Camp Listenbee: an Experiment

Saturday, July 13, 2013

My nieces spent 6 weeks of their summer with us. My mother, husband and I felt like we were running a camp thus the name Camp Listenbee was born. We figured out that we needed a schedule pretty quickly which included daily music classes (Kindermusik style).
Here's my baby snatching toys during Kindermusik
 We also created what we call Splash Day. Once a week we let everyone play in the water and that was also a lot of fun for them. Even the baby enjoyed it to my surprise!
Campers enjoying Splash Day
 The thing I didn't expect was the amount of drawing that Camp Listenbee involved (partly because I haven't bought a printer since we moved to Texas). I googled stuff like "how to draw a sheep" and I followed the instructions. Then I thought about how we can make this even fun so we came up with this: 
More Camp Listenbee Art ideas on my Pinterest
 My nieces and kids are young enough that they may not remember this summer at all but I will. I thank God, my husband and my mother for the amazing help they gave me. I don't think our camp could have been successful without their love and support. I am also thankful for some amazing friends who came to my rescue and gave me rides so I could take the big kids out for playdates and even to a fancy restaurant! We practiced table manners in the restaurant and the kids did a remarkable job! 
I found most camp supplies at the Goodwill. Great prices!
 My nieces have been back to their hometown and our fun continues. Yesterday I googled how to draw a monkey because the kids keep playing that they are having a birthday party for Mr. Monkey, so I thought our craft time should follow that theme.
My "Happy Birthday Mr. Monkey" drawing skills
I have also been helping all my kids to learn how to hold a pencil and how to color as well as reinforce some of the things they learned in school. I don't have a call to homeschool but I do know I am responsible for helping my kids to develop a love for learning.
My prayer is that God will continue to give me creativity and enthusiasm to keep our little camp going til school starts again. We have another VBS to look forward to as well as another family birthday before the end of the summer. I'm thankful for summers and I am thankful for the opportunity to experience different things such as being more purposeful about what the kids are learning.
Amanda said...

Que divertido! Espero um dia poder levar a Anne pra um camp Listenbee! Realmente, vai ser inesquecível Pras crianças. E olha so, voce descobriu mais um talento, desenhar!

Cintia Listenbee said...

Sim, traz ela mesmo. Até lá vou ter uma printer e não vou precisar mais de desenhar :D