The order matters!

  I just finished a summer marathon: VBS, Science Camp, and two weeks of Faith Camp.  Now I’m trying to rough in lessons for the anatomy class this fall.  Do you know what is important when planning lessons, whether it is for a camp or class?   One key aspect is to determine the order of topics, labs, or activities.  We played suitcase relay the last day of Faith Camp—not the first!  We smashed open geodes outside the last day of Science Camp—not the first day my husband suggested.  Why?  When you do something that fun, you have to top it.  Instead, build a crescendo.  The same goes for class.  Many families teach math first thing in the morning.  One, the kiddos are fresh; two, math is hard.  After you get math out of the way, the other subjects aren’t as daunting. 

 Rule one is to do the worst first.  I start class with a review or introduction, usually for about ten minutes.  After we launch into activities, the labs or projects are tiered from least fun to most fun.  We meet Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I’m more likely to schedule lab on Thursday to get kids to finish work on Tuesday before starting lab.  

Rule two is to combine tedious assignments.   For example, viewing and sketching slides is dull.  We stack a few sections together and get it out of the way.  Let your kiddo do a week’s worth of geography on Monday.  Make Tuesday spelling and vocabulary day.

Rule Three is to inject a fun or novel event as a motivator.  At VBS we paint with tape on Friday.  I used tiny peg dolls mini kits as motivation for Faith Camp.  (We bring sharpies and hot glue guns to elevate Camp.  They paint and Modge-Podge, too.) Let the kiddos know that Friday they’re making ice-cream in a bag or in our case, edible aquifers.  Do I use candy labs?  Absolutely!  Cutting up gummy bears to learn anatomical positions and directions gives kids a little lift.  Remember to do the fun lab, craft, or activity last!

History: Free Tours

 Many home-school Co-ops take field trips.  My friend, Jen, is teaching American History for the local Co-op. She is planning field trips.  The Quantico area and Washington D.C. both are treasure troves for history instruction.  But don’t overlook smaller sites.  We are only about two hours from Winchester, VA, where our family lived for years.  It is loaded with history.  It is also very walkable and loaded with free resources, especially downtown. It’s nothing like trekking around the Mall in D.C. 

 The first stop in Winchester is the Visitor’s Center.  Winchester has both guided and self-guided tours with brochures, such as Walking Washington’s Winchester.  George Washington had a surveyor’s office in Winchester.  Winchester changed hands over 70 times during the Civil War; here is the Civil War Years walking tour.  Check out the History and Architecture brochure, too.  Small Town Love and Trip Advisor have some great photos of the downtown area.  Another stop is the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.  Admission for individuals and families is free on Wednesdays, from 10 am to 4 pm. The biggest local battlefield is Cedar Creek.  What about your hometown or a neighboring city?  

Immersive Approach to History

 Three of us in from our Co-op were talking after Mass about my friend, Jen’s American History class.  We all agree on an immersive approach.  Jen suggested little games.  The kids might try playing games from the history period they are studying.  My friend, Christine, offered loads of graphic nonfiction and comics for American History.  We talked about field trips to Civil War sites; we live in Virginia where history abounds.  Lastly, there are loads of museums within two hours of home: Marine Corps Museum, Mt.Vernon, Ferry Farm, to name a few.  Have you heard about borrowing education or traveling trunks?  How about making crafts specific to the period?  How did people worship?  

You can replicate this approach, too.  Jen is using Stobaugh’s AmericanHistory textbook as an outline.  She is collecting materials enhance her class: posters, comics, videos, and Drive Through History.  Take inspiration from the hands-on history book below. Now saturate your program with loads and loads of fun to round out your program and bring history to life!

What does our Co-op space look like?

 In case you were wondering, I don’t have a polished or staged Co-op space.  This fall, four of us will use my basement classroom.  Here is an unvarnished view of our space.

Where can you teach Co-op classes?

 Right now, my husband, Rob, and I teach Co-op classes in our basement.  This fall, two friends, both moms, are teaching science and history classes in our basement, too.  Before we landed in the basement, the Co-op held classes at the local library twice a week for upper school students.  The Co-op also held classes on Fridays at an Episcopal church’s Religious Ed (RE) classrooms for younger kiddos.  (Our church doesn’t have extra space.  There is a pre-K-8 school which doubles as RE classes.) 

I have taught Co-op classes in my house before.  I had Chemistry and Physical Science, with labs in the garage.  I’ve taught Co-op at our former church’s RE classrooms before we moved near Quantico.  When I taught in a public school, the home-school kids were allowed to come after school for classes, which is very unusual.  In another life, I did some consulting and training.  I learned that you can make just about any space work: school, church, hotel, college, or office space.  I’ve done dissections outside the library and at a local park.

What do you need?  You need a table and chairs.  If you do labs, bring jugs of water and plastic table cloths to protect any surfaces.  Be judicious as you select labs or demos.  While a whiteboard or chalk board is nice, you can bring a small white board for notes, diagrams, or problem sets.

Since I teach mainly science classes, I have a bunch of equipment, posters, microscopes, etc.  Ideally, there is some space at the facility to store a few items.  But, I have had to make do and sort materials into crates and bins, which I kept in the garage and hauled back and forth.   The amount of space will determine the number of kids you can accommodate and is the biggest constraint.  As long as there are four walls, tables, and chairs, you can make things work.  

Host a Camp: Fun!

 Whenever I host a camp I add some fun.  Sing  Camp Classic Chants and Songs: Greasy, Grimy, Gopher Guts, Herman the Worm, Chick-a-boom, Pizza Hut, and Tom the Toad.  Sing clapping songs.  Let the kids come up with team cheers and team names.  (One memorable group dubbed themselves Bubble Monkeys.  I can’t make this up.). Look for temporary tattoos, stickers, mini-skeletons, even syringes pens.  I usually buy bags for their stuff.  They’re kids; they love a little swag.  I try to do themed snacks, such as Oreo Moon Phases.  Go outside and chalk dead bodies or test paper airplanes.  We once accidentally released a solar balloon the kids were certain would be shot down by the local Air Guard.  Look for a few activities which are a little silly and just for fun. I bought leather blanks or wrist bands for the kids to stamp.  What a hit!

Host a Camp: First Steps

 What are the first steps in planning to host a camp?  

1. Location: Where are you going to host camp?  In your basement?  At a school?  In your church hall?  The location will determine the number of kiddos you can accommodate.  We just did a science camp in our basement with nine kiddos ages six-ten.  We had extra teens and adults.  Our basement space is about 1000 square feet.  Twelve kiddos would be about the maximum.  (Our Co-op classes might have 14-15 teens. But camp and younger kiddos are more active.)

2. Theme: Pick a theme.  It is so much easier to create a camp when you have a theme.  Is it more educational?  Creative?  Bookish?  Here are some Science Camp themes: Maker space, Chemistry, Anatomy Academy, Weather, Earth, Forensics, Coding, Forestry or Nature, Water, etc.  

3. Enlist help around your theme.  For example, if you are doing Forensics or Anatomy, contact the police, local nurse, and Rescue Squad for volunteers.  Could they bring an ambulance and do a demo?  Could the nurse teach kids how to take pulse and blood pressure?  Try to schedule different volunteers for different days.

4. Select activities which go along with your theme.  Anatomy could include mini first aid kits, paper skeletons, brain hats, spine, skin, and eyeball models.  Print out Human Body bingo, too.  Have a themed bingo available.  It is a good tool to calm down at the end of the morning.

5. Plan a themed snack.  We made edible aquifers and moon phase snacks.  Have a few little trinkets: tiny skeletons, nature stickers or tattoos, syringe pens, and magnifying glasses are all big hits for kiddos.

Host a Camp: Background Information

First, I bet you are asking what I know about hosting a camp.  Before teaching with the local Co-op, I taught in both private and public schools.  Private schools often encourage teachers to host summer camps.  At the public school where I taught, I took high school students to the local kindergarten and ran science stations one morning in the spring for around 100 students.  The private school, summer camps helped me refine my program.  The families were very wealthy and the children entitled.  I made decent money; however the parents were often demanding.  My home-school friends asked me to host a science camp at our church.  Our pastor agreed.  For several years, our church held VBS and followed up with a week of Science Camp.

You’ll need money and help.  Our church in WV did not charge a fee for either VBS or Science Camp.  We begged, posted lists of materials, saved recycled materials, and held fundraisers.  Our most successful fundraiser was a media and toy sale. We scheduled the sales before the church yard sale to have a place to unload leftovers.  Families from church donated all of the goods which we sold after church services for two or three Sundays.  People gave us cash, too.  I also begged for help.  Our church had a dozen teens who volunteered both weeks.  It was harder to recruit adult volunteers for Science Camp.   So, I relied heavily on teens and looked for volunteers at outside agencies.  For example, I brought in free water quality experts and a forester.  I asked doctors and nurses to give lessons for Anatomy Academy.  The Rescue Squad brought an ambulance.  The police sent an officer to talk about forensics.  

Does Camp take a Herculean effort?  Yes, it does. I’ll post more about how to organize a camp.  No, it won’t be a professional series with links to a TPT site.  Instead I’ll give you some hints I have found to work.  

Disney Home-schoolers

 Wow.  What a concept. (Full disclosure: Our family has visited Disney World, but we aren’t Disney fans.)  WSJ has an article, Meet the Moms Who Home School at Disney World.  What a concept.  I had no idea Florida families living near Disney bought annual passes and home-schooled at Disney World.  But, if your amity is planning a trip to Disney World, there are all kinds of home school lessons.  Look at Lessons from a Magical Disney Vacation for project based learning inspiration.  Military families can start with Disney World for Military Travelers to see how to create a plan and budget with Shades of Green Resort.  While I’m not wild about Disney, I am enthusiastic about books.  What about doing a book study based on a few classics?  Use the Golden Classics for inspiration.  Here is a Peter Pan unit study.  I’m sure Disney fans will have loads of ideas for lessons.

Host a camp!

 First, this post has pix from the home-school science camp.  I’ll post more details after I recover.

Make a Prime Day list!

 There are so many summer sales.  Make a Prime Day list.  Be sure to do a deep dive when you compare prices with Walmart, Dollar Tree, Five Below, and Temu.  I teach Co-op, lead Faith and Science camps, and help with religious education.  I use loads of card stock, craft sticks, coffee stir sticks, polymer clay, etc for loads of projects from clay, anatomy models to catapults.  Look at consumables like glue, glue sticks, and markers.  Let’s see if we can save a few dollars this year!