Hollywood 

East:  MooOOoOOOve over last week and make way for animal week. We're having a barnyard of a time here in hollywood. I think you'll beee surprised with how many animals we can fit in the auditorium. Our kiddos have been working on some awesome dance moves and silly animal noises. We will have a WHaLe of a time this Friday. We got a catchy duck song and some roaring dances that will leave you all feeling like you went to the zoo. 

The kiddos and teachers work hard each week to put these shows together. We only get to see the kids for 3 hours out of the week and sometimes even shorter. It is a lot of fun and hard work to put it all together for you and we are so grateful each week to showcase what we've learned. Sometimes we'll play the song over and over again doing the same dance moves. It's a lot of work, but WORTH IT every time. 

Healey: This week in Hollywood our week’s theme, Animal Camp, took us on a wild journey around the world! The children explored endangered species, practiced imitating animal movements, and created imaginative costumes and poses inspired by creatures big and small. We also celebrated animals from across the globe by incorporating unique sounds and music from different cultures. We are taking it back as we learn the Cotton eyed Joe and you won’t want to miss our special salsa performance —just one of the many ways we brought this vibrant theme to life! The kids and teachers have worked so hard to turn their ideas into reality. We hope you enjoy the show! 🐆🌍🎶💃

East: This week in DI, we followed the camp thing of “Animal Camp” and students had a blast exploring their creativity through fun, hands-on projects. 

We kicked off the week by making sensory hedgehogs, using soft tissue paper and colorful paper strips to create textured spikes. The kids loved feeling the different materials as they built their adorable creatures. Next, we created fork pandas, dipping forks into white paint to form fluffy panda fur and adding details to bring their faces to life. The highlight for many was our 3D owl project, where each student crafted an owl perched on a tree trunk made from rolled and shaped paper. The added dimension made the artwork really pop off the page. 

Throughout the week, we talked about animal habitats, textures, and how to show movement and expression through art. It was an engaging and imaginative week full of learning and laughter!

Destination Imagination

Healey: We’re roaring into the third week of our summer program with the theme “Animal Camp.” In Destination Imagination, we are learning about and drawing animals.

The three activities for the week are copying an axolotl, drawing a stork, and drawing a kitten or a giraffe. We learned about the amazing capability of the axolotl to regenerate body parts including eyes and parts of the brain, and that with all this generative power, axolotls do not get cancer from over proliferation. Then we learned a technique for copying by transferring pencil from the back of a paper to the front of a sheet of paper beneath the first. Next we watched a video with a message about kindness and drew a picture of one of the characters, a stork. Last, we will draw a giraffe or a kitten depending on which the students choose.

Students seem to enjoy the draw along activities and many students added wonderful imaginative touches to their drawings.

STEAM 

East: This week in Animal Camp during STEAM class, students listened to The Very Hungry Caterpillar book and then we created the butterfly life cycle out of pasta. Students really enjoyed this activity! On Wednesday we learned all about animal tracks. Students got to test their knowledge of what tracks go with what animal, and then they made their own animal tracks book. Lastly, students created their own animal masks on Friday. There were a variety of animals to choose from. We had a lot of fun this week! 

Healey: This week the theme was Animal Camp. On Monday, students learned about animal engineers and how Weaver Birds build their nests. They were then challenged to create a nest out of “twigs” (pipe cleaners) and “grass” (string) to protect as many eggs as possible. On Wednesday, students became paleontologists (scientists that study prehistoric life). Paleontologists carefully excavate dig sites to find fossils, recording exactly where they find each fossil and making sure they do not harm any fossils. Then, back in the lab, they try to figure out what the fossils indicate about the past. Students had the opportunity to excavate model dig sites and then consider what dinosaurs may have looked like based on pictures of fossilized bones. On Friday, students considered different habitats and the animals that live in them. They picked either grasslands, desert, or mountain habitats and constructed a model of that habitat in a shoe box.

East: Practically halfway through camp already and our energy is only continuing to rise in Just Do It! This week our students had a blast playing some Giant Tic Tac Toe. Using hula hoops and beanbags, they raced in teams to outsmart their opponents with quick thinking, teamwork, and some energetic sprints. It was a great way to combine strategy with movement, and the kids were all smiles while getting their hearts pumping. All students have been trying their best with every game and challenge they are faced in Just Do It. We love the energy and willingness to participate in any activity! 

Just Do It

Healey: Hi everyone and welcome back to the most exciting part of the day, Gym time!

This week, our kiddos have been having an absolute blast playing dodgeball and capture the flag. Don’t worry, no injuries to report! While dodging and diving, we’ve been working on throwing strikes just like in baseball and even pulling off some impressive mid-game splits to avoid getting hit. It’s been full of laughter, movement, and teamwork.

Until next time, keep moving and having fun!

LIT's - Healey 

The LITs have been having a fantastic third week of summer camp. After breakfast on Monday, we went upstairs to our classroom where we introduced a few new students, and reviewed our schedule for the day and for the rest of the week. First, we played our third massive jeopardy game of the summer. Team Starvin’ Marvin pulled ahead this week, winning their first game and stepping ahead of Team No Name by 1,800 points (out of tens and tens of thousands of points total, so it’s still pretty close). Then, we went outside to take care of the Healey Community Garden which is our community service project this summer. We cleaned up trash, composted plant materials that we found on the walkways, and watered the plants. After that, we headed inside to our pre-lunch free time in the gym with the other groups and then had some lunch. We played a big game of Scramble Dodgeball in the gym after that, and then changed and walked down to the Latta Brothers Memorial Pool at Foss Park where we went swimming for an hour. On Tuesday, we went with the rest of the school on the field trip to Wingaersheek Beach. It is such a beautiful beach and the kids loved climbing on the huge rocks at low tide. On Wednesday, our LIT field trip day, we left the school early around 9:45am and walked down to Assembly Station where we boarded the orange line for Malden. There, we quested at Boda Borg for two hours. The students were divided into teams of 4 or 5 students, and they went through various escape and challenge rooms where they had to work as a team to complete the challenges successfully. After eating lunch, we took the orange line back to Somerville and stopped by the pool for an hour on our way back to school. Needless to say, the kids were pretty tired after a long day. We look forward to our trip to Chunky’s movie theatre on Thursday where we will get some lunch in their eat-in theatre and watch the new disney movie Elio, and Friday where we will check in on the community garden, practice a little volleyball for the LIT Games later at noon, and then have lunch and then cool off at the pool for a little bit before returning to school for the camp show. We will most likely be selling popsicles outside of the school as the camp show next week gets out so feel free to stop by! 

Counselor's Corner 

Healey: Happy Week 3 of Adventure Camp and Building Friendship! 

In celebration of the Animal Week theme this week, Counselor’s Corner focused on how humans aren’t the only creatures that form relationships. Animal friendships are surprisingly like ours!  Humans make friends because there are mutual benefits, such as someone to laugh or cry with, help us with our homework, or keep us from being lonely. Animals do the same thing. We talked the first week in camp of how dolphins made lifelong connections but so do monkeys, zebras, and elephants, as well as other animal species. Because of these connections, animals are able to protect and feed themselves better and live longer lives in their “communities.” Even animals of different species become friends. So see, friendships are healthy and helpful among and across species! 

Our activity this week was making origami washcloth animals. Your kiddos loved picking either a bear or bunny to create and helping each other decorate and share their masterpieces!

Wishing you all a friendly weekend and looking forward to another exciting camp week of kind connections!