Campers have been writing quite a bit of code and making a nice variety of games. Most of the children have spent a lot of time working on a racing game with their partners in Kenya. We hope you can join us for our showcase on Friday to see the finished products.
Our 3rd through 5th grade campers were able to sample some food from their partner country last week. Children made their own Kenyan chipati (a type of bread similar to a tortilla). It was exciting to be able to see several of the campers talk about their experience with Kenyan food with their partner student in Kenya. Campers have been writing quite a bit of code and making a nice variety of games. Most of the children have spent a lot of time working on a racing game with their partners in Kenya. We hope you can join us for our showcase on Friday to see the finished products.
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It has been a lot of fun getting to know our partner class and learning all about their country Nicaragua. We have been recording video messages to our new friends!
In Morning Meeting, we have been practicing finding Nicaragua on the globe and greeting each other in Spanish. We learned about the coat of arms on the Nicaraguan flag, and what each symbol represents. Then we made our own flags using colored tissue paper. We looked at Nicaraguan Folk art and created some paintings of our own inspired by the vibrant colors and natural settings. We had a little dance break and enjoyed listening to one of our partner classes favorite musical artists. We read a Nicaraguan folk tale called "Uncle Nacho's Hat" and created our own hats out of recycled newspaper. Today we will literally get a taste of Nicaragua, when we make a sweet native beverage made from rice, pinapple, and condensed milk called "Arroz con Pina" What is a home? This week, the toddler class focused on the theme “What Makes a Home a Home?” We started our week reading a book that described different colors found within a home, leading us to a discussion about the colors of our own homes. We wanted to make a dream home to use in our dramatic play area, so we created some out of large cardboard boxes and paint. Working hard on contributing to making our house colorful, each child was responsible for painting their own section, where they were able to choose between using red or blue paint. Once our houses were dry, the toddlers had a blast playing house within them among their peers! Spiders and their webs A common creature found in our homes is the spider! Having shown a lot of interest in insects this summer, we felt it would be fun for the toddler class to investigate where spider’s live as well as what their homes look like. The toddler's first took a trip to our Labrynth where they were able to sit among nature while being read “The Very Busy Spider.” We then explored our surroundings by primarily looking for spiders, spider webs, and other creatures that live outdoors. Focusing on the spider’s home, we continued our study inside by creating spider webs out of string and wood as well as drawing our own versions of spider webs with crayons. The Cave This week we learned about a different type of artist, a cave artist. We read the book, “Cave Baby,” and learned about the way a cave person displays their artisticness. We discussed the differences between a cave artist and the idea of an artist we have today. One difference is that a cave artist does not sign their name, but instead they use their handprint as a way to sign their artwork. We got to create our own cave person signature by using white paint on a paper bag, just like real cave artist! Tailor Bird Nests
The tailor bird is found in China. The male Tailor Bird builds his nest in a special way. He uses his beak and feet to sew the edges of a leaf together. We used paper beaks to try and sew our tailor bird nests with yarn. Bird Nests We built our own bird nests using a brown lunch bag. We added burlap twine, pine cones, and twigs. Beaver Lodge Did you know that Beavers have orange teeth? This protective coating allows a beaver to chew through wood. A beaver home is called a lodge. A lodge is strong enough to keep predators out, and warm enough to protect the family all winter long. Beavers do not actually hibernate. They store food under their lodge, and exit through an underwater passageway. Beavers construct their lodges out of wood and sticks. They use mud to create a waterproof seal. Do you know what baby beavers are called? Answer: Kits. We built our own beaver lodge, out of pretzel rods and sticks, sunflower seed butter. Our lodge may have not been waterproof, but it was edible! After the construction was done, we tore the lodge apart, and ate the beaver family (pita chips) inside. The first week of camp has flown by, and we have been having a blast getting to know one another, playing, and learning the basics of coding!
The first and second graders have split up into 2 groups in order to use the coding programs that best fit their needs. Half of our class is using Scratch on our chromebooks, and the other half is working with Scratch Jr. on the iPads. We learned all about Sprites and had such a great time choosing from the different characters and customizing them until they were just the right size, shape, and color. Some of us even added our own faces! We learned how to control our sprites using the coding blocks, and have played with making out sprites walk, drive, jump, and dance. We even created a sprite to represent and introduce ourselves to our partners! During our level up class: We exchanged our first video with our partner class in Nicaragua, and learned a little about the kids and their country. We learned that we are not so different; we play some of the same games and LOVE ice cream! We looked at pictures of Nicaraguan folk art and used them as inspiration for our own paintings during center time, and listened to some traditional Nicaraguan music while we worked. One of our favorite part of the day has been coming together with the 3-5 graders for a group activity. We have learned to play capture the flag, Alligator, Alligator, and Silent Ball, and the games have been fun and challenging! We look forward to learning more about Nicaragua and coding, and of course playing tons of fun games as the week continues! Our video game designers are off to a fast start this week at PJS Curiosity Camp. Campers have been learning new skills on Scratch each day, and they are starting to put together what they know to create their own projects. Some campers are working on digital stories and others are creating video games. It is exciting to see how quickly they learn the new techniques and are able to apply them.
While working on their designs, campers have been teamed up with children in Kenya. They were sent a video by their partners, and on Tuesday campers made a video to respond. We have learned a bit about Kenya, and later this week campers will work directly with their Kenyan partners to design a game together. During the first week of bookmaking camp, our class produced lots of decorative papers to use for our pages and covers for our books that we will assemble during the second week of camp. On the first day, our group focused on the technique of “marbling”, which is a way to decorate the paper with a marbled effect. The first technique we used for marbling was the “shaving cream method”. We used a pan of shaving cream, and colored dyes to create patterns on the surface of the shaving cream. Then we placed a blank piece of paper on top of the shaving cream and dye and pressed the paper into the shaving cream. Another way that we achieved the marbled finish was by shaving chalk into water and created patterns with the colors in the water. We then pressed our paper into the water and the design reflected onto the paper. This marbled look was a bit less vibrant than the shaving cream method, but the result produced beautiful, pastel, understated colors in a marbled design. The next day, our class worked on a technique called “blocking”. Using the blocking technique we were able to create stamps that created unique patterns. We then carefully painted bright colored paint onto our stamp using a brayer and we stamped our stamps into a pattern on our papers. Each child’s stamp was unique and one child referred this style of artwork as our “paint signatures”. Later that day we made another stamp, using leftover pieces of foam and sticking them onto our brayers into geometric patterns. We then carefully painted our stamps, but this time we rolled our stamps onto our papers creating a very cool and different effect. On the last day of week one we focused on watercolor painting. The group started with just three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue, and soon learned what amazing colors they could create by mixing those three colors. The group began, with basic designs, but as the day progressed and they became more and more comfortable, they began to create beautiful abstract paintings, paintings of their favorite characters, and even paintings for loved ones. By the end of the day some of the children even used salt on top of the paintings which added even more pizzazz to their art. By the end of the week, each child had a portfolio full of wonderfully creative pages that they had created throughout the week, and they are all well equipped with designs that they can use when constructing their books next week.
ART AND NATURE CAMPERS (AGES 2-5)
Our campers explored nature, learned about different insects through inquiry, and read numerous insect centered books. One of our books, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” inspired a caterpillar grape recipe. Each child created their own caterpillar friend. They were then able to save their caterpillars to have as a yummy afternoon snack! We were excited to kick off the summer this week. All of our returning students helped welcome new friends with learning all that encompasses the Princeton Junior School camp environment. |
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