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If I said that today was a bed of roses I would not be telling the truth! Today was certainly a challenge, for both the kids and I, but we made it! Authors and Illustrators is meant to bring out the creativity in our Imaginators by tapping into both their writing and artistic skills. It really is what Camp Imaginators is all about..Literature and Art joining forces to create magic! The younger Imaginators (5 to 7 years) are writing a book entitled "All about Me". They are simply spelling their names and naming one thing they like which begins with each letter in their name. The older Imaginators, in the 5 to 7 years age group, are writing more of an autobiography. Their name, date of birth, what they like to do, nick names etc. I started the day by discussing the task at hand and then, with the assistance of Aunty Olivia, each child was helped with naming something they liked beginning with each letter in their name or writing a short autobiography. They children then used stencils to write one letter of their name per page and then it was off to Arty Pants Studio for illustration. My older Imaginators were challenged to put their imagination and creative writing skills to the test. Aunty Natalia gave a good jump start by discussing the parts of a book and having the children list the genres of books they like to read. I took a quick walk over to the art room to explain the difference between Fiction and Non-Fiction and assist the children in creating the titles for their books. I explained that readers are drawn to interesting titles. "What title will make a reader grab your book off the shelf?" Here are some of the interesting titles they came up with:
...tomorrow...we continue to WRITE and ILLUSTRATE! 
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 This morning my little readers listened to The Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland. This story narrates the life of a very loving bear who hugged everything he saw, even things bears usually eat! The bear loved hugging trees most of all and when he saw a woodcutter chop the oldest tree in the forest he became full of anger. As the bear was about the bite the woodcutter he decided he would hug him instead. Of course, the woodcutter was not accustomed being hugged by bears and so after the bear let him go he ran away leaving the bear to hug the chopped tree. The children eagerly answered all the questions posed to them about the book! We discussed why trees are important and then moved on to a simple exercise. Since we planted on Monday I decided I would let the kids make a toy robot..... from recycled materials of course!  The journey of a plastic grocery bag from the landfill to a small store is mapped out in Bag in the Wind by Ted Kooser. This book was a little longer than the other books we read at camp thus far but the children were eager to read it! These older imaginators are really eager to read out loud and even asked my opinion on their reading skills. I gave them some tips about intonation and using the right pauses when they encountered various punctuation marks. My readers were eager to try out the tips I gave them and their effort alone made me very proud. After reading the book we moved on to a simple worksheet. The girls were excited to write...the boys well...lol! The important thing is that they all completed the exercise! My older readers insisted that they wanted to make something other than robots....lol...so I handed them empty water bottles, pipe cleaners, foil, glue, beady eyes and let them use their imagination! The results were interesting! They have to complete their creative toy tomorrow, Fun, Fix It Friday! Check out what was done at Arty Pants Studio.  Today was a day that filled my heart with joy! It is really heart warming when children are eager to read out loud and today two of my little male readers really made me smile as they kept on volunteering to read page after page! One little reader even pronounced the word polymerization with absolutely NO hesitation...at just 6 he made Aunty Ari exclaim..."that was really good!" ahhhhh...we had a reading moment. The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle, written by Alison Inches, takes the young reader on a wonderful journey from crude oil to a synthetic fleece sweater! A plastic bottle really does have an adventurous life! After reading we did some writing. Some of my readers were not impressed! "Miss this is vacation...we don't have to write". I had to let them know that the only way they would become better at writing is through practice and that 10 minutes of writing for the day was so little for so much gain. They all completed an assignment suitable for their age and then we had some fun! We used empty chubby bottles to make sensory bottles. The children chose their own colour glitter and water and they added stars. I honestly thought they would be only slightly impressed but they were so excited to make their very own "snow globes". Check out what they did at Arty Pants Stutio TT.  A Drop Around the World takes the reader on an exciting journey through the water cycle. It was therefore no surprise that my readers were all eager to read out loud and made sure that they each got several turns to read. They were quite amazed that a tiny drop of water could make a journey from Spain to Australia and eventually travel to Japan and end up in England. They enjoyed finding "Drop" on every page and enjoyed his adventures on matador's capes and through the stomachs of animals. After reading, we discussed the water cycle and all the different forms of water. They then completed a very simple exercise. ( I'm buttering them up for Thursday ;)). Knowing that my older readers are into science I decided to walk them through making lava lamps with old bottles, water, food colouring and alka-seltzer. Sorry moms and dads your alka -seltzer will probably go missing as these recycling scientist try to keep their lava lamps bubbling! Check out what they did at Arty Pants Studio TT.  Working on the Trash (to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad") We've been working on RECYCLING all the trash we can, We've been working on recycling, It's a very simple plan, Separate your glass and paper, Separate your plastic and tin. Take the trash that you've recycled to your recycling bin! We've been working on REDUCING all the trash we can. We've been working on reducing it’s a very simple plan. Don't go wasting any products, Use just exactly what you need. Don't buy things in extra wrapping, Reduce and you'll succeed! We've been working on REUSING all the trash we can. We've been working on reusing, it’s a very simple plan. If it's a paper bag you're using, don’t use it once, use it twice! Give old clothes and toys to someone, to reuse them would be nice! Taken from: http://www.canteach.ca Our imaginators learned all about the three Rs today! I started both sessions with a discussion about the difference between REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE. I asked the imaginators for examples of each of the three Rs. They seemed to be very versed in the second R - REUSE! Parents are always reusing grocery bags and food jars and our children are watching and learning. I read the Working on the Trash poem for my younger imaginators which reinforced the three Rs and their differences. We then did a very simple exercise. The children were given pictures of different items and they were asked to stick each item under Recycle or Trash. They did this with ease. My older imaginators joined along as I read Why Should I Recycle by Jen Green. They seemed to really like the way this book was written because they were eager to volunteer to read a page..."Miss I will read page 22"...which set off the best trend... everyone insisted they read a page. I asked my older imaginators to create a simple worksheet with the three Rs using "flip-ups" to reveal their meanings. Both my younger and older imaginators were then tasked with planting a seedling ( bird pepper or grape tomatoes) to show the earth some love. They reused bean tins as plant pots. They will take care of these plants for the rest of the week and take them home on Friday! There is so much that can be done with the "trash" around the house. See what was done at Arty Pants Studio.
Instead of venturing out on a field trip today we brought the fun to us by inviting the Mad Scientist to camp to share all his knowledge about dinosaurs! The children watched eagerly as he set the stage for a very interactive and informative session! First up a little lesson in paleontology! The kids unearthed dinosaur bones and put them back together! Next they made casts of huge dinosaur teeth and discussed at length, and with lots of demonstrations, how gigantic dinosaurs were! A great time was had by all! Of course we ended the day with some indoor and outdoor play. Tomorrow we get back to our regular day one session of Arty Pants Studio and one session of The Reading Garden....tomorrow's topic....well...be sure to check out our blogs tomorrow! :)  "Who knows what a baby frog is called?" "A TADPOLE" We are off to a great start! This fantastic book with lifelike images was a great way to teach my little ones about the life cycle of a frog. They learned so many things today! Gills are used to help animals breathe under water and lungs are used to breathe on land. One smart little reader even made a connection and said " so fish have gills!" I love those kind of moments! My readers were excited to rate this book and most of them gave it 3 stars!! The older children then labelled and coloured all the stages in the life cycle of a frog while my four year olds traced the letter F and the word Frog and coloured a picture of a frog. Now for the part they were most excited about! FROG PUPPETS! When I told my little ones they could not take the puppets home until Friday their little faces fell...so...the frogs went home today! Ribbit! Ribbit! Hop on over to see what Aunty Natalia did at Arty Pants Studio TT.  Whenever the Cat in the Hat explains something there is guaranteed excitement! This Cat in the Hat Learning Series book by Bonnie Worth explains so many things about a group of animals called cetaceans (sih-TAY-shunz). A word some of my little readers had some difficulty pronouncing initially but, by the end of the class most were able to pronounce and spell it without any assistance!  After reading the book I asked each reader what they learned. The picture on the right lists all the answers they gave me. We had a very lively discussion! Instead of asking my young readers write about everything they learned from the book I thought this book presented an excellent opportunity to speak to my readers about puns. "Miss...you mean P O N D??" "No P U N!" *confused looks... I then explained that a pun is a play on words and the title of this book was a good illustration! This is a story or a "tale" about whales...but if you look at the cover you see a whale tail....and of course one reader shouted...Miss...they are homonyms - tale and tail! ( *big smile)! We then liken a whale of a tale to a tall tale! I gave an example of a tall tale and set my readers to work to write tall tales of their own! Well...let's just say...superman has been to San Fernando Hill!! Take a look at the whales they drew at Arty Pants Studio. OH! I almost forgot! My 8 to 10 year olds WILL NOT accept that this as Science week unless we do an experiment! So I did a little demonstration....tomorrow we will see if our cup with water, oil and rubbing alcohol looks the same! I have to mention that when I asked why the liquids behaved they way they did when we poured them in the cup one little guy said..."different intensities" I LOVE KIDS! Don't worry moms and dads...now he knows its all about DENSITY!  The first day of camp got off to a great start! I was so excited to meet my imaginators this morning! This book by Helene Jordan takes the young reader through an experiment in growing a seed. After reading about different types of seeds and how long they take to grow I directed my readers to the chart on the wall which showed the parts of a seed. I asked my little ones: "what do you use a coat for?" "To keep warm" "Not to get wet" I then prompted them to think about the function of a seed coat. They quite correctly answered "to protect the seed". For each part of the seed I prompted my little ones to think about it's function and was pleasantly surprised that many of them were spot on with their answers. I then handed out work sheets on which they were required to rate the book and label and colour the seed. Of course....for our little ones the class is never complete until we go outside to play....how about some hop scotch?! Here are some samples of today's worksheets. You can see some of my little ones do not care to be realist....rainbow beans :). Of course I had to add a picture of the hopscotch fun!  I was so excited to read this book to my 8 to 10 year olds today. Eric Carle's The Tiny Seed takes the young reader on the journey of a tiny seed floating in the wind. Many of the other seeds traveling with the tiny seed do not make it to a place that is suitable for growth and even those that do, have their life cut short by children running and friend's picking flowers for each other but...the tiny seed survives it all and grows to be the tallest flower ever seen! These young readers were full of knowledge. We discussed pollination, the conditions needed for seeds to grow, the function of leaves and roots and so much more. They then moved on to a fun worksheet...no writing today just a little craft using a flower that opens up to reveal what a seed needs to grow. Next...what they were all waiting for...the experiment! Let us demonstrate one of the ways that water gets from the roots to the leaves...CAPILLARITY! How did we do this? Walking water! Check it out! |
