I know I have said this before but I just love spending the whole day with the kids during our camp days. Not just because we get to hang out and really get to know the children but also because I love the challenge of a seasonal curriculum. For this Thanksgiving Holiday camp we decided to build the curriculum around nature and natural materials. This is one of the many projects that we did in the day, Tree People.
Earlier in the day we went for a walk around the neighborhood to gather our materials, leaves sticks, peoples, flowers and seed pods were some of the things the kids found. I added some feathers to their baskets of materials.We began by each kid receiving a piece of clay. I used Soldate 60 clay because it has a lot of sand in it so that it holds up really well even when dry.
The whimsical creatures began to emerge from the trees with the children's help, feather headdresses, pebble eyes, big noses, leaf tongues.
We all collected the same materials and the kids created such different creatures. They each have their own voices.
To my delight conversations began as well. Conversations about what other kids were doing with their materials. Which were better for eyes, leaves or flowers? Were they making a scary creature or a funny creatures? What is the name of each creature? They were running from tree to tree seeming to celebrate this freedom.
When the creatures were finished they took on another life with the pedestrians walking by. Can you imagine walking down the street and seeing these beings sticking out of the trees? There were a lot of smiles and photographs taken.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
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