Week 1

Swimming Under the Sea with Our Divers!

We are so happy to see new divers and familiar drivers join us this week! Our young oceanographers are going to have lots of fun!

Day 1

In Play class, we played two games. The first was called '’Octopus stretch, working together as a team to complete different movements with a giant stretchy band. The second game was sea urchin hot potato! Play class was a great place to be! The Green, Silver, Purple, Explorers Red, and Blue started this week off strong with “get to know you” games that required everyone to work as a team in Games. We took turns passing a ball, introducing ourselves, and sharing our favorite color. Campers were then tasked with the challenge to keep the ball up in the air for as long as they could. Once we felt good about achieving this goal, we then passed the same ball around the circle, but there was a catch: we could only use our feet to pass the ball. We finished out the class by playing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Cone. Everyone had the chance to be the caller for this activity. Today in Friendship class, we dove under the sea to learn what makes strong friendships. We talked about how parts of a diver's equipment match parts of friendships. We made our own divers/masks and read Kid Scientists: Marine Biologists on a Dive. Projects class today was all about sandcastles. We read the book Sandcastles are Forever, and built our very own out of paper towel rolls! Campers worked together to build sandcastle masterpieces. Today in Yak Academy, kids worked in teams of 4 to create mesmerizing ocean murals. They were able to use ocean stencils or freehand their own design to help fill up the sea. They also had the ability to make shiny fish out of CD’s to add. For the beginning of Mindfulness, we tossed, rolled, and passed around beach balls to get to know one another! The beach balls had mindful and icebreaker-style questions written on them to help us get to know one another! In Cooking class today we learned that we can make ice cream from simple ingredients like frozen bananas! We learned about kitchen safety and how to use a blender. It was a little noisy but we were happy with the results! yummy! Today in Discovery, campers played a beach ball get-to-know-you game in small groups and then had a “fishing” contest. There weren’t enough fishing poles to go around, so campers focused on sharing and turn-taking! In Chit Chat today we, went over zones of regulation (red, yellow, green and blue zone). We learned about emotions in each zone and discussed what we can say when we need support in each zone. “I need a break, I need a hug, I need to get my wiggles out”. Towards the end of class we used watercolors to make our own zones of regulation chart. Our campers in Buddies had a fun time with our crab theme! We enjoyed a read-aloud about a hermit crab and made our own crabby headbands! We did lots of movement and got to know our new friends! Today we spent some time getting to know each other in Explorers Blue. We made rainbow scratch ocean art and painted paper fish. We practiced mindful breathing and played games in the gym with our new friends from Explorers Red.

Day 2

In Play class, we played an Under the Sea Parachute game. Small toys were in a treasure box under the parachute, and campers took turns as the ‘diver’ searching for the specific treasure their team instructed them to. In Games, the Green, Purple, and Explorers Blue had fun making friends and playing board games. The Orange team started this week off strong with “get to know you” games that required everyone to work as a team. We took turns passing a ball introducing ourselves and sharing our favorite color. Campers were then tasked with the challenge to keep the ball up in the air for as long as they could. Once we felt good about achieving this goal, we then passed the same ball around the circle but there was a catch, we could only use our feet to pass the ball. We finished out the class by playing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Cone. Everyone had the chance to be the caller for this activity. We explored the aquarium in Friendship class by reading The Pout Pout Fish and watching The Emotions Aquarium song video. Campers then got to decorate their own emotion aquarium friend as a sea creature puppet with a popsicle stick. In cooking class today, we learned how to make delicious pancakes with cinnamon, bananas, and yogurt, and a secret ingredient of our choosing (Raspberries, chocolate chips, or coconut flakes!). We learned how to use skillets safely, and practiced cooperation and asking questions by sharing recipe sheets and information with each other. Yay for flapjacks! In Projects, we explored the deep sea first by reading Alba and the Ocean Cleanup. We then made ocean floor scapes out of styrofoam, paint, seashells, and pipe cleaners. In Yak Academy, kids prepared for an ocean journey today by chasing between 3 boat options to set sail in. They were able to make origami boats, bottle boats, or floats with popsicle sticks. The kids then designed these boats to make them look as gorgeous and ready to set sail. We dove underwater today in Mindfulness with our sensory aquarium bins! There were a variety of textures, sea creatures, rocks, and shells to explore and learn about! We began our day with Morning Circle, where we established the expectations for Explorers Red. We talked about what it looks like to set a good example for the younger kids at camp, and the discomforts and privileges of growing up. At Cooking, we made banana pancakes - and learned a lesson in adaptability when a power shortage stopped our hot plates from working! Everyone showed great resilience and compromise, as Miss Katelyn promised to make it up next time. In Chit Chat, we reviewed our zones of regulation and discussed I-messages vs. you-messages and the importance of communicating why you are upset. We built fish and a fishing rod out of pipe cleaners and went fishing, while working through conflict resolution scenarios. Today we had our first music therapy class in Explorers Blue! We made ocean scenes with egg cartons. We played a game of summer ‘would you rather’ and played games in the gym. Today’s theme was sharks in Buddies! The campers showed their creativity using paint and golf balls to make a neat design on the ocean animal of their choice. Our read-aloud was, A Unicorn, a Dinosaur, and a Shark Walk into a Book. We enjoyed some theme-related songs and videos as well!

Day 3

In Play class, we got out our fishing poles and went deep sea fishing! Campers worked together to find all of their designated color fish. Games class was filled with smiles and laughter for the Green, Silver, and Purple teams. We passed a ball down the line of campers, alternating the passing over our heads and under our legs for the best time! Campers enjoyed working together to beat the clock. We then used our new Topple Turners to play a number of relay race games. Today was focused on collaboration and creativity in Discovery class. Campers worked in small groups to create murals for the room. Great way to share ideas, materials, and space! Today in Projects, campers worked together to build paper chain jellyfish out of paper plates, tissue paper, and colored paper. We opened the class with reading The Search for the Giant Artic Jellyfish and introducing campers to the animal they would be making. And they’re off! Today, Yak Academy moved outside to set sail on the boats they made on Tuesday. Kids were able to see how well their boats floated in a kiddie pond while imagining they were the sailors themselves. In Chit Chat we read Misunderstood Shark: Friends Don't Eat Friends. Our focus for the day was identifying emotions and misunderstandings throughout the book. We got to build a shark at the end of class! To continue with our emotional and underwater exploration in Mindfulness, we made ocean calming water bottles. Sometimes we are like the water in the bottle, and we can be all over the place, and need time to settle. The water bottles can be used to regulate oneself! Today in Cooking class, Yak Apprentices prepared veggie and meat kabobs, which we cooked in the air fryer. We discussed the importance of sanitation and temperature when working with meat, and celebrated our different preferences, creating a unique kebab that suited us. We practiced patience, conversational turn taking, and following recipes all the way through! Today, Explorers Red tested our creative limits with origami. We practiced direction-following and patience as everyone worked at their own pace. In the afternoon, we enjoyed a group nature walk, where we engaged our senses by listing things that we saw, heard, smelled, and touched. We had another fun music therapy session today in Explorers Blue! We had a great time in mindfulness and made scuba masks in art. We focused on fish today in Buddies with One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and a fishy painting craft! We listened to lots of songs on the guitar!

Day 4

In Play class, we played a team game called ‘Ocean round up’. Campers took turns tossing hula hoops onto a beach filled with ‘debris’, while their partner picked up anything they caught within the hula hoop using a net. Emphasis on working together to keep our oceans clean! The Green and Purple teams played board games with friends on their team. Our focus in Games was on being good winners and losers. The attitudes and energy in the gym were great, and everyone had someone to play with. Campers got to read The Adventures of Tito the Turtle and learn about making new friends in Friendship class. They painted paper bowl turtles as they got to learn more about their friends. Today in Chit Chat, we watched a short video on miscommunications and discussed strategies to improve our communication skills and what to do if we miscommunicate our needs. Afterwards, we made story cubes! In Discovery, we got creative and made slime! Campers got to pick their colors and any additions they wanted to make, like glitter and sparkles. It taught us a lot about patience! Our adventures continued into the ocean as we read the book The Ocean Blue and You in Projects class. We then made submarine explorers with black paper, white crayon, watercolor and markers. With all our talk about the ocean in Yak Academy, it was important to discuss our role in it. Today we talked about pollution and how things like water filters can help clear it. Kids then worked in teams to make a water filter they thought was best, before testing it with water we muddied as a group. We embodied our sea explorations today by becoming like the creatures in the ocean in Mindfulness. Today we did some yoga and movements like we were sea creatures. By doing these movements, we learn that taking after aquatic animals can help us with our mindfulness on land. Today in Cooking class, Explorers Red learned how to make chocolate chip cookies! We discussed the importance of exact measurements in baking, because it is kind of like science! Some of us made one GIANT cookie, and some of us put in extra chocolate chips, yum! We practiced waiting our turn to ask for help, and stating our preferences when we felt confident and wanted to try it on our own. We started our day in Explorers Red with an engaging conversation about self-talk and how to be respectful to ourselves and others. We also did some collaborative activities, including Mad Libs, creating a dragon puppet, and engineering with magnetic blocks and Legos. During small groups, we played collaborative board games and practiced good sportsmanship. Today we had our last music therapy class of the week in Explorers Blue. We did some yoga in mindfulness and made cute crabs with paint and our hands! We had a turtley awesome day in Buddies with the book Yertle the Turtle and a tie-dye coffee filter turtle craft! We had an under-the-sea music class and more music and dancing during the afternoon. The weather was great for some outside fun too!

Day 5

In Play class, we took a chance to enjoy the breeze and played with our friends outside. Options available included zoom ball, stomp rockets, water play, and a team sponge relay! Did you know that sponges live in the ocean? After a fun-filled week of large group activities and board games, Campers have earned Open Gym time in Games! Campers were given the choices of basketball, hula hoops, board games, volleyball, and more! I love watching new friends play together. To wrap up our ocean exploration in Friendship class, campers made ocean affirmation cards. They practiced kindness to others by making ocean-themed cards to give to friends. To finish out our first week at camp in Chit Chat, we made fish affirmation cards! We made one for ourselves and two for other campers. We had so much fun making fish bowls for other campers to put affirmation fish inside of them. Today in Cooking class Silver team followed a recipe to make their own fruit and yogurt parfaits! We all chose different combinations of fruits to put in our parfaits, because we are all unique and like different things, which is awesome! Yak apprentices learned how to make dairy-free banana ice cream and practiced their blender skills! It was the perfect treat for a warm Friday afternoon at camp! We said goodbye to our campers this week in Projects by setting sail on our own boats. Campers worked together to design and decorate their boats. Boats were made out of egg cartons, paper, popsicle sticks and decorated with markers and paper. To end the camp on a high note, we made slime in Yak Academy! Each kid got to take home some slime, which they could make ocean-themed and put fish in if they wanted. They were able to be creative with what they wanted their final project to look like and feel like. To wrap up the week, we did a Mindfulness scavenger hunt! Campers were able to utilize things they learned throughout the week and tap into their five senses to create a calm environment for themselves.We closed out the week in Explorers Red with a conversation about character: what it means and what we look for in others and ourselves. During games with Katy we worked together and played in the gym with a goal of being the group with the fastest time in completing the activity. We then had a special treat in the camp room while we talked about all of the things we discovered this week. We ended the day going to the talent show and dance party! Today we made ocean animals out of Play-Doh in Explorers Blue. We also made mini ocean aquariums! We played with our friends from Explorers Red in the gym. Today we had a fun Friday in Buddies with songs, books, sensory art, and time outside! We made a jellyfish craft with paper plates and streamers. Our friends had a great day playing together!We all had a whale of a time!