Week 2: We Are All Superheroes | camp-yakety-yak-2013

Week 2

We Are All Superheroes

Welcome to our hero training camp! We are happy to have returning heroes back on the team and new Super Friends joining!

Day 1

We are so gald to have our Super Friends back and to meet new Super Campers joining us! In Play, superheroes raced to the finish line during an egg & spoon relay! Games class was all about Hula Hoop, Frisbee, and the shoe toss. Large cones were set up at different distances away from the starting line. Campers took turns tossing their Hula Hoops to ring the target. For the last ten minutes of class, we stood in a line and saw who could kick their shoe the farthest across the gym. Campers became super friends in Friendship class. We read “Finding the Hero in Me” and decorated capes of kindness. They learned actions and words that show kindness towards others. In Cooking, Yak Apprentices learned how to put together a healthy and tasty Greek pasta salad! We practiced our knife skills while chopping our veggies for the salad, and learned why certain foods are Greek. The Orange team learned how to prepare vanilla yogurt, fruit, and granola parfaits! Campers did great listening to directions as we all learned our recipe together! Campers got to choose between 3 activities today in Discovery, or “super hero stations.” Playdough and bouncing bubbles were offered. Other campers showed their teamwork and engineering skills in a cup stacking challenge! We welcomed our superheroes into Projects today with the book SuperJoe Does [not] Say Sorry. Afterwards, campers designed their superhero personas with construction paper. We started our week in camp with group circle communication in Mindfulness class. We will pass around our CYY dinosaur superhero and help lift one another to be the best superhero they can be. There are conversations about how they are all superheroes and that the best superheroes know who they are behind the mask. In Chit Chat, we read I am amazing. We discussed which words can be harmful to say to ourselves and to others. We came up with other words to express how we feel and practiced saying them out loud. We then made shields and added positive phrases to them to protect us from harmful words. In Yak Academy, we made super murals! Kids will work on coming up with and coloring their own superheroes. They are also able to use stencils or CDs to create villains for them to fight. Together they all made beautiful art that will hang on the camp's wall. In Explorers Red, we took a look at how we identify our emotions and the emotions of others. We played games with Katy in the Gym and in the afternoon discussed what the word “regulation" means to each of us. We also talked about what it feels like to be “dysregulated” and what we all do or can do to help ourselves get back to being regulated. In Explorers Blue, we made paper bag superheroes and read Superheroes Have Bad Days Too. We had sensory time with playdough and played games in the gym with our friends from Explorers Red. In Buddies, we started off with a Superhero Song by Koo Koo Kangaroo and a read-aloud about Pete the Cat, Super Pete! Our campers made their own superheroes from a cutout of a person and other materials, including a tie-dye coffee filter cape! We had a fun start to our week!

Day 2

In Play, the superheroes banded together to complete a potato sack race & sponge relay! After all, superheroes need to be comfortable in both wet & dry conditions! In Games class, the Green, Purple, and Explorers Blue had fun making friends and playing board games. The Orange team started this week off strong with Hula Hoop frisbee and the shoe toss. Large cones were set up at different distances away from the starting line. Campers took turns tossing their Hula Hoops to ring the target. For the last ten minutes of class, we stood in a line and saw who could kick their shoe the farthest across the gym. Today was all about the Red, Blue, and Yellow teams being in tune with our and others' emotions in Friendship class. Campers listened to Even Superheroes Have Bad Days and had the option of 4 stations themed to the zones of regulation. The red zone was a calm corner with books and fidgets, the blue zone was bubbles and coloring, the green zone was making emotion meters, and the yellow zone was a silly superhero dance party. In Chit Chat, we made microphones! Campers practiced sharing and asking for supplies. Once our microphones were finished, we used them to conduct superhero sidekick interviews. Campers came up with superhero names, 3 superpowers, and discussed how they would help their superhero get out of quicksand! They got creative with their responses and superhero names! Our Red, Yellow, and Blue teams continued to work on their super sharing skills in Projects by making superhero dioramas out of tissue paper, markers, and paper! We opened class with Ten Rules of Being a Superhero, to learn how we to can be heroes. In Yak Academy, campers got to work on becoming their own superheroes by making robo-arms. This was a two-day project, so today they worked on the mechanics behind it. This arm curls over their own, protecting it and making it super powerful. They were a bit tricky, but today was a great start. Every superhero needs to be ready for what comes next in Mindfulness. We will be practicing yoga poses and a guided visualization that will help them relax in tense situations, much like a superhero. In Cooking class, Explorers Red made strawberry shortcake with fresh whipped cream! We all did great, cutting berries and learning how to make whipped cream from scratch! In Explorers Red, we jumped into self-advocacy! How to do it in a way that gets our needs met. We talked about tips and tricks that we can use to advocate for ourselves effectively. In the afternoon, we cooked up a storm in the kitchen and feasted on our creations. Today we had fun with music therapy in Explorers Blue! We made popsicle superheroes and read What’s My Super Power.

Day 3

In Play, superheroes beat the heat and played ‘drip, drip, drop’ (a game similar to ‘duck, duck, goose’). Campers had a blast today in Games with Musical Chairs and a tic-tac-toe relay with hula hoops and bean bags. Campers had to work together to come up with strategies for today’s activities. Today in Friendship, Red, Blue, and Yellow teams learned how important skills for making friends are. We read Making Friends is an Art and made super buddies out of toilet paper rolls. Each hero could be given different superpowers related to the skills of friendship. There were also zones of regulation stations, such as calm corner, coloring, superhero dance party, or friendship card making. In Cooking, it was the Yak Apprentices' turn to make strawberry shortcake! We practiced our knife skills and learned how to make fresh whipped cream using a blender! In Projects, we dove into the world of comic books by reading Send for a Superhero. Yellow, Red, and Blue teams worked on comic book magnets and their superhero logos with collaged comic strips. Yak Academy finished up their superhero gauntlets from Tuesday. There was a little bit of construction to finish up, but most of the time was spent on the mechanics. Campers worked with string and straw to get the fingers to curl over their own, protecting them and making them super powerful. We got to see some snake sidekicks in Mindfulness! Campers had the opportunity to hold or touch the snakes brought by the Snake Man. They could also look at them from a distance, whatever the camper felt comfortable with! We were able to practice patience, calm bodies, and deep breaths because snakes can be alarmed by loud noises. In Chit Chat, we revisited Monday’s discussion on harmful words and what we can say instead. We started making our superhero shields. They will help us protect ourselves and others from harmful words! The superheroes showed their super skills in a classroom obstacle course in Discovery class! A balance beam, hopscotch, and activity dice made for a very active class period. Explorers Red are taking a look at perspective taking. How and why is it important? Why is it so hard sometimes? In the afternoon, we went on a nature walk and tried to take the perspective of some of the trees, birds, bugs, and plants we saw. Explorers Blue made superhero cuffs and read The Power of Kindness. We had fun with Music Therapy, our friends in Explorers Red, and Ms. Liv. Buddies read about what great individuals we are with, A Lot Like Batman: Being Amazing on our Terms. For our craft project, we made our very own superhero masks! We loved listening to and moving to superhero-themed songs!

Day 4

In Play, superheroes united to play beach lava ball! In Games, the Green and Purple teams played board games together. Our focus was on being good winners and losers. The attitudes and energy in the gym were great, and everyone had someone to play with. Super campers on Red, Blue, and Yellow teams in Friendship got to learn how to protect their friends and be heroes of fun and kindness. They read Character Kids Save the Day and made paper plate shields. We also discussed weaknesses for heroes that bring friends down through ripping a paper person and putting it back together (aka the power of our words). In Cooking, Explorers Red made mini pizzas! We talked about our favorite pizza toppings and then made personal pizzas to suit our unique tastes. We practiced following directions, and while we waited for our pizzas, we made our own superhero comics. Yellow, Red, and Blue campers went on an outdoor nature scavenger hunt today in Discovery class! They practiced some super communication skills and strengthened their spatial awareness! Campers learned how superheroes fly with the book Ten Steps to Flying like a Superhero in Projects class. They then designed and made their own flying superheroes with wooden cutouts, felt, colored paper, and string. With all this talk about superheroes, it was time to put their skills to the test in Yak Academy. Campers went around and saved people from being trapped in ice, plant overgrowth, or quicksand. They had to work as a superhero team to find the civilians and then carefully extract them. Similar to yesterday in Mindfulness, we did more problem-solving and used more critical thinking. The campers gave their best attempt at balancing a ping pong ball on a spoon while participating in a relay race, working together on a team with other campers. Lots of fun, lots of teamwork, and constant reminders that if you fail, just try again! In Chit Chat, we finished up our shields by adding finishing touches of glitter and glow-in-the-dark paint! For our shields to light up at night, we need to charge them under the sun for a couple of hours, and then they will give off a small glow at night! Towards the end of class, we worked in groups to make our own superhero. We collaborated on name, superpowers, and backstory! We had so much fun creating our superhero! Today in Explorers Red, we worked on problem-solving and discussed ways we can work together to solve problems. In the afternoon, we did some cooking and then sampled what we made. In Explorers Blue, we made superheroes with our handprints and read You Are a Super Hero. We sang lots of fun songs in Music Therapy. Buddies read, Halima: Superhero Princess, and learned that we are super just the way we are! We made superhero arm bands during project time and enjoyed more superhero songs during our daily dance party!

Day 5

In Play, superheroes enjoyed playing outside with new and old friends. Available options included water play and assorted equipment such as zoom balls, stomp rockets, and a parachute! 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! In Friendship, we ended superhero week by learning about the unsung heroes in our community who don’t have “powers” or capes. Red, Blue, and Yellow teams made super friend power stones and read Kindness is my Superpower. Campers got to paint/decorate a rock, which they carried around as their source of “power” in being a super friend to one another. In Chit Chat, we worked together to bring our superhero to life! We turned them into puppets and added masks and capes to them! We worked in groups to create a story and then had the opportunity to present it to the class as a puppet show at the front. In Cooking, Yak Apprentices designed their own recipe for ice cream sundaes and then made their very own with yummy toppings, sauces, whipped cream, and a cherry on top! The Silver team also enjoyed a cold, tasty treat today when they made banana ice cream from scratch! We worked on following a recipe to completion, using blenders safely, and got to choose from a selection of yummy toppings to finish off our icy creations! Campers got creative and made their own kaleidoscopes to take home in Discovery class. Blue, Yellow, and Red group campers discovered the science of reflections and optical illusions. After a long week of superhero adventures, today we put it all together to make our very own comics! Red, Yellow, and Blue teams wrote their superhero stories down in Projects after listening to There’s a Superhero in Your Book. We wrapped up Yak Academy by making slime! This week, to fit the theme, kids had the option of making power-themed slimes. We had all the colors and glitter of the rainbow, along with different themed add-ins for different powers. If they finished early, kids were allowed to play with their slime. For a fun Friday activity, we did a Mindfulness obstacle course! There were a variety of different challenges and tasks for campers to complete. We put our superhero powers to the test! Last day of Superhero camp for Explorers Red! We spent the morning discussing how we can apply the skills we learned this week. We had games with Katy in the gym, then we talked about the highs and lows of the week. We enjoyed a popsicle and went to the talent show and dance party in the gym. Explorers Blue made superhero shields and read There’s A Super Hero In Your Book. We had sensory time with playdough and played games in the gym! We had such a super time at camp! In Buddies, we began the day with a 5-minute story about Batman and the team helping the Flash to finish a challenge, showing us once again that teamwork does make the dream work. We explored an array of materials during sensory art and made superhero medals for project time!