Parenting Survival Tips

Day Camp # 3 - Let's Go to the Circus

Hi Parents,

Here's another day of camp fun helping you to create a circus camp. I hope that you have as much fun as I did creating this camp with my children.

8:00am - 9:00am: Art Hour

• Let your children color/paint/create their favorite circus pictures

9:00am - 9:45am: Plan the Circus Acts

• Let the kids work together to plan the circus agenda and let them start to go through their toys to find the right props. Here are some suggestions for circus acts and if you only have a few kids let each kid star in more than 1 act.

Circus Act Suggestions:

• Clowns - fill a bucket with paper strips and pretend it is filled with water and chase each other around and then throw it on the crowd. If you have a tricycle let a clown ride a tricycle around or let the clowns juggle....
• Jugglers - they can juggle tennis balls, rings, pins, etc...
• Lion Tamer - fun if you can have 1 kid act as a lion and another person as a tamer and they can use a box , hula hoop to jump through, whip, etc.
• Acrobats - select kids to do various acrobats depending on their age, including cartwheels, splits, floorspins, handstands, etc...
• TightRope Walkers - use a rope or tape line to let the kids pretend that are really high up and walking the tight rope. Dazzle the crowd!
• Ring Master - Top hat and jacket with a pretend microphone to announce each act.

9:45am - 10:00am: Snack

• Animal Crackers of course! :-)

10:00am - 11:00 am: Getting Ready for the Show

• Make the invitations, posters, tickets, set the stage and audience seats

11:00am - 12:00noon: Create Band Instruments for Intermission

• Let each child create their favorite band instrument for the intermission which could include stapling paper plates together and filling it with beans or putting foil over the end of a toilet paper roll and filling it with rice or taking cups/bottles and filling them with different levels of water and taping the side of them for different sounds or using pan lids and sticks to make a drum set... let them be creative and find the perfect instrument for them. Then let them play for 10 minutes as an intermission in the show while the audience eats popcorn and other treats.

12:00noon - 1:00pm: Lunch (hot dogs perhaps)

1:00pm - 2:00pm: Circus Games

• Let the kids play outside and create an obstacle course or walk the tightrope or jump rope, hulahoop etc. If they are older kids you can time them for juggling or hula hooping to see who should do each act in the live show!

2:00pm - 2:45pm: Make Costumes

• You can use your own make-up for the clowns, let the clowns wear the adult clothes (ties, shoes, shirts,...) The kids can make a mask for the lion and the lion tamer can wear a jacket, and make a whip.

2:45pm - 3:00pm: Make circus concessions & sample of course! :-)

• let the kids help you make popcorn, snow cones,...

3:00pm - 4:00pm: Circus Rehearal

4:00pm - 5:00pm: It's Show Time!

• Let the kids usher the audience to their seats and tear their tickets. Let the Ring Master take center stage and announce each act.

Summer Camp Day #2 Schedule (Drama Day)

Hi Parents -

Great suggestion Hans and I guess for many parents it depends on how many kids you have of your own and how many you invite over, but if I am running the camp in my home - you bet - all friends' kids are welcome and I have done that many times and Hans if you need me to fly to NZ to run the camp for your kids I would be more than happy to do that as well!  :-)

I received so many positive comments on how my summer camps schedules are helping other families, so I will continue to share the schedules in the hopes that all parents can either follow these schedules day by day or pull a few activities from each schedule that can add a little fun, variety and ease into their home.

Day Camp # 2 Schedule (Drama Theme Camp)

8:00am - 9:00am: Select play

• Parents select 3-5 short play scripts from the library and allow the children to read each script and together they can select 1 play that they want to create and perform.  If the kids are too young to read then the parents read to them or if the kids are older you can let them create their own scripts for each character in the play.

9:00am - 10:15am: Make Costumes

• Take the first 15 minutes of this segment as a group to collectively decide what costume each character should wear and then take the next hour working with each child to create the costume they need. You can either let them go through your wardrobe and pull scarves, jackets, etc. as needed or you can help the kids make their costumes using masks which can be made out of paper bags or paper plates with an elastic strip or glued to a stick.

10:15am - 10:30am: Snack

• Use the snack time to let the kids talk about what the scenery should look like and the props/set they will need for their play.

10:30am-12:00: Create Scenery

• Let the kids decide together what scenery and props are needed for the set. If they cannot decide then the parent should assign 1 project tied to the set to each child to own. The adult should work with the kids to create the scenery/props needed. Ex: If the play takes place at sea find a blue rug in the house or lay down blue construction paper or hodl the play outside using a kiddie pool, etc.  If it is set in the forest, you can either draw trees or cut out trees from construction paper and perhaps have a child play the role of the tree, etc.  

12:00noon - 1:00pm: Lunch

• Use the lunch hour to let the kids eat and then practice their lines by themselves.

1:00pm - 2:00pm: Outdoor Play Time

• Let the kids play any activity like frisbee or jump rope outside to get some fresh air or set up an organized game with all of the kids such as kickball or baseball.

2:00pm - 3:00pm: Rehearsal

• Let the kids do a full rehearsal for about 1 hour in costume and with props and use the adult as the director to keep it moving along and to help with lines when needed.

3:00pm - 3:45pm: Set-up

• If you have several kids break them into teams to create the invitations to the event and to then pass them out.  Have the other team set up the seats for the audience and set up a show curtain (if you have an old shower curtain or window shade it works great).

3:45pm - 4:00pm: Snack

• During snack encourage the kids to practice their lines by themselves.

4:00pm - 4:30pm: Full Dress Rehearsal

• During this rehearsal you should not break character and have the adult welcome the crowd and introduce the characters. Don't forget to let the kids all come out for a bow after the rehearsal is over and even let them practice signing autographs.

4:30pm - 5:00pm:  It's Show Time!

• Have the adult or an older child welcome everyone and introduce the characters and the show. After the show let the kids take a bow and then sign autographs and pose for photos.

Until the next performance...I look forward to your feedback!

Julie
aka: Mom

Day Camp #1 Schedule

Hi Parents & Friends -

If you are home with your kids during the summer or if you have a friend/babysitter watching them while you work, you may want to consider setting up a "Day Camp" at home to make it more peaceful and fun for all to survive those long summer days!  Here is a sample of the Day Camp structure that I use at home and please check back as I will be posting more camp ideas soon or please write in if you have additional camp ideas that have been working in your home!

Thanks,

Julie (aka: Mom)

Day Camp #1 Schedule

8:00am – 8:30am: Memory Game

• I put 30 items in a covered box and gave each boy a sheet of paper and a pencil and they have 1 minute to look at the items in the box and then you cover the box and they write down as many items as they remember seeing in the box (Sample of Items in the Box: rubber band, paperclip, pen, ring, whistle, toy car, quarter,…)

8:30am - 9:30am: Music Lessons

• This could be singing songs, playing a keyboard, playing a harmonica, …

9:30am - 9:45am: Snack

9:45am – 11:00am: Nature Hike

• Each child gets a paper bag with their name on it and they have to find 10 items outside that begin with s, l, g (or letters of your choice)

11am – 12:00noon: Arts & Crafts

• Make foam door hangers(you can buy a package of 12 at WalMart for a few dollars) or ask them to draw and color a picture of their favorite summertime activity, or ask them to paint a picture of a zoo…

12:00noon – 12:45pm: Lunch

12:45pm – 1:45pm:   Scavenger Hunt

• Create a scavenger hunt and write out all of the clues (like 1 st clue on paper – stand at the front door and take 3 giants forward turn right and look under something soft for your next clue and then under the pillow there is another piece of paper that says “go upstairs and look under something you sleep on for your next clue”…) – After you do the first one let the kids take turns writing their own clues for you or for each other to find the next clue and ultimately the prize at the end which could be a sticker or a snack or a quarter…)

1:45pm – 3:15pm: Working Session

• Have a table full of workbooks and allow the kids to pick which book they want to work in (either math or spelling or science…) – you can buy these workbooks at the Dollar Store or WalMart and a great refresher during the summertime

3:15pm – 3:30pm: Snack

3:30pm - 4:30pm: Sports Hour

• Set up bowling or baseball or basketball or throw the ball into the bucket or soccer or create an obstacle course for the kids to be active outside

4:30pm - 5:00pm: Quiet Time

• Reading or working on puzzles individually