Camp Lemon wrap-up.
I ran several weeks of Camp Lemon this summer, which was fun and exhausting. A couple of years ago, I joked that it bummed the kids out when their friends whose parents both work outside home went to week after week of camp and were unavailable to play, so maybe I'd just run my own camp. A friend took me up on it, and since then I've picked up kids here and there, particularly when there's only a day or two that the kid needs keeping, formal camps aren't running, and parents of older kids don't have regular care available.
We do crafts, field trips, games, stuff like that. I'm often a little surprised at how much the kids enjoy doing the crafts.
Successes:
Necklaces made from washers they painted with nail polish
Mobiles from flower pots
Bath bombs (some more fizzy than others)
Melted crayon art
Marbleized paper
Bleach pen t-shirts
Aluminum can yard flowers
Popsicle stick bracelets
Candles from crayons
Worry stones
Vases with spray paint and rubber bands
Sharpie tie-dye
Activities:
Hiking down Stone Mountain
Yard Olympics
Sprayground
Baking bread in a can
Bowling
Soapmaking
Solar oven
Petting zoo
Forensics with fingerprints
Elephant toothpaste
Archery
Dog training
Lego challenge (massive hit--gave each kid a slip of paper with a prompt and they had 15 minutes to build something representational. The clever way the kids interpreted the prompts was amazing.)
Notable hilarious, never-do-it-again project:
Clay bowl made from dryer lint. If anyone wants a bowl embedded with dog hair, let me know.
I have a really good time, but damned if I'm not worn out by the time it's over. Maybe next year I'll raise my rates slightly and hire an assistant. :)
School started today and while I miss the big ones already, they were starting to suffer from Too Much Togetherness Syndrome. When they start playing games like "Can You Breathe" and Zip Line Dodgeball, it's time to go back.
We do crafts, field trips, games, stuff like that. I'm often a little surprised at how much the kids enjoy doing the crafts.
Successes:
Necklaces made from washers they painted with nail polish
Mobiles from flower pots
Bath bombs (some more fizzy than others)
Melted crayon art
Marbleized paper
Bleach pen t-shirts
Aluminum can yard flowers
Popsicle stick bracelets
Candles from crayons
Worry stones
Vases with spray paint and rubber bands
Sharpie tie-dye
Activities:
Hiking down Stone Mountain
Yard Olympics
Sprayground
Baking bread in a can
Bowling
Soapmaking
Solar oven
Petting zoo
Forensics with fingerprints
Elephant toothpaste
Archery
Dog training
Lego challenge (massive hit--gave each kid a slip of paper with a prompt and they had 15 minutes to build something representational. The clever way the kids interpreted the prompts was amazing.)
Notable hilarious, never-do-it-again project:
Clay bowl made from dryer lint. If anyone wants a bowl embedded with dog hair, let me know.
I have a really good time, but damned if I'm not worn out by the time it's over. Maybe next year I'll raise my rates slightly and hire an assistant. :)
School started today and while I miss the big ones already, they were starting to suffer from Too Much Togetherness Syndrome. When they start playing games like "Can You Breathe" and Zip Line Dodgeball, it's time to go back.