Summer Camp 2011 Blog
Cooking Week - August 1-4, 2011
Campers were baking up a storm as they started off the week making chocolate chip and M&M cookies, followed by banana chocolate chip bread and Rice Krispies treats. The participants also got to enjoy fruit smoothies and their very own homemade trail mix.
Campers explored all different sides of cooking with an emphasis on kitchen safety and a healthy diet. They made their own “food plates” that displayed the different categories of protein, dairy, grain, fruits, and vegetables. We followed up on this activity by playing a relay game in which we sorted different items into the five food groups. Campers also practiced important life skills such as setting the table for meals. Continuing with the cooking theme, campers watched the Disney classic, Ratatouille! Campers also had a thrilling session of Drums Alive with children’s food songs such as “Apples and Bananas” and “Peanut Butter Jelly Time”.
On Tuesday, it was fun to share our neighborhood with friends from Chicago. Residents from Misericordia came to join us in more carnival games and dunking volunteers in the dunk tank!
Campers finished up an exciting week of cooking with making s’mores around the bonfire. They got to take home their handmade cookbooks with all the different recipes that were used throughout the camp.
Fun & Fitness Week - July 25-28, 2011
Fun and Fitness camp was an action-packed week as campers did activities based on the stories of Dr. Seuss. We revisited Seuss classics such as “Horton Hatches an Egg”, “The Foot Book”, “Ten Apples Upon on Top”, and “If I Ran the Circus”. Accordingly, the campers participated in egg races, shoe tosses, and even cup stacking!
There were many activities that had the campers moving and having fun such as Drums Alive, in which the campers took turns leading the group in performing motions to popular songs. Campers also participated in two different obstacle courses that had them crawling under tables, climbing over sofas, sorting utensils, tossing beanie babies, and doing hopscotch all on their way to the finish line!
The campers had a chance to get wet in the hot weather as they enjoyed a variety of water games outdoors such as sponge squeeze, water balloon toss, and a water balloon fight to finish it off. There were exciting indoor games as well such as Freeze Tag, bowling, and making the campers into “mummies” with rolls of crepe paper.
Around the World Week - July 18-21, 2011
Before we began our Hannah & Friends journey “Around the World,” campers each made a passport to record their experiences and adventures.
The first destinations of our Hannah & Friends journey were countries of West Africa. An important part of this stop was to learn about African music – we even got the opportunity to play several African instruments. For a snack we tried plantains, a popular fruit in many African countries. We also made paper mache masks inspired by African tribal masks. The campers had a lot of fun painting and decorating their masks.
Next we traveled to Mexico. Trying on colorful Mexican clothing and playing traditional instruments were some highlights from the trip. But by far, the piñata was the most exciting part of the journey to Mexico! Our trip to Mexico was not complete without a snack of chips, salsa and quesadillas.
Cuba was our next stop. After learning that Cuba was an island, we all practiced our art skills and created mosaic scenes of islands. We made music with the different sounds of the instruments from the Caribbean. The most popular part of our Cuban adventure was learning to prepare and make mango bread!
Our final stop was China, where we learned about the country, its people and some of their customs. We also enjoyed a viewing of Mulan.
Music Week - July 11-14, 2011
At Music Camp, the campers were introduced to different kinds of music and activities. They had the chance to learn about music through fun games such as Instrument Trivia and Name that Tune. Also, the campers enjoyed the wonderful weather as they played an exciting game of musical hoops and went on a scavenger hunt for maracas.
All the campers got to explore their own musical talents this week. They played a variety of children’s songs on the Boom Whackers such as Hot Crossed Buns, Yankee Doodle, and Jingle Bells. We even had a special performance by Veronica and Amber, who played the harmonic and recorder for their fellow campers!
The first guests to visit us were two local musicians who came in to have a fun-filled jam session with the campers as they performed popular hits such as Yellow Submarine and YMCA. The guests this week also included Emily and Levi, two ballroom dancers who showed us different types of dance such as swing, tango, and the waltz. Campers had the opportunity to practice their own steps with our two guests. Another guest later in the week was Phyllis who led the group in music and movement exercises.
Talent Week - June 27-30, 2011
Talent Week started off with our guest Josh from the South Bend Civic Theatre. Josh led the campers in different vocal exercises and learning several popular songs such as “Fireworks”, “Imagine”, and “Walking on Sunshine”. The campers learned the lyrics of the songs and performed them in front of the group. And they continued singing the songs all week long!
The campers were the stars themselves throughout the week! They made their own sock puppets and created puppet shows to share with the group. The campers had great stories to share and the shows were a success! On Wednesday the campers were treated like the stars that they are, with a Hummer limo ride around Hannah & Friends, red carpet entrance and all!
Campers also enjoyed a visit from Matt the Magician. Matt amazed the crowd as he performed several tricks, including a vanishing cup and transforming water into ice. Payton shared her music talents with the campers by playing her trumpet, teaching the campers about the instrument and performing some pep band classics. Cheerleaders from Mishawaka High School came out to perform a routine and teach the campers different cheers. They even created a cheer for Hannah & Friends!
Other activities included a jam session, outdoor games, juggling, and a High School Musical 2 Sing-a-long. All week long the campers had the opportunity to learn new talents and share their own talent with the group!
Sports Week - June 20-23, 2011
For Sports Week, our campers learned and practiced several fun sports – including golf, bowling, basketball, volleyball, Frisbee and football!
We had a special guest instructor, Special Olympics Basketball Coach Ken, to lead us in basketball drills and games. After all campers had a chance to try their hand at the various sports, we held our weekly jam session, an opportunity to dance, sing and rock out on instruments!
Special guest, Abby, a Marion High School soccer player, joined our intern and Saint Mary’s College soccer star Michelle, in teaching campers about soccer. Our soccer experts taught us about the special equipment soccer players use and wear – cleats and shin guards – as well as some games and drills to practice kicking and passing.
No week at camp is complete without a wagon ride around the Hannah & Friends Neighborhood and surrounding area. Burt and Bart pulled the wagon for a nice ride around the neighborhood!
The rain this week didn’t dampen our spirits as we also played some exciting games of bowling and tennis on the Wii, as well as watched the classic sports movie, “Air Bud” with many exciting cheers from the campers as Buddy became the star of the basketball court!
Animal Week - June 13-16, 2011
This week at Hannah and Friends was Animal camp. Throughout the week, the campers did a variety of activities involving animals. On Monday, we made butterfly crafts that were used for our scavenger hunt on Tuesday. We also had a jam session with Mike. We had a very exciting day on Tuesday with the Potowatomi Zoo and a wagon ride. The weather was great for our horse-drawn wagon ride! Following the wagon ride, we had a scavenger hunt on the Hannah and Friends grounds. On Wednesday, we had a chance to meet the police dogs and learn about how they are trained and their role in the police department. We also took the goats for a walk and groomed them. We also played various games such as animal bingo and Trout and Minnows. We ended our week of camp by dancing to some animal tunes such as the Chicken Dance!!
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