Summer Camp Recap is our seasonal segment featuring our summer camp programs. This is the place for camp parents to find pictures of their campers in action and see all the fun things we did all week. It’s also a great place for educators to pick up craft, story and lesson ideas for their own early childhood programs!
Little Sprouts: My Five Senses is based on touching, smelling, hearing, seeing and even tasting. Campers learned what their five senses are and used them to explore the natural world. They spent the week smelling herbs, feeling plants and listening for nature sounds.
Day one focused on sight. Campers learned about their sense of sight and why it is important to look closely; they learned to use binoculars and magnifying glasses to look far away and up close. Next, they went on a “worm” hunt around the Conservatory, looking for colorful yarn amongst the plants, and playing an “I Spy” game in the South Conservatory train exhibit.
Day two focused on smell. Campers used smelly Kool-Aid paint to color in pictures of fruit, matching the picture to the smell. Next, they smelled different fruits and veggies – citrus fruits, peach, pear and even a potato. They also took a walk to the Tropical Forest to hunt for smelly spices. Campers smelled cinnamon, black pepper and other fragrant plants. Back in the classroom, they planted a scented geranium to take home; campers can practice their observation skills all year long!
Day three focused on touch. Campers decorated T-shirts with handprints, feeling the cool paint on their hands. Next, they touched a variety of natural objects, feeling things that are smooth, rough, hard and soft. The lesson focused on touching different leaves and flowers; campers took a walk around the green roof looking for different textures and trying to match leaves to their plants using their sense of touch. Campers also learned about worms and explored their new wiggly friends with their hands.
Day four focused on hearing. Campers made seed shakers from repurposed materials. They then learned about their ears and hearing, singing songs about their senses and reading a story with silly sounds. They took a walk in the Conservatory to find different “shakers”, each one filled with different seeds, along the way. Campers listened to the sound of each shakers and tried to guess what size and shape the seeds were.
Want to talk to your Little Sprout about his five senses? Here are some of the books that we read this week at camp:
Here Are My Hands Bill Martin
My Five Senses Aliki
Listen to the Rain Bill Martin and John Archambault
Nosy Rosie Holly Keller
Meow Said the Cow Emma Dodd
Who Says That? Arnold Shapiro
Growing Colors Bruce McMillan
You Smell Mary Murphy
Can You Growl Like A Bear? John Butler
Check out the slideshow below!
While our summer Little Sprouts camps are full, we are offering even more programs this fall! Our first, My Favorite Fruits, is offered both October 17 from 9:30-10:30 and 11-noon. Contact 412-441-4442 ext. 3925 or see the website to register!
For more pictures from Summer Camp, check out our Facebook page!
The above photos were taken by Science Education Staff.
