Think Summer!

It's that time of the year, again!  The weather is cold outside, but it's time to think summer. Just close your eyes and picture it- sunshine, shady trees, song birds, blooming flowers, ripening gardens, lightning bugs, green grass between your toes... can you see it?

 

Now imagine all those summers days through your child's eyes and they becomes simply magical.

 

Your child can experience this summer magic in a unique summer oasis in the city. In Historic Germantown, as busy city life hurries all around it, there is a certain white-washed fence that stands unassuming in the middle of it all. But behind this fence is a historic homestead that has stood for 323 years. This homestead is the setting for a summer of fun in the sunshine, under the shady trees, and amongst the blooming flowers and ripening garden. Your child can have it all at the Wyck Historic House, Garden and Farm summer camps.

 

Summer is my favorite season for all the above reasons and summer camp is my favorite time to teach. There is a certain feeling of freedom that the kids experience when they are at camp. Us teachers feel it too.  No school, no homework, just play. But little do they know they are learning and growing- socially, emotionally, physically and academically- while they are creating, planting, cooking, laughing, exploring, etc. Teachers call it learning through play, the kids just call it play but we all will remember it as fun. And as the years go by and the kids grow up, they will look back and see it as magical.   

 

Below is more information about the summer camps at the Wyck Historic House, Garden and Farm in Philadelphia. But no matter where live, there is a camp near you that will provide your child with that magical feeling of a summer in the natural world, even in the middle of a city.

Please comment below with the city and information for your favorite camp and why you love it. Thank you!   

For more information, pricing or to register click here or contact Christina Moresi, Youth Education Coordinator, at 215.848.1690 or cmoresi@wyck.org.

Wyck welcomes donations of any amount to support our camp scholarships. Email Christina at cmoresi@wyck.org for more information.

 

For fun, visit and follow Wyck's education and summer camp pin boards.

 

For a glimpse into Wyck's summer camps, like Wyck on Facebook and view 2012 camp photos.

 For more Art. Nature. Service. like 3 Black Cats / A Godmother's Love on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest. 

 

Plant Part Costume Tutorial

Every other week, my amazing Head Start students in Germantown come to the Wyck Historic House and Garden to learn about plants, insects, animals, farming, healthy food, etc. This week they continued learning about plant parts and the healthy foods they produce.

We used the art in Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert to illustrate what plants we eat and discussed which parts of the plant they were from. Then we observed plants and signs of spring, played a matching game, sang our plant part rhyme, danced as a fruit bowl and even dressed up like a plant.

The plant part costume was something the kids loved when learning about plants at The Schuylkill Center’s Farm Camp, so with some felt and a few dollar store items, I had a costume of my own in no time at all.

Plant Part Costume

Materials:

¥   1 Sheet Brown Felt

¥   1 Yards Green Felt or Fabric

¥   Pipe Cleaners

¥   Fabric Garden Gloves

¥   Small Garden Hat or Basket

¥   Decorative Flowers or Fruit

¥   Hot Glue Gun

¥   Needle & Thread or Fabric Glue

¥   Velcro

Instructions

Roots:

1.     Cut two 2-inch wide strips of brown or green felt.

2.     Cut small slits in the middle of the strips about a ¼ inch apart for as many pipe cleaners (roots) you wish to use. I used six.

3.     Insert pipe cleaners, twisting top of cleaner around felt to secure it.   

4.     Add Velcro to ends of strips.

Stem:

1.     Using an apron as a pattern

2.     Cut an apron shape from the yard of green felt or fabric

3.     Sew on ties or cut with pattern

Leaves:

  1.     Lay gloves on top of the green felt or fabric.

  2.     Cut two leaf shapes from felt or fabric large enough to hide the gloves

  3.     Fabric glue or hand-stitch the bottom of the leaf to the bottoms of the gloves

  4.     Use puffy paint, markers, or other paint to create veins on leaves

Flowers/Fruit:

  1.     Pull the flowers and leaves off of a bouquet of decorative flowers

  2.     Hot glue the flowers and leaves to a small hat or basket

Suggestions & Additions:

Costume Additions

One Whole Flower- Create one flower using colored cotton balls or puff balls and felt petals (color and shape of choice)

Add Literacy Labels- Velcro, sew or permanent marker labels to each part of the costume

Add Fruit- Create one flower using colored cotton balls or puff balls and felt petals to create an apple blossom and add a faux apple (or any common fruit and flower)

Books

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carl

This book is a classic that the kids know and it can be used to discuss healthy foods v. junk foods.

Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

This book has bright and beautiful illustrations of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.  

Spring: So Close, Yet So Far Away

It's March. The sun is beginning to shine brighter, the temperature a bit warmer and plants a bit greener. Winter hibernation is turning into spring fever. There are so many things we want to do outside, but we can't just yet. So what can we do? While I was brainstorming this same question for my Wyck House lesson plans, I came across a Facebook post by Nature Rocks. They shared a link, "10 Ways to Explore Nature in March" by Go Explore Nature. This awesome article shares wonderful ways families and teachers can get their kids out of the house or classroom and into nature. It even has printables! Don't have kids to take outside? Numbers 4, 7 and 9 can be done by adults.

Number 8, “See local wildflowers,” is one of my favorites that everyone can do. I especially love that there are so many places to do this in the Philly area. My favorites are Wissahickon Park, Wissahickon Environmental Center, the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Awbury Arboretum, and the Wyck Historic House, Garden and Farm. And thats only the Northwest section of the city! What are your Philly area favorites? What are your favorites from where you live? What do you love to do outside in March? I hope thinking about these questions and reading this article has you inspired to get outside and play. Even on a rainy day, the physical and mental benefits to outdoor play for children and grown-ups are immeasurable.

Now that you have a pre-spring to do list, get outside and love the nature around you. Nature is as close as your door step, no matter where you are from. Enjoy!