Art & Sensory Summer Camp - Reading & Rainbows

"Play energizes and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities."

-Stuart Brown, MD, Contemporary American Psychiatrist

Our first day of camp this summer was themed around reading and rainbows. Because we know that children (and adults) learn best when they engage all the senses, we developed activities where the children had the opportunity to fully use all five of their senses in order to explore and learn about ways we use color in the world. 

Activities included; rainbow spaghetti exploration,

rainbow watercoloring with spray bottles, 

and rainbow manipulatives so we could discuss similarities and differences, problem solving (when building structures), and decision making. 

This particular table was good for cooperation and collaboration which the older kids loved teaching the younger ones about!

We also had a rainbow science station. The kids loved experimenting with mixing various colored dye, glitter and flour. We supplied a lot of different tools for investigation, many of which also exercised fine motor skills. 

The messier the activity, the more fun the kids had! I loved listening to observations the children made while exploring and how they taught each other what they had learned.

We took time to read lots and lots of books and sang some new songs (thank you Chelsea!).

One of the favorite activities of the day was the rainbow obstacle course. The object of the game was to climb through the maze without touching any of the streamers.

We finished off the day with rainbow painting using our feet first...

...and then the kids ventured on to painting with their hands, elbows and knees. 

Watching the kids reiterated what I love most about sensory play--the delight children show when they are learning to love learning! 

Looking forward to sharing more photos soon! 

In the meantime, you can check out other camp days by clicking on the following:

Art & Sensory Summer Camp - PJ Party & Yucky Fun

Art & Sensory Summer Camp - Part 1

Art & Sensory Summer Camp - Candyland

"I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things...

I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind."

-Leo F. Buscaglia

Breakfast at Emerson's 3rd Birthday Party

"She is clothed with strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future."

-Proverbs 31:25

I can hardly believe my girl turned three. It seems like just yesterday she entered into our life and I can't even remember what it was like beforehand. So, before I shed more joyful tears I'll cut right to her special party day....

Parties are my thing. I thrive on the hours I spend creating the details to bring the theme to life in a short two hour span. I don't see it as a chore but time that brings me a lot of joy. Nothing makes me happier than to see children running amock with frosting smeared across their happy faces. And, glitter? Don't even get me started. Seeing glitter on my kitchen floor makes me feel like a rich woman. Some people hate the fact it takes weeks to remove it, I get a little sad when I realize there's none left. 

For my fancy-slash-tomboy girl I felt a Breakfast at Tiffany's theme would be the perfect fit. She's loves tutus as much as she loved the baseball tattoo she got in her box of Cracker Jacks. 

The outfit....

(Thank you Stephanie for getting my littles fed, dressed and to the restaurant with twenty minutes to spare!) 

 The decor....

(I am addicted to balloons. To save on the cost of helium I hung them upside down and covered a few with Elmer's glue and glitter.)

We served donuts with blue icing and "pearl" sprinkles, red velvet cake balls that were out-of-this-world from  Itty Bliss Bake Shop on etsy, croissants, cinnamon roll lollipops, Cracker Jacks and delicious chocolate cupcakes from our favorite local bakery.

The beautiful toppers were blue Tiffany blue boxes tied with a bow and finished with a silver heart "e" toggle each handmade by Nikkiikki on etsy. I gave her my idea and she made it even more beautiful!

 (The fun tissue garland is from Sara at The Paper Jar on etsy. I love good customer service and she touched base to make sure I received it and that I was happy with it.)

(Beverages included coffee, blue tinted Tiffany's milk served in recycled baby food jars and sparkling apple cider to represent Holly Golightly's favorite party drink.)

The favors....

(Blue bow ties for the boys.)

(...and pearl bracelets with a Tiffany blue bow and glittery finger nail polish for the girls. For the older girls I made a braided thread and pearl bracelet since I love a good fashion trend.)

(My brother once again helped me with the invitations and hits the ball out of the park every time--love you Joshie! Every year I also have Emerson's birthday crown designed by the talented Kim of Glam Hatter on etsy. See her first year crown here and her second year crown here.)

(I covered $2 frames from CVS in gold glitter and framed Breakfast at Tiffany's images I found on google and two jewelry boxes that I had.)

(The cinnamon roll "lollipops" were mini rolls stuck on popsicle sticks, tied with black and white satin ribbon and stuck in a floral foam square wrapped with shiny silver wrapping paper that I had on hand.)

(Emerson's stuffed cat served at Holly Golightly's cat and the pepper shaker taxi cab has been mine for many years.)

The activities....

(A photo booth with props.)

(The photo booth printable was free from Letter Art Studio and the backdrop was a piece of felt sprayed with spray adhesive and silver glitter added.)

 (Bubble rings, bracelets and faux jewels for the girls to wear and take home.)

(We hung crystal chandaliers that I purchased from Urban Outfitters years ago. The activity table included children's books about NYC, wooden cars to paint like taxi cabs, homemade Tiffany blue playdoh, costume pearls to make a necklace, coloring pages themed to the movie, Holly Golightly paper dolls, face painting by our beautiful friend Brianna, and Tiffany blue manicures.)

(We encouraged guests to exit the patio and walk a block to the nearby Tiffany store to try on jewels so they could get the full experience.)

(Paper dolls hand drawn by our girl Kathleen.)

And the guests who truly make any party a memory...

 

(Best Friends)

 

Singing Happy Birthday... 

 (As soon as the candle was lit she started singing Happy Birthday to herself in front of everyone--no holds barred. It was awesome.)

(She kept showing everyone her candle to make sure they knew how old she was.)

 

After the fun ended we said our goodbyes to friends and headed on to the rest of the day's fun activities. 

 

(Some got better goodbyes than others...)

Thank you to our old friends, new friends and friends-like-family for being a part of my girl's special day. 

And to my middle little: The past three years have been grand. 

Emerson, you are everything we ever wanted. Your fierce independence and confident, strong personality challenge me on many days, but I'd have it no other way. You teach me to try new things with a can-do attitude even if the odds are against me. You remind me to stay true to myself and stand strong in opposition. 

And, I love that you are the only person in my life who truly understands the fabulousness of wearing a fur coat, big jewelry with a little hippy-meets-Spiderman flare. 

I love you sweet girl!!

"I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. 

I believe that happiest girls are the prettiest girls."

-Audrey Hepburn

P.S. And just because I had to have my own Audrey moment when this mask arrived in the mail...Dave, this explains the frosted pink lipstick on your white shirt. xo

A huge thank you to my uber talented sitter Kathleen for all of her help, as usual, with the party. And, a shout out to Stephanie, Elissa, Grace, Gaina and Brianna for the help--I couldn't have pulled it off without all of you!!