I’ve started planning activities for camps this summer, and it got me thinking about what activities and projects have been the most popular in years past. Here are the kid favorites from each of our camps.
Crafty Critters Camp: Art with Animals
Sure, moms love the cute owls made from paper tubes and hermit crabs made from their child’s tiny hand prints, but preschool aged kids are really more interested in the process than the product. Playing with animal figures in play dough and paint is a fun favorite with our littlest campers.
Color Camp: Fizzy Color Mixing
We do a lot of color experiments at Color Camp, and one of the most fun is Fizzy Color Mixing. I fill trays with baking soda, mix vinegar with liquid watercolor (or food color), and give the kids droppers. As they drip and drop the colors onto the baking soda, it fizzes and bubbles in a crazy color mix!
Artist Camp: Ice Cream Puppets
What could be a better combination than ice cream + puppet?! I got this idea from the book Every Day’s A Holiday by Heidi Kenney. I thought it would be a fun way to engage kids with the whimsical illustrations of Andy Warhol and the luscious dessert paintings of Wayne Thiebaud. At Artist Camp, we stash all the artwork away until the end of the week for a big art show and reception, but the kids could not wait to take these home as soon as they made them!
Fashion Craft Camp: Sharpie Mock Tie-Dye
I think the girls could have spent the whole day, and possibly the whole week, on this activity. They loved drawing the circular designs with Sharpies. Watching the designs transform into “tie-dye” was fun too, and the final shirts were gorgeous.
