Most of the week was spent focusing of different dinosaurs, cavemen, and wildlife from a long time ago. The kids really had fun with this because they all had a vision of what that time period could have looked like. Miss Chelsey, Riley and I really had fun experimenting with the kids while making projects and talking about what it would be like to live as a caveman. Overall this week was not your average summer camp week at the Markeim.
Monday July 21: Dino Silhouettes
To start off the prehistoric week Miss Chelsey had a really resourceful idea when we decided to have the kids trace a dinosaur skeleton from the window. Similar to the Michael-Angelo project we did last week, we set two kids up at a time the window and had them use the natural light to trace their own prehistoric skeletons. This was really exciting for the kids to do together and then when we were done the kids highlighted their tracing in Sharpie then glue. After snack and outside time the kids game back in to paint their Dino skeletons. Each camper used their own colors and decided how they wanted their skeletons to looks. As they were cleaning up to free draw, paint, play with blocks, build with legos, and read books, Miss Chelsey and I used paper towels to dab the outlined with Sharpie and glue skeleton, but because the glue covered the sharpie outline, dabbing persevered the outline under the paint. With the first day of Prehistoric week completed, the campers went home with their first dinosaur projects!
Tuesday July 24: 3D Dinos
After free drawing we moved quickly along to the first part of project, this week was full of firsts and the 3D project was definitely a first for the little kids. We took Miss Chelsey's pre-cut toilet paper rolls and let the kids draw and painted green on them to look like feet. We let those dry and after snack the kids came back in and colored their dinosaurs with their pastel crayons and colors. As the day drew to a close Miss Chelsey and I put together the (now) dried feet and the colored in dinosaurs. The kids were really excited to play with their 3D prehistoric creatures, and it was exciting for us to see how when we gave the kids colors, they all created their own masterpieces.
Wednesday July 25: Dinosaur Silhouettes project
After free draw many of the kids were anxious to learn more about different kind of dinos and today we really used a lot of different types of them. So the first half of class was spent using water colors to create a leafy tropical prehistoric background look. Everyone had different ideas to what their dinosaur homes should look like and it showed through their colors. After break the kids came back not knowing what would be next. When we showed them all the different types of dinosaur silhouettes they could use and glue onto their colorful construction papers, all the kids guessed which types they were and were so excited to pick and place them onto their projects. The kids came home with one project that took them a lot of work, patience, and involved a lot of learning of dinos.
Thursday July 26: NatureWalk
Today ran a bit differently today when instead of freedrawing time, Miss Chelsey spontaneously took the little campers out for a nature walk. This was the first time a project needed the kids to go outside to start it, let alone complete it. The kids walked around the block and picked up their favorite flowers, sticks, leaves and rocks. When they got back the kids took turns dipping their finds into their paint colors of choice, and Riley and I helped them make prints on their papers. The kids thought it was so neat to use what was around them to make cool pieces of artwork that looked like it could have been done by cavemen. After snack and outside time, we came inside to do an entirely new project. This kids thought up what were some aspects of life as a caveman. We all sketched using white oil pastels on cut up black pieces of paper what we thought it would look like, such as stick figures, animals, plants/wildlife, etc. Miss Chelsey and I then put all their ideas on a larger piece of paper showing everything they did. The kids went home today with two complete projects and excitement for the the last day of camp.
Friday July 25: Cave Art project
The first part of some of the campers last day was spent freedrawing like normal then we shifted into project time. Miss Chelsey used basic art supplies and creatively thought of a way the campers could enjoy "painting walls like the cavemen did". The first step to this project threw a lot of the kids off because instead of creating their own masterpieces, Miss Chelsey instructed them to crumble up their papers to give them a worn out look. We smudged the oil pastels to look like mud/clay, traced their hands onto the paper and then let them draw whatever their heart desired. After snack, we went outside and Allegra and myself watched as Miss Chelsey and intern Riley taught some of the little girls how to jump rope. As the kids were coming in we saw that most of their projects were just about finished and Riley came up with a great idea. This was the first time we had the kids watch a movie as a part of the lesson but it meshed perfectly with the kids behaviors. The last half of the day was spent watching the Croods and letting the kids visualize what the Prehistoric Era really could have been like while at the same time the campers sketched what they saw: cavemen, different animals, etc.