Summerfun 2012
Mini Camp:
June 25 - June 29
8:30 - 3:30pm
Summerfun:
July 2 - July 27
8:30 - 3:30pm
The Common School’s Summerfun programs keep kids physically active and intellectually engaged. Morning programs require a 5 day per week commitment. Afternoon programs are available part-time (fewer than 5 days a week). Participants of both the morning and afternoon sessions bring a lunch to eat while they enjoy recess from 12:00 - 12:30.
Mini Camp
June 25 - June 29
$300.00
Dragons, Fairies, and Gnomes Oh My! FULL
Ages 3-7
Through the world of story, drama, and imagination we will enter the lives of these mythical creatures. Come and play as we build fairy houses, decorate a dragon sculpture, scout the forest for gnome homes and read The Paper Bag Princes. The neighboring conservation area will be our playground as we follow our imaginations. Each day will also include plenty of time for outdoor fun and water play.
Imagine
Ages 8-12
Facilitated by Common School teacher and children’s author, Burleigh Muten. Have fun letting your imagination create characters, setting and plot that spring from the well of your creativity. No worries about grammar and spelling. It’s vacation writing. We’ll spend time creating Artist Trading Cards, a collage in miniature designed to be given away. There will also be plenty of time allotted for outdoor fun and water play.
Ages 3-7
Through the world of story, drama, and imagination we will enter the lives of these mythical creatures. Come and play as we build fairy houses, decorate a dragon sculpture, scout the forest for gnome homes and read The Paper Bag Princes. The neighboring conservation area will be our playground as we follow our imaginations. Each day will also include plenty of time for outdoor fun and water play.
Imagine
Ages 8-12
Facilitated by Common School teacher and children’s author, Burleigh Muten. Have fun letting your imagination create characters, setting and plot that spring from the well of your creativity. No worries about grammar and spelling. It’s vacation writing. We’ll spend time creating Artist Trading Cards, a collage in miniature designed to be given away. There will also be plenty of time allotted for outdoor fun and water play.
Summerfun Morning Programs
July 2 - 27
8:30am - 12:00 noon
$600.00
Down on the Farm
Ages 3-4
Section “A” Section “B”
Ages 8-12
Explore the nooks and crannies of The Larch Hill Conservation area, local trails and parks while building survival skills! We’ll hide our own treasures, then make maps and use orienteering and compass skills to lead to our booty. Along the way, we will investigate wild edibles to include in a cookout at Bramble Hill Farm. Our explorations will also include designing and creating a labyrinth, and building makeshift shelters and large natural sculptures on the land. While most of our time will be spent exploring, there will be time for crafting, creating clay projects to fire, making woodcrafts, and building smaller sculptures from found and recycled materials. And of course, there will be time for free time outdoors and water play.
Ages 3-4
Section “A” Section “B”
Using Bramble Hill Farm, just a short walk through the woods from The Common School, we will explore day-to-day life with Farmer Hans. We will mix our visits with related projects, music and drama. Each day will also include plenty of time for sand and water play, block building, and time outside in our wading pools and slip 'n slide.
Mini Beasts
Ages 5-7
Section “A” Section “B”
We’ll spend the month exploring the natural world focusing on its mini beasts—worms, grubs, ladybugs, dragonflies, insects, spiders, caterpillars, butterflies, toads, tadpoles and salamanders. From visits to our ponds to exploring our garden, we will engage with this magical world using magnifying glasses, terrariums, nets, and critter farms. While outdoors, we’ll look under rocks, turn over logs, and hunt up powerful ‘decomposers’ along the trails and hollows of the forest. Indoors, we’ll read stories, make mini beast murals and critter pillows, recreate habitats and models of our tiny friends. Each day will include plenty of time for open-ended art and science exploration, outdoor fun and water play.
Ages 8-12
Explore the nooks and crannies of The Larch Hill Conservation area, local trails and parks while building survival skills! We’ll hide our own treasures, then make maps and use orienteering and compass skills to lead to our booty. Along the way, we will investigate wild edibles to include in a cookout at Bramble Hill Farm. Our explorations will also include designing and creating a labyrinth, and building makeshift shelters and large natural sculptures on the land. While most of our time will be spent exploring, there will be time for crafting, creating clay projects to fire, making woodcrafts, and building smaller sculptures from found and recycled materials. And of course, there will be time for free time outdoors and water play.
MORNING WORKSHOPS
July 2-13 JULY 16- 27
8:30am - 12:00 noon
$300.00
Inspiration Station
Ages 8-12
The Inspiration Station is an open art studio that provides not only the materials, but the inspiration to create what your imagination brings to Summerfun. What’s that? You have an on-going project that needs a burst of creativity? By all means, bring it with you. We’ll have time to explore beautiful Larch Hill and use it to inspire what we create in our studio space. We will collect moss to make artful terrariums, and create fairy homes for others to discover. We’ll investigate what it’s like to give away our art…to unknown recipients…by creating artwork out of natural materials and leaving it to be found around the trails of Larch Hill. If there is interest, we’ll do some creative kitchen projects as well. Come learn a new technique like Zentangles, wood-burning, knitting, origami or maybe needle-felting; practice one of your old favorites like watercolors, rubber stamping, cartooning, woodcrafts, book making, ink blot art: It’s an art smorgasbord! Join in the Feast!
WORKSHOP ENROLLMENT:
Workshop participants may also enroll in afternoon programs (12:30 - 3:30)
Ages 8-12
The Inspiration Station is an open art studio that provides not only the materials, but the inspiration to create what your imagination brings to Summerfun. What’s that? You have an on-going project that needs a burst of creativity? By all means, bring it with you. We’ll have time to explore beautiful Larch Hill and use it to inspire what we create in our studio space. We will collect moss to make artful terrariums, and create fairy homes for others to discover. We’ll investigate what it’s like to give away our art…to unknown recipients…by creating artwork out of natural materials and leaving it to be found around the trails of Larch Hill. If there is interest, we’ll do some creative kitchen projects as well. Come learn a new technique like Zentangles, wood-burning, knitting, origami or maybe needle-felting; practice one of your old favorites like watercolors, rubber stamping, cartooning, woodcrafts, book making, ink blot art: It’s an art smorgasbord! Join in the Feast!
WORKSHOP ENROLLMENT:
Workshop participants may also enroll in afternoon programs (12:30 - 3:30)
Summerfun AFTERNOON PROGRAMS
July 2 - 27
12:30pm - 3:30pm
$30.00 per day
(# of registered days x $30 = total)
(# of registered days x $30 = total)
Building a Rainbow
Ages 3-4
Come help us construct a rainbow of colors! We’ll explore the world of color by observing and experimenting with the hues that surround us in the natural world. A wide variety of artistic media will be employed as we create both group and individual projects. Some of our activities will include collage, creating colorful murals, painting with watercolors and tie dying. This program will remain flexible to allow for some “down-time” for our youngest campers after an active morning. There will also be plenty of time for outdoor fun and water play.
Mud Works
Ages 5-7
What happens when you mix glue and starch? Add glitter to play dough? Try to make mud bricks? What might you use to create edible art? What happens when you combine bubbles and paint? From the old favorite mud puddle to crazy concoctions, we’ll be mucking around in a million different mediums. Come dressed in play clothes because we will be getting our hands deep in the mix. There will also be plenty of time for outdoor fun and water play.
Ages 8-12
From Capture the Flag out in the forest, to creating and playing with our own “boffing” instruments, to searching for the best climbing trees in the nearby landscape, to “laying out” with some ultimate Frisbee down at Groff Park, each afternoon will challenge us to play hard! Campers will have the opportunity to create their own games as well as play some camp favorites, like Doctor Dodge Ball, Pegs, GaGa, and Kick Ball. The month will culminate in an Olympics in which campers get to make their own prizes, create the events, and engage in friendly competition. Did someone say water balloons? Tuesday and Thursday afternoons will be spent swimming at Amherst College Pool. Pickup on these days will be at Amherst College at 3:15pm.
