous that I can't pull it off... but I will because it's all up to me and my creativity and vision for the special week for them. 

Here are some of my decorations.  They look so much better in person.  You just can't get the full effect through pictures.


The entrance to our day care tent and camp.

I hung glittered pine cones and trees that I made last Christmas to make our forest before the playroom.  I love that I save that stuff and can use it again.

Inside our inside tent.  I plan to set up the nap mats in a circle with the campfire in the middle so they can look up at the glow in the dark stars while listening to campfire stories from library books I have picked up.  I also have a sound machine.. one of those to help you sleep... that has a setting called Summer Night that sounds like crickets.

The bulletin board drawing for the week.

So, the hardest part, or the most time consuming part of making an indoor camp fire, was the rocks.  I couldn't quite think of what to use and then one Friday it hit me... papier mache.  I stuffed paper bags with plastic grocery sacks and wadded and taped them.  Then I covered them with papier mache (because I am one of those people who keeps papier mache made up and in the fridge) and tried my hardest to wait until they were dry to paint them... but I didn't.  So they were painted when they were still partially damp.  I painted a cut-out cardboard circle black and glued the rocks down in a circle.  I painted some paper towel tubes shades of brown and hot glued them in a circle to the rocks.  I scarfed up enough red, orange and yellow tissue paper to use for the fire and glued it in too.  Lastly, I had purchased a six pack of battery tea lights that luckily twinkle, stuck all of the in the middle and Waa Laa!  An indoor campfire that flickers like real fire!

So hopefully if I can stay on schedule I will share our summer camp days with you here next week.. that is actually going on this week.  I have so much planned for them that I hope I can tell you all about it. 

weekend shots

Well if I don't have time to share everything I want to I will at least share a few shots from weekends here and there!  I actually am planning on sharing our "summer camp week" at the day care with you but it is a lot to share and this is day one so I may get it ready for it all to start a different day.  I am having so much fun with it too!  Here are a few from the last day or two.  I had an awesome weekend full of time spent with friends and family and then a little of just us on Sunday trying to catch up from all the visiting. 

 

Me... the happy canner... put up twenty three half pints of Georgia peach preserves. 

Summer in a jar will be tasting mighty sweet this winter.

 

I got the peaches from The Peach Truck fresh from Georgia last week.

Check them out to see if they visit your area!

Or you can have them shipped anywhere.

 

Visit thepeachtruck.com