Summer Camp @ Home
Week 1 - Learning to be nice to others
Since it was my sons idea for the first theme. He came up with learning to be nice. Works for me. I figured I would add a little to it with character building. Did you know that teachers are required to teach at least 5 minutes a day of character building. I think that's great! Here are some of the ideas I have planned for the week. Should be fun!
Events & Activities:
Going to a mall events. Since it was already planned. I will have him practice manners. Like opening doors for others. Saying please and thank you. Going out of his way to do nice things for others.
Bake cookies for two of our neighbors. One I mentioned in the hug post had just lost her husband. The other is an older couple that is always so nice to us.
Visit an animal shelter nearby and donate treats and cat food. Try to walk a couple dogs if possible. I called but never heard back on that. So, we will see if that is a possibility.
Donate toys to kids/shelter. Might be at the end of the week. Since I need to locate a shelter. But, I'm going to have my oldest go through his toys and find ones to give to kids that might not have toys. Maybe a women's shelter.
Email family. Have my son tell me what to type in a letter to family and pictures included. I'm sure he will love to hear the responses back. Maybe we will actually write a letter. I'm so used to instant gratification ;)
Visit a nursing home. I used to volunteer at a nursing home in high school. Before college. It really was a great experience. I remember coming back during a college break. I used to sit and paint this ladies nails and she would tell me stories about her life. Well, I hadn't been there in about 6 months and she thought I went off and got married. I'm sure they would love the company from the children. Although, I'm not sure it will happen this week. Since we would probably need to fill out paperwork etc.
Visit with the Grandparents and Great Grandparents. Maybe make them a present before leaving.
Create a kindness chart or bucket. Then we can write down all of his random acts of kindness and fill it up. Nice way for him to see what he has done.
Plant seeds of kindness. Another idea to use instead of a chart. This goes along with the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. Basically, to show my son how each act of kindness grows.
Reading: I found some great books for the kids. All are great character builders. They are all on hold at the library.
How full is your bucket? for kids / written by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer ; illustrated by Maurie J When Felix wakes up one morning, he finds an invisible bucket floating overhead. A rotten morning threatens his mood--and his bucket--drop by drop. Can Felix discover how to refill his bucket before it's completely empty?
PreSchool-Grade 2 Using the activity of making and eating cookies, the author defines some important concepts for young children, such as respect, trustworthiness, patience, politeness, loyalty, etc. The book begins: COOPERATE means, How about you add the chips while I stir? and continues with one definition per page. For example, FAIR means, You get a bite, I get a bite….; REGRET means, I really wish I didn't eat so many cookies; and CONTENT means sitting on the steps just you, me, and a couple of cookies. Lovely pastel watercolor illustrations show appealing children and anthropomorphic animals interacting with one another and the treats. Although books dealing with this type of subject tend to be didactic and preachy, the utilization of the cookies to explain the concepts is a brilliant idea and works well on a child's level. The text is short and clear, and the book is delightful to look at and browse through. This is a good choice for one-on-one reading or to start an interesting class discussion.
Learning about love from the life of Mother Teresa / Brenn Jones.
Mother Teresa -- Growing up -- The missionaries of charity -- Calcutta -- Pure heart -- Living simply -- Nobel Peace prize -- A worldwide mission -- A new challenge -- The saint of the gutters -- Web sites.
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
This picture book admirably conveys the miracle of a seed. Flower pods burst and dispatch their seeds on the wind; the air-borne seeds are subject to myriad disasters; and the ones that make it through the perils of the seasons to become mature flowering plants are still susceptible to being picked, trod upon and otherwise damaged. But nature allows for survivors, and so the tiny seed grows into a giant flower, releasing its seeds and continuing the cycle. As he has demonstrated with The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other books, Carle has an extraordinary kinship with nature. Here we have not just the explanation of the life of a flower, but drama, lessons of life and a lovely spirituality. This is a reissue of the original 1970 edition, with expanded, expansive collage illustrations. The pages, like the seed pods, burst with color. Ages 4-8.
This one is for me to get ideas from.
Do one nice thing with friends and family -- Do one nice thing for children -- Do one nice thing for pets and the planet -- Do one nice thing that heals -- Do one nice thing in town -- Do one nice thing around the globe -- Do one nice thing for soldiers -- Just click! Do one nice thing online.
Movies:
Care Bears. Give thanks
The Berenstain Bears: Kindness, Caring and Sharing
Arthur. The boy with his head in the clouds
Pay It Forward
More posts to come on Summer Camp at Home!
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