Family Camp: Days 4, 5 & 6

I can't believe it.. camp season is over! We cleaned the camper cabins and grounds all this week and it's done. I think I am in shock. I went into a packing/movie coma all day today and I still can't shake the fact I don't have to wake up for breakfast in the dining hall tomorrow. So... it's a little bittersweet.
On that note, I realize I have been slacking with this blog! I plan to remedy that... Now.

Thursday at camp was busy as ever. Myself and my coworkers were working double-time to finish our chores and duties so we could go out to dinner with the boss. I had to come up with some activities for the kids to work on because for whatever reason they were just WIRED from start to finish that day. I think it was because Thursday night was skit night.. Anyway!

The first project we worked on was a folded paper wallet. The importance of CLEAR directions came flying into my FACE with this project. I was working from a set of directions that I have used before, but the kids were younger and more apt to distractions. I had to pull them back to the lesson more than a few times and take deep, deep breaths ahha. We all got through it okay, but I had to do a lot of hands-on steps with the kids (aka, I can't do it!). It amazed me how much learned helplessness the kids showed with this project... I found that I needed to repeat steps and, again, go through everything step-by-step with the kids to complete each part of the project. We also learned some folding tricks to make crisp and even lines. I will re-explore this project next year.. or whenever I have time to go through my lessons and fix them up. I was having the kids put a clear vinyl coating on the outside side of the wallet to protect it, but that made it hard to fold and etc etc etc... it was rough. We got through it! But it was a tough process.

no, he really was happy he made a wallet

the big excitement with this one is that it looks like a CAT

 The second project was leather wrap bracelets. I want to do this with EVERY camp, but I am not made of money... so.. I limit it to the groups I know will listen and respect the materials. These guys did a good job and throughout the day the older kids made some interesting bracelets and necklaces as well. The rest of the day the campers worked on weaving, string art, and more drawing. They also were putting together props for their skits.. I didn't get any pictures because I was busy working on my own crafts and of course CLEANING. Cézanne made a few guest appearances when there was a lull in activity (or the kids hassled me to the point of madness). He was a big hit at camp this week. The kids really liked learning about him and showing him off to their family.

cool necklace

one hard-working pirate!

Friday:
OH I almost forgot to mention.. I did a craft with ALL the family campers on Thursday afternoon.. and on Friday we decorated them. Remember when I was talking about the salt dough craft.... welll that became a reality on Wednesday afternoon! I had to coordinate the craft in the dining hall and it worked out very well - with a few minor hiccups. For example.. I had the dough all mixed up to the right consistency and everything.. but it was really really sticky. So we had to use more flour to keep it from molding to hands and tables. I also improvised a baking paper sheet as the rolling area.. and when the dough wouldn't come off that I just cut around it. THINK ON YOUR FEET, CRAFT LADY!

lots of different designs

I didn't want to make a gigantic mess on the last day of camp so I opted to let the campers (and their parents/grandparents) spray paint instead. I made a makeshift spray booth out of cardboard and styrofoam and let them at it. The campers came in throughout the day to work on their ornaments and again each one was different. It was fun watching the little kids spray theirs; they all did a really good job, too.

The older campers worked on their weaving projects, more drawing, and string art projects.

So um.. this isn't appropriate. But they worked very hard on it all week.

Some of the kids made signs and props for their skits.

here's the sign that was transferred with a needle and hammer!

he used his shirt as a template to trace everything and then painted the colors

I liked having the one-on-one time to work out problems and check for understanding, but I know I won't always have that advantage in a classroom. I will need to come up with ways to check for understanding with large groups.. I need to do that more! I sometimes get so caught up in what I am doing/saying that I don't make sure the kids are on the same page. Having a passion for teaching is a gift and a curse in that way... but I have not felt out of place once this summer. I had to overcome my thoughts about art vs. crafts before I could get anything done. I didn't feel like I had to plan as much... at first. But then I realized that when I wasn't taking the time to organize and plan, the kids weren't as engaged or became confused more easily. I can connect this to my art education lesson plans as well. If the teacher is only putting a small amount of effort into the plan, the kids will reciprocate with that same amount of effort when they do the activity! It's all about being enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Kids want to do crafts with a craft person that WANTS to do the activity; not someone who wants to idly sit by and wait for them to figure it out.

I feel like this week of camp, while they kids didn't have a lot of schedules or designated activities, was one of my more organized weeks for crafts. Most of the campers were older and more independent so I had more time to work one-on-one with the younger campers on more complex projects. I did not do all the same projects with campers which made it much easier for me to plan and reorganize after crafting with different age groups. I also got to talk with one of the parents who had organized crafts previously and picked her brain for craft ideas. Apparently, Family Camp had been completely run by the family campers in years past (they did their own dishes, cleaned the cabins and bathrooms, organized crafts, etc.). Now it is run more like a family reunion with the staff present for those chores... but I was happy to be able to craft with the kids!
I learned a lot from working with them. The different age groups throughout the day were a good way to experience k-12 teaching.. It also made me miss working with the kids at NTW school! Each hour of the day was a new challenge for me and I was much quicker to realize what was and was not working with each camper...

The one issue I am having with camp right now is that I am still TIRED OUT. I'm gonna put off the full reflection until I am better rested. I also want to go through my binder of activities and organize that a bit more...

Until then,
Ms. K - signing off.

Family Camp: Days 2 & 3

Finalllllyyyy

I get to sit down! 

The past few days have been crazy busy, but I will try to catch up..

Tuesday was hectic crazy busy, but started with a really fun activity! I taught some of the little ones how to make play-doh faces. It all started when I was playing with some play-doh on Monday night and made a troll head. The kids were all excited and started trying to make their own, but they couldn't figure out where to start.

blue troll grumpy face man

THE KIDS KNOW ME SO WELL

zombie face!

 I started the lesson by teaching them face forms. We made oval shapes and smoothed them out on the table. Next we pushed our thumbs into the form - about halfway- and then pushed our finger in between the eyes to make a nose hole. The kids took the next steps to make details and add googly eyes.. I laughed my butt off the whole time. They are so funny!

"look! It's the eyeball.." "What's the pink stuff?" "That's blood!"

a much more tame zombie face haha

 After we made zombies we worked on some fuse bead creations again. The kids really like those.. I have started offering that as an activity rather than just coloring/drawing.

After lunch I spent several SEVERAL hours cleaning up the craft cabinets and doing an inventory list. It's great that I have so many supplies, but really! I am already up to page 3 and all I have is two cabinets listed out. Crazy.

right cabinet, check

Some art from a camper :) He really likes my snake. He has his own ball python at home!

Cézanne was ready to make some art! Kinda!

I had a full craft cabin during the second hour and the kids were really productive! They were working on string art signs of all shapes and sizes. Some of them made signs and others made more decorative designs. I also taught more than a handful of the campers how to weave and they worked on those, too :)

One of the kids started nailing EVERY SINGLE POINT from his stencils. Crazy.

drawing is always an option! Cool dragon

weaving projects! most of these were more than halfway done by day 3

MORE fuse beads

The kids accomplished a LOT on Tuesday, and so did the craft lady. I still have a lot of work to do in Rockland in terms of cleaning and organizing, but the kids are really fun to work with so I have to make sure I STAY on task.

Today was really productive as well! I will add more pictures as the internet cooperates.. and I need to take updated pictures of the work the kids are doing.
The first craft I tackled today was God's Eyes. I did a quick background of the origin of the craft and made sure to apply the Christian beliefs as well. (Because Duh).

he caught on right away!

I started working on a BIG one.. just to present a challenge for the kids.

 The second craft period was super busy. I think ALL of the kids were in the craft cabin working on projects. Some of the kids were really close to finishing their weaving projects today, while others continued work on drawings or their string art. Some of the campers were working on God's Eyes and even more of them were working on individual projects. One of the kids was tracing a logo onto a piece of styrofoam to make a sign - his method? hammering a needle gently into a shirt, tracing the design, with the foam underneath to make imprints. I learn something new every day!

I made sure to freeze some cans today for a luminary project, part deux, on Friday afternoon. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to try and make salt dough trinkets.

I suggested that the kids could write their names, or the family names, on the trinket. Or maybe they could write the dates they started coming here? Something like that to commemorate their time at camp. My coworker sent me the link and I tried out the 'recipe' today. It worked out really well! I won't post a picture of my example though.. it's bad haha. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some good pictures to share of the kids' and their trinkets.
We might also do leather bracelets tomorrow, if we have time... we'll see.

Time to get some rest. I have projects to work on in Rockland... but I won't spend too much time in there. Need to sleeeeep and conserve energy for all the activities tomorrow.

Two more days...

Ms. K

Family Camp: Day 1

I had NO idea what to expect when it came to Family Camp crafts. These campers are all ages and I tired to cover all my bases with activities. 

The camp is divided up into activity times and there are two separate craft times throughout each day. The first craft period of the day was very small - only two kids and their mom! But we didn't let that stop crafts. I introduced them to leather tooling and we made crosses with different designs imprinted into the leather. After we imprinted them we colored them with permanent markers and the kids took them to their cabins.

 

The other half of the craft period they spent working on fused bead designs. For whatever reason, probably because it was FRIGID in Rockland, the iron wouldn't heat up all the way. I had to iron everything so many tiiimmes...

fused beads.. always

The second craft period of the day was productive as well! I had the kids working on string art. \
First step: Raid the maintenance area woodpile for good pieces of lumber
Step 2: Paint wood with spray paint - left over from elementary camp!

of course we are going to paint in the rain

Step 3: draw stencil design for wood piece
Step 4: tap in nails on design and remove paper stencil
Step 5: wrap string around nails in interesting and awesome designs. I had provided my example of the cross but everyone did something different.

step 6: show off!

really cool idea :) she's going to do one more on the left side to balance it out

close-up

clever, clever

close-up

I haven't quite decided what we will be working on tomorrow. I think the choices were narrowed down to working on the weavings and making paper. Luckily, I have done both lessons enough to feel comfortable teaching BOTH at the same time.
It's not all fun and games here at camp.. it's also learning and strategy and organization!
And now it's time to get some cleaning done in Rockland to prepare for tomorrow.

Ms. K

Family Camp Arrival

Family Camp 2013 has begun and the rain is pouring down on EVERYTHING. I am so tired of this wet and drippy summer.. I miss the sunshine.

Anywho, the rain is not going to stop me from doing crafts! I have lots of things planned... the Monday post has pictures from the kids' work!

Gimp gimp gimp.. making some bracelets for my sister, mom, and I!

snake wanted to help plan crafts.. by holding back my hair haha

Really excited for this craft! leather tooling, FINALLY

Wood, string, nails, paint.

constellation Scorpius

 I haven't quite figured out what I want to do/if I want to do this project yet. It's a stitched piece of felt that shows the constellation Scorpius. I thought it would be cool for the campers to find their Zodiac signs and the corresponding constellation and stitch it! Maybe make bookmarks or pouches or something.. I dunno. I get ambitious sometimes.

More in the Monday post!

Ms. K

Elementary Camp: Day 5 and Reflection by "Misses Craft Lady"

Well that time has come again.. the time where we say goodbye to another group of campers. Elementary Camp has been a journey through my levels of patience, my skills in planning and organization, and my rapport with young kids. I said one too many times that I am DEFINITELY a secondary teacher, but I knew if I pushed past that I could get through to the kids. I had to learn to work with another age group which I had previously not worked with very much. I found myself speaking differently to these kids than how I had spoken to other camps and having my patience tried much more often. The attention span of the campers was sometimes completely absent and I was repeating myself more but failing to check for understanding... so the kids were becoming confused.. which led to distractions.. which led to not a lot getting done!! Teacher fail... all very discouraging. The kids would become frustrated when I didn't help them IMMEDIATELY and I would become frustrated that there wasn't more than one craft lady.

I had big plans for this group but I ended up changing most of them and doing what was easy and simple for the kids to work on all week or for several days in a row. Those activities included weaving, gimp bracelets, drawing, shrinky dinks, bead animals, macrame, pipe cleaner play, marionettes.....

Okay, so maybe we did a lot. But I don't feel like I was at my best! Some of the campers reassured me today that my perceived 'crabby days' were not a problem at all, and the older kids explained that they just wanted to keep up with me. So does that mean I move too fast? It opened up a new line of questions and I am still pondering them now... every group had different things to say, and the ones that didn't were either working or busy socializing.

The thing I kept reminding myself this week was that things will be DIFFERENT when I am in a classroom of my own/student teaching. I will hold the reins and have to establish good rapport and PROCEDURES early on to help the kids understand my place as their teacher. My classroom persona will be different, basically.. but I will still hold the place of crazy arts and crafts lady! I hope that my classroom will be the same as Rockland is for the majority of the campers I have worked with; a place of free expression and creative ideas with many solutions to the same 'problems'. 

I have been very impressed with the work the campers have produced this summer and I have learned a lot.. In the past few days, I have worked hard to organize more and explain promptly with specific directions. I would stay after campers left and work in my free period to schedule the lessons/activities for the next day. Today I just abandoned demonstration and I worked alongside the campers, doing everything step-by-step like I did with the younger campers. This group of campers, and counselors, presented more challenges than I had foreseen, but I am grateful for the experience and the mishaps and foibles. That's the way I learn!! 

Each day presented new problems to solve, new questions to answer, new high-pitched voices to try and calm to a tolerable volume. That was my main issue: keeping the peace! I know I yelled a lot this week, but I never yelled AT campers. I was, unfortunately, doing something I do not like doing - yelling OVER the kids. I was overpowered by their numbers (I feel like I am talking about Tusken Raiders in Star Wars...okay, stop that.) and the sheer amount of noise and volume of their voices was impressive! I tried the 'hand goes up, mouths go closed' method and got very little success. A few times the counselors had to intervene to get the kids' attention, which was frustrating for me. That would be when my patience would start to wane.. and I could sense that right away. I think the kids could sense it too, which made me feel bad. We're all human; we all have our limits. When you're a teacher your limits need to be much, much higher, I think.

I am always thinking of how my situations in Rockland could apply in my future classroom or in an observation or student teaching situation.. I feel more prepared to take on:

1. More students in classrooms. I know in the UP and surrounding areas the class sizes are small, but if I end up student teaching and/or working in a larger populated area I will need to come up with some attention grabbers for LARGE groups. I hope to learn more about that in my classes or from observing other teachers at work. I kind of abandoned what I had learned or seen in favor of yelling over the kids. Scare tactics are not my style... I'm gonna stop doing that.

Flying dragons: My lesson plan :)

2. More complicated and involved lessons. I felt AMAZING about the way the dragons went with the youngest campers in the group. These girls were probably 1st-3rd graders and they were all over the place with their focus, but when it came down to it they really loved the project. They would listen for the next steps and come back from distractions ready to work. I feel bad that they each didn't get to make one, but we didn't have the time this week! I was really proud of them for listening and working with their counselors, myself, and EACH OTHER so well. 

I will be working to improve this lesson and organize it better for future use. I will need to do some research and come up with some more lesson plan ideas. I have always loved dragons and they would make an AWESOME unit plan and/or theme - Nerd alert-. Really, though. That was my 'baby' for the week and I got to make 3 with a bunch of kids I didn't think I could work with and maintain a level of sanity. It is still bringing a smile to my face, and to theirs! :) I have also received lots of warm thank yous and pats on the back for working with this group so well. I hope that the kids enjoyed this week and I know that a few of them are definitely taking new craft skills with them. Those little victory moments were when the campers were teaching each other what we were doing. Those little victory moments are HUGE, though.

Smile and say "Dragons"!

What I am going to take from this camp experience is that I need to spend more time working with younger kids (k-5). I would like to learn more about organizational skills and especially PLANNING. Thinking about translating some of my crafts from craft to fine arts is pretty intimidating, but with the right tools and planning I could definitely devise a lesson or even a unit plan around some of the projects! So that is always a light at the end of a week-long tunnel of loud campers haha. I would feel more confident with more time to plan and gather context for the lessons and projects.

On that note, it is getting late and we have to send the campers home tomorrow. I promised I would bring Cézanne to see them off if it was warm enough! Gotta get some beauty rest, I suppose.

All of my dragon-y love, 

Ms. K, "Mrs. Craft Lady"

Elementary Camp: Day 4

Day four at Elementary Camp and the clock keeps ticking! Yesterday was jam-packed with activities and the kids were constantly working on something! My kind of art room :)

The littlest campers got to the middle steps of making their dragon marionettes yesterday as well. 

bead animals, drawing, AND shrinky dinks

Most of the day was taken up with groups working on bead animals and doing drawings.. I had a different stack of drawings for each day group!

Shrinky dink time!

I think each camper made at least three different shrinky dinks - and all of them were different.  Lots of the kids wanted to make Minecraft designs (just like in Elementary Mini camp with the fuse beads!)

bead animals..

here is the construction of the dragons.. I was fixing a step that was misunderstood.

"someone took our cubby!"

yes, well, yes.

Game. Face.

some of the counselors worked on shrinky dinks, too

let the distractions begin

I wish I could explain his face hahah

cobra

MY KIND OF ROOM

shrinky dink struggles

The two Bres!

Almost all the groups worked on bead animals, drawing, and shrinky dinks. It was a hectic day, though. I didn't leave enough time between groups to clean and organize for the next activity, so I was feeling pretty tired halfway through the day! Some of the campers were working on weavings as well.. I had to be a real expert at keeping track of time, some of the campers that needed more attention/help, and the projects themselves! In total.. I had over 5 different projects going at the same time. I think I did an all right job, all things considered.. The kids were really distracted because they were preparing for skits and it seemed like the whole camp was just HYPER.
I will post a longer reflection on Day 5's entry.

Ms. K