Little Happies: Art & Sensory Mini Summer Camp

"Deep meaning lies often in childish play."

-Johann Friedrich von Schiller, German Poet

The past two weeks of camp were, by far, the best yet. I think it was a combination of some of the kids being more familiar with each other and just the chemistry of the entire group together.

My little guy added some ~~stress~~ ~~work~~ excitement when he decided to drop his morning nap which typically lasted the entire camp day. The added layer was made worth it when I saw how great the older kids were with him--they were patient, gentle and willing to share. And when I saw how much fun he had, I was happy he got to join.

The favorite theme this week had to be Camping Out. Here are just a few of the photos from the day's activities:

We created a bird's nest using our small pool, a brown tarp, grocery bags cut into strips and our Easter eggs. My two assistants, Hunter and Emerson, helped me crinkle the strips to make them look more nest-like.

Our outdoor cooking consisted of cuts of grass, bits of fern, sticks and soapy water that we called Grass Slime.

The kids painted with marshmallows on skewers and used colors associated with a fire; red, orange and yellow.

The favorite activity of the day was the homemade pond. All of the kids, regardless of age, played hard collecting the bugs, frogs, glass beads and pebbles with their hands and nets and inspecting it all with their magnifying glasses.

I wrapped our big birch tree in bubble wrap and although I tried to encourage the kids to paint with their hands, the paint brushes won out.

My little guy couldn't get enough of the bubble wrap texture and slimy paint on the tree.

The kids enjoyed reading books together in the tent and roasting marshmallows during story time. After eating our snacks we went on a nature walk to gather materials to add to our painted tree mural.

(Hunter noted that certain leaves smelled different.)

(Emerson got excited that the leaves matched her outfit.

Her Southern grandparents are smiling right now.)

We ended the day by playing fireside games and cooling off with shaving cream and colored ice paint in the shape of nighttime stars.

It was an awesome end to the summer camp series and we're looking forward to doing it again next year.

The best part about doing camp? Moments like these....