Camp Mommy: Canadian Wilderness

This week we ended up doing 2 Camp Mommy activities. The summer is coming to an end, and I plan on adapting our weekly activities to indoor play; however, some are just meant for outside. I had collaborated with another mommy of another rambunctious (almost) 4 year old, and we really wanted to have a camp out with our big boys. So Bug's friend Hulk and his mommy joined us on this day.

Some of Bug's activities I like to plan, are around things in his life; and this one was about where we live. I decided to organize a Canadian Wilderness imaginative play around a cute little book I found. 

This VDV mommy (as well as Hulk's mommy) love moose; so it just seemed fitting to create some fun around this. First we made cute little Moose antlers by tracing the boys hands, cutting them out and attaching them to construction paper that fit around their heads. They needed to look the part if the were going on a hunt for this amazing Canadian animal. Bug owns a Canadian puzzle, so while I was setting up the next part of our fun, Hulk's mom was helping them put together the puzzle. This helped the boys with the concept of taking turns, concentration and problem solving skills.

I left out 7 pieces, and used them for the next part of our activity. I found a bunch of animal track pictures of 7 different Canadian animals and printed out multiple images. I then placed them around the yard, for the boys to follow the tracks to find laminated images of these species (sort of like a maze). The moose tracks were the predominant trail; however, I had 6 other animals that would get the boys to deviate from the moose tracks. Each animal on the way to find the moose also had one of the puzzle pieces. I thought this way we were connecting that these animals lived in Canada by having to go back to fit the puzzle piece correctly.

Each laminated animal picture had 4 facts about the Canadian creature. Before they went to place the missing puzzle piece, we quickly spoke about the animal. This part may have been a bit too much for the boys. They were more interested in finishing the puzzle and getting back to the animal trails. At the end of the moose tracks, the boys had two special friends waiting for them. Bug already owned his moose stuffed animal (he calls him Sad Moose because of his eyes), so I just found a little stuffie for Hulk so he could bring a friend home with him. Hulk's mommy contributed to their learning by finding animal sounds on her iPhone of all the Canadian wild they boys found. They enjoyed this part immensely (this was more fun than the facts)!

After this outdoor activity, the boys and mommies went over to Hulk's backyard and played for the remainder of the afternoon. We BBQ'd some hot dogs and set up a tent for a cozy night of camping. Once the night was winding down, we went back to my backyard and started a fire...and made some yummy banana boats. We really wanted to have a little camp out before the summer was over, and the last few weeks of August have presented us with wonderful weather! We got the boys a bunch of glow sticks and glow stick interfaces. They were adorable in their glow stick masks!

Hulk's mommy picked up some huge sparklers, and the boys loved holding these (after very deliberate instructions not to touch any higher on the stick) and watching the sparks fly.

 

Mommy decided she needed in on the glow stick mask action, so I got a picture with my Bug and I in front of the fire.

The boys also got a glow stick wand each. Bug really loved it and of course, because they are boys, they started to use them as swords. 

This was a fun way to (sob) end the summer. We still have some activities planned but the sun is setting sooner, the weather is getting brisker and we are inevitably entering into fall. Bug has enjoyed our days so much this summer, that I can't not do planned activities with him. So Camp Mommy will continue into September, pending weather. And then we will start something different once our fun has to be relocated indoors.

PS. Bug is sporting a swollen eye in these pictures because he had a biking accident, flying over the handles bars after hitting a crack in the sidewalk. This was with a helmet...scary to think of what would have happened if he wasn't wearing one.

Word Document Link for Post