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Sunday, July 28, 2013

Camp Corner 2

It's time for another camp corner! I love working with children and I've worked at many different summer camps, child care centers and I will be student teaching this semester. This section is devoted to introducing you to new (or reminding you of old) ideas to use with your kids, as you teach, as you work as a summer camp counselor, as you work at a daycare, etc.

Toddler Activity
Parachute games. With toddlers you want a small parachute. You can do little activities such as shaking the parachute fast, shaking it slow, making big waves, making small waves, "flying" to the sky, lifting it all the way up, etc.

Toddler Tip
To easily wash toddler/infant toys, throw all of the non-battery operated toys into a mesh bag and wash the whole thing in a water/sanitizer solution. This works so much quicker than washing little things by hand! Then, just lay the toys out on a towel overnight, and they should be dry by morning.

Kids Activity
Car-lot. This is a super popular game among our kids at camp. Even if not every child understands the game, they still enjoy running back and forth across the gym. To play, have all children line up on one end of a gym or field. Give them a couple of options of cars they can be, for example, limo, motorcycle and jeep. Pick a couple of children to be "it." Children who are "it" stand in the middle of the gym. Then, call the car types one by one. When the child's car type is called (or "car-lot" is called, and all children run), they run across the gym and try not to get tagged. Children who are tagged must sit where they are - they become "speed bumps" who can tag other children passing by, but they cannot move from their spot. The last child(ren) standing win. This is a great game to get kids moving.

Kids Tip
Engaged kids are kids who aren't getting in trouble.

Product Spotlight
Speed Stacks
These huge cup stackers are a ton of fun and are super versatile. As you can see from the picture, they are quite large, which makes them fun for the children to use. They can be used to make castles and pyramids. Children love seeing how high they can be stacked, and then knocking them down. You can also use them as baskets/buckets for throwing games. If freely set out for a child's use, they also become hats, seats, peg-legs and basketball "ice-cream cones." Unfortunately (as my kiddos discovered) they don't work very well with the "cup song."

Have a great week!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Camp Corner 1

I've decided to start a section of my blog called "camp corner." I love working with children and I've worked at many different summer camps, child care centers and I will be student teaching this semester. This section is devoted to introducing you to new (or reminding you of old) ideas to use with your kids, as you teach, as you work as a summer camp counselor, as you work at a daycare, etc.

Toddler Activity
Bubbles! Toddlers love playing with bubbles, chasing them and popping them, or just watching them fall. Bubbles can usually cheer up a forlorn toddler. Just be sure to have a towel nearby for bubble "juice"!
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Toddler Tip
For the toddler room, make sure there's two (or more) of each toy - two scooters, two play telephones, two baby dolls, etc. This solves a lot of problems, as children this age do not always understand the concept of sharing.

Kids Activity
Friendship bracelets! Children of all ages love this, even the boys. They can make bracelets or keychains or anklets or whatever they please. When teaching children this craft, I always begin with the twist friendship bracelet. Then I move on to stripes, then chevron, and then hearts and more! Make sure to stock up on friendship bracelet string/embroidery thread - it goes fast!

Kids Tip
Make sure that if your daughter is wearing a skirt or dress that she wears shorts too! Chances are she will be rock climbing, using the monkey bars, doing cartwheels, dance routines, etc. Plus, its just a good rule of thumb.

Product Spotlight
This one just cracks me up: 
Chicco Rocking Eggplant
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It's a rocking eggplant! It is designed for toddlers, and it allows them to sit and rock - on a giant purple vegetable! Older kids also enjoy it too - they use it to scoot around in a weird, flying eggplant sort of fashion. Also, this large plastic vegetable also has a face with a nice friendly smile. And a stem that is removable for some unfathomable reason.

Well, that's all I've got. More Pinspiration coming your way soon!


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