Wonderful Wednesday #5 - Europe

 Today we studied Europe by exploring the culture of the many different countries that make up this diverse continent.

On our geography maps, the knob is placed in the same location as the capital city.

Did you know hopscotch originated in Europe?

 For our snack we made mini pizzas on bread with tomato sauce and cheese.

 Our art project was making mosaics. We had all kinds of rainbows, flowers, animals, and geometric designs.

 Today the kids discovered they could control the pressure and direction of the water spray on the pool. It was very exciting!

 Back inside we enjoyed lunch.....

 listened to some classical music....

 and learned a new song about fish and chips! A great time was had by all. Next week will be our final Wonderful Wednesday, and we'll be learning about Asia.

Wonderful Wednesday #4 - Africa

 Wonderful Wednesday #4 started by making a favorite snack of children in Africa - frozen fruit mashup. We squeezed the juice from lemons and oranges.....

then we mashed bananas and pineapple. We poured the mixture into paper cups and put it in the freezer to have later.

 Once our snack was ready to go, we listened to some very interesting cultural stories from Ms Claire. Even as an adult I have learned something new about each continent during these Wednesdays. What a 'wonderful' way for children to explore Geography!

women carrying fruit to market, the baobab tree, mama lion and cub, homes, desert, and percussion instruments

 For our art project we made a drum from old coffee cans. The kids had a blast making and playing their instruments

 We sang the traditional harvest song from Ghana - "Tuwe, Tuwe"

The lyrics are giving thanks for the harvest and go like this:
Tuwe, Tuwe, Barmia, Tuwe, Tuwe (x2)
A do fro ba, ama dowa dowa, tuwe, tuwe (x2)
Barima, tuwe, tuwe


Children in Ghana also play this as a clapping game, going faster and faster each time. Come to think of it, this makes almost any song more fun!
Here is a video of our campers singing and playing their drums:

 It was so hot outside today, it felt like we really were in Africa (minus the humidity, of course).

I thought this was a great way to cool off!!

Sweet Sisters! :) 

This Katydid was on the easel for most of the morning

a butterfly on the butterfly bush :)

After lunch, our fruit mash ups were frozen. In Africa, they pour Sprite or 7-up over the mixture but we skipped that step and served in the cups with spoons. It was so delicious and refreshing - perfect for the hot day.

These two little girls were very interested in the mirror today...

 Stay tuned for next week, when we visit Europe!

Wonderful Wednesday #3 - South America

Today we visited our neighbor to the south, South America. As usual we started out singing the 'Continent Song' and listening to cultural stories from South America. Ms. Claire told us about llamas used to carry groceries, macaws, cowboys called gouchos, and why people in Peru wear so many clothes.

 We smelled a real mango and talked about how they smell good and are very sweet.

 We sang 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' in English and Spanish. 'Cabeza, hombros, rodillas, pies, ojos, orejos, boca, y una nariz....' note: pierenes is commonly used in place of rodillas but actually means legs instead of knees.

 And played a guessing game from Paraguay and LaCachanga from Columbia. It's like hot potato but we played with a bandana instead.

 For our art project we created rain sticks, which originated in Chile where they are used in ceremonies to bring rain. Traditional rain sticks are made from cactus but we made ours from recycled paper towel tubes.

 Our second project was making a God's Eye, or Ojo de Dios. These originated in Mexico are also were made in Boliva by the Aymara people. They held a special significance in that each year from birth to five, more string was added. We had 3 children about to turn 5 who found this especially interesting!

For our snack we had mango popsicles and popcorn, as well as fresh mango slices. It was quite a hit!

 Just as we got changed into swimsuits and set up the sprinkler and pool, it started to drizzle. What fun to play outside in the rain! Luckily, it stopped raining quickly and we enjoyed playing outside when it wasn't quite so hot.

 One of my absolute FAVORITE things about COLCM is our garden and how it fosters creativity. We have a playground also, but the kids truly seem to enjoy the garden more. Here, they are free to invent games, turn the everyday into the extraordinary,  and navigate the outdoors on their comfort level.

 These kids were mixing water, sand, mud, and anything else they could find into the wheelbarrow. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I asked them what they were doing. "Making a bee trap" they replied. They were working so earnestly together - this type of collaborative work will be so important as they grow and enter the 'real world.'

 C. really wanted to see what would happen if she put the sprinkler in the pool. She enlisted the help of her friends and asked me to turn the hose off until 'it was situated'! When they finally got the sprinkler in the pool it was a great sense of satisfaction for all involved.

 Finally, these children independently came up with the idea to fling mud and water on to the easel to 'paint'. I loved it! Jackson Pollocks in the making :)

We''re looking forward to next week, when we visit Africa! If you have any empty coffee, oatmeal or other canister like container please send it in. We'll be making drums.