Camping in the Classroom

My favorite theme for summer school/Extended School Year is CAMPING. 

There's nothing better, it is a natural for incorporating outdoor activities when the weather allows and it's just plain fun! 

I have done it in the past with more flair and you can see that here.

This summer I didn't try to do tents. We had quite a few kids with wheelchairs, gait walkers and so forth and didn't want to have tents unless ALL could enjoy and participate. I saw a cool idea that would have worked for us at Our Small-Town Idaho Life.  I didn't get around to getting it together THIS time, maybe next summer! Here's a picture from their blog:



Nice, right?

😻

Another difference this summer from the past sessions was the technology. We had it available and it was WORKING.  How cool is that??

I have mentioned this before that our district is big time into digitalizing (yes yes I know that isn't a real word, but I like it). I actually know how to create a Google classroom and make slides for lessons. So I did that A LOT. The boxes of books I usually bring did not have to be carted to our summer site either because it is all online. (OF COURSE I brought some books for the students to look at, technology cannot match that experience).

There are so many books and videos online.  All I have to do is link a video or website to the slide and it is ready to go. Making a slide show for the entire day ensures nothing is forgotten. However, I am veering off the path for today. I will talk about using Google Education at another time. 


This is the group area. We sit around the campfire to listen to a book, discuss, watch a video or do a song.

For the door, we color coded the hand colors, orange for the AM students, yellow for the PM students and red for the adults.

In order to address students' individual objectives, our schedule includes a "station" time. 

For the campfire, everything is real except the fire! I initially had a battery operated candle tucked inside the tissue and it glowed. Looked good. However, a student had difficulty leaving it alone and it was removed.

This "About Me" project is very flexible, some students wrote their information and others matched and glued the letters.
Everyone had their picture in a tent on the top. The way they did the background depended on their skills. Some kids drew and colored their own, others had help placing the grass, trees, butterflies, or sun. Snipping green paper for grass is a great way to practice scissor skills!
I love these kind of activities because most students can have a hand in doing them and they are all unique.

The page is part of a Special Ed. Daily Morning work packet from School Bells N Whistles, I have found this packet to be so very very useful! You can find it on Teacher Pay Teachers here.😎

Hope your summer is going well!

Later,

Paula

Source: Emoji Me from itunes

edited by PicMonkey