An Afternoon of Hula Hoops!

This afternoon, Summer Spree had the pleasure of a visit from Hula Hoop Instructor, Jennifer, of HoopFrenz! Jenn brought a bunch of kid- and adult-sized hoops so kids, teachers, aides and Arts Center Staff alike all got to join in on the fun. All three afternoon age groups got to try their hips at hula hooping, and doing all sorts of other activities with the hoops. I couldn't resist spending the afternoon taking pictures of all our campers having such a blast learning this awesome, active skill!

The Red Group's teacher, Jen, surprised herself when she learned to hoop today!

Adam doing a hoop trick for his friends in the Red Group.

They're getting the hang of it!

Aaron making his way through the hoopscotch course!

Izyan ditched his hoop to crawl through.

Megan used hers like a jumprope all the way down the line!

Alyssa (of the Orange Group) workin' it while Jenn cheers her on.

Practice made perfect for Sophia this afternoon!

The Purple Group doing their thing and testing out the hoop-challenges Jenn suggested.

I promise that my next post will be more focused on little artists, but today's post just had to be dedicated to this hoop-filled afternoon! We're lucky to be having Jenn back again for two more afternoons this summer in Sessions 4 & 5!

For more info about HoopFrenz (which offers classes and birthday parties as well) or hooping as an exercise technique, check out their website: http://www.teachkidstohoop.com !

Session 2, The "Dig It!" Special

Bob and Drew are back at Summer Spree for Session 2 with another awesome special in the Children's Garden! Every summer, their project is a favorite among the Summer Spree campers and staff alike! In previous years, they've enlisted the kids' help in creating a beautiful classroom in the garden with a table and stools decorated with mosaic tiles. All the while, the kids were digging, tiling, pouring concrete, and letting their imaginations run wild under Drew & Bob's guidance. This summer, they've come back to create a second classroom at the other end of the Garden, a bit farther away from the newly-built outdoor pizza oven. Right now, they are in the process of digging and laying the foundations for the new classroom with the kids' help. Caution: the following photos may involve some messy children having an outstanding time.

Lena and Falina mixing up a bucket of hay and mud to help with the foundations for the classroom table.

Grace getting a mud-soaked high-five from Drew.

A little rinse-off from the hose, and the Yellow Group is ready to take on the rest of their day.

For members of the group who are less interested in mud-stomping, a tile-making station is set up in the classroom they made in previous summers.

Can't wait to follow the progress back there! Keep up the good work!

Session 2, Morning 3!

Another successful morning at Summer Spree is complete! This morning, some young paleantologists removed sand from Tyrannosaurus Rex skulls before painting them as they imagined the dinosaurs to have looked, while a bunch of little sculptors made pinch pots with snakes coiled around the sides. Before the morning was over, the Yellow group painted big whimsical turtles.

Maddie and Sofia (of the Orange Group) recreating the dinosaurs of their imaginations.

The Red Group in the Childrens' Ceramics Studio learning to make pinch pots and snake coils.

The Yellow Group in their classroom, working on their turtle paintings.

I wonder what Grace's favorite color is...

In the afternoon, the Orange group consists of 7 boys, all of whom had a great time in Ceramics with Dave Wood today. I couldn't resist posting this great picture of Sam showing off his "scratch to attach" tool-knowledge. 

Session 2 is Underway!

Things moved along smoothly in this second day of Session 2 here at Summer Spree! Our morning groups had tons of fun getting into their art projects and digging in the dirt. The Orange Group found a new way to make art with coffee filters and watercolor paints, while the Yellow group learned to make coil pots with Juanita. The Green Group dug and played make-believe in the children's garden with Bob & Drew. At the same time, the Blue, Purple, and Turquoise groups Dove into some really cool projects in their classrooms.

Sophie (of the Orange Group) using a pipet to create watercolor art on coffee filters. 

Sofia (also of the Orange Group) proudly displaying her water color masterpieces.

The Yellow Group absorbed by Juanita's coil-pot demonstration.

The Green Group checking out the roots of a tree in the Children's Garden.

Pearl (of the Blue Group) hard at work on her underground  flip book. Love your hat, Pearl!

More Blue Group members, Mia and Gianna.

The Purple Group working on underground watercolors and in their sketchbooks. 

Violet (of the Turquoise Group) pondering her next move on a project involving symmetry with black glue and watercolors.

The afternoon groups today had their first turns with Kim, our master Yogi from last session. Check out our Red Group (which just so happens to be all female this session) learning how to do the "Happy Baby" pose by first looking like a bunch of dead bugs!

Day 2 of Fun in Session 1

Day 2 of the summer saw our Spree teachers and aides getting right back into the swing of things. The aides were all smiles as they met the kids at their cars and took them safely to their teachers this morning. Once divided up into their groups, the kids dug right into their art supplies. (Many of which are generously donated to the CAC by members and art lovers throughout the area - Thanks Donors!) 

This morning, I stopped into Jen's Art Start room to check up on the youngest group of campers, where I found Maddy working on a little piece of make-believe made from repurposed soda bottles and tissue paper. As the Red Group transitioned into snack, I popped over into the Kid's Ceramics studio to find Juanita guiding the Orange Group through a new project: making snails out of clay. (Try to imagine the last time you concentrated on anything as fully as a 5-year-old molding a huge wad of clay into something he's proud of.) My final stop this morning was into the Turquoise Group's room where Pat was in the middle of instructing the oldest group of campers in a geometric art project using graph paper.

Maddy (of the Red Group) hard at work on her fairy house!

Bryce (of the Orange Group) deeply concentrating on his clay snail.

Sophia D., Sophia B, Mira, and Mia accessorizing their snails with clay-jewellery of their own creation.

Pat helping her 5th & 6th graders in the beginning of a new art project...

Can't wait to see the final products!

Today marked the first day of the summer that we have yoga in the afternoons with our favorite yogi, Kim! I popped into the ballroom just in time to see the Red Group playing yoga-Simon-Says and have some relaxing time in the air-conditioned ballroom. Down in the kitchen, the Red Group did some out-of-the-box art by making their own little pita-pizzas. Yum!

Kim leading the Red group through a game of Yogi-Says.

Sarah helping her Orange Group make mini pita-pizzas...

...which Finn, Liam, and Reese definitely enjoyed, by the looks of it!

Afternoon Adventures, Day 1

The fun  of Magic Mornings doesn't have to end at noon! Every day, we have our Lunch Bunch of kids who hang out with our wonderful aides from 12-1pm before Afternoon Adventures begins. When 1:00 rolls around, the kids go off into their groups and launch into three more fun and art-filled hours! Scroll down to check out some of the things the campers did this afternoon!

Dean of the Turquoise Group selecting materials for his habitat...

Here, Pauline assists Melissa and Declan (Turquoise Group) in building their habitats.

Jen can't decorate the Red Group's room all by herself, so Lucia, Mia, and Mira help out by making name tags for their cubbies!

Keegan's helping out too by painting a mini mural.

Josh's Outdoor Games special gives the kids a much needed chance to let out some energy in the side yard.

We also hold teen classes for children older than 5th or 6th grade in the afternoons at Summer Spree. This session, we are offering Digital Photography and Pottery Wheel classes at 1pm and Handbuilding, Drawing & Pastels, and Homemade Beauty Products classes at 2:30.

Some down time during Digital Photography, pretending to be a butterfly!

The Digital Photography class exploring the scenery around the parking lot.

Two of the teens in Carol Seymour's Wheel Class getting to know the pottery wheels.

Suzanne Brophy teaching her class of teens about the natural benefits of herbs from her garden.

Another Summer of Art Begins!

The first day of Summer Spree is finally here! It's been a long winter and all of us here at the Arts Center are thrilled to be back for another art-filled summer.

Magic Mornings kicked off to a great start! Our specials this session are Gardening with Margery and Ceramics with Juanita, as well as Tie Dye on Thursday (for the Red & Orange groups) and Friday (for the Green, Blue, and Turquoise groups).

Mia & Mira of the Orange group stretching their imaginations during snack time.

Dean, Gianna, and Emily hard at work in Ceramics, making Piggies with Personality.

The Blue group is listening to their teacher, Pauline, discuss her Piggy's personality.

Lucy and Liam of the Green group working in their sketchbooks.

Finn and Emma (Green group) pose with the paper mache they worked on this morning. Can't wait to see what these balloons will turn into by the end of the session! 

Session II: Awesome Afternoon

This afternoon, I went upstairs to check out what was happening with Martha's Purple Group on the third floor. Turns out, they've been super busy! They were all hard at work on their accordion books. Earlier this session, each camper designed their own character and made a stamp of him/her to use inside of their book. They are making collages with tissue paper and other materials, and have stamped their character numerous times to be cut out and incorporated into their book. You could almost feel the creativity flowing around the room as the kids were working.

(Above & Below) Purple group works on their accordion book collages. Can't wait to see how they turn out!

Next, I got to sit in on a couple of the Afternoon specials here at Summer Spree! We have another musical special this Session, led by the stylings of Jack and Emily. The duo teaches the kids songs and rhymes with messages about unity and oneness with the Earth. The kids learned the words "I am Earth, I am air, I am water, I am fire, I am everything and all is good, so I sing." The Red Group picked right up on these lyrics and learned hand motions to go along with the song.

Red Group learning the symbol for "water"...

and "fire." Get those hands up!

For my last stop of the afternoon, I went down to Andrea's Ceramics Studio and found Sarah's Orange Group working on a new project making ornaments with a sgraffito technique, meaning the color is applied before the clay has dried. Each child got a ball of clay, which they flattened out and then chose a base color to paint on the top of the flat disk. Then, they made designs in their piece by scraping out a drawing with a pointed wooden tool. 

Members of the Orange Group working on their sgraffito ornaments! along with Andrea (far left) and her visiting daughter Sophia (far right, opposite side of table).

Lucy and Hannah, of the Orange Group, hard at work on their ornaments. Look at that concentration!

Can't wait to see everything come together at the art shows on Friday!