Huckleberry Cheesecake Newsletter, 8/17/07

We're officially in "Countdown to VACATION" mode. Having only taken 4 vacation days this year, I'm literally dying for some down time, some R&R, some uninterrupted time with Noah and Lily. And thanks to an intinerary that is taking us to coastal Maine, I'll be disconnected from the office (which makes me nervous but isn't necessarily a bad thing).

We'll have lots of tales and as many photos to post upon our return. In the meantime, here's the latest Huck newsletter; enjoy!

Dear Parents,

Camp Strawberry sure provided an exciting and fun week for our little scouts. Our campers got a taste of the great outdoors right here in the great indoors in the big city with some super reads. Some of the favorite books included The Teddy Bear's Picnnic; Maisy Goes Camping; PJ Funnybunny Camps Out; The Picnic and Who Has Been Here? Animals in the Woods.

Getting ready for their camping trip, the Strawberries began by packing their backpacks. Each Strawberry got to choose what things they would like to bring on the trip - they did a great job priortizing which were the more important items (like a flashlight and a can of soup) and which items they could do without (like crayons and stuffed animals) on the trip. After counting their items and stuffing them into a backpack, the Strawbs played magnetic fishing and identified the fish colors after each catch. They glued shapes on paper to create a tent for art and even practiced turning the flashlight on and off and identifying leaves that they should stay away from, like poison ivy.

The Strawberries worked together to assemble a tent in their classroom for some more fun. They all huddled inside and pretended to listen for animals in the woods. They put together a giant puzzle of a campsite, looked through real binoculars and made a compass of their own by floating a magnet in a bowl of water. Next, the campers walked North, South, East and West, right back to their tent again!

A picnic lunch was also needed for the camping trip. The Strawberries packed the picnic basket with all sorts of healthy and tasty foods, making sure to get something from each section of the food pyramid. Everyone was on the lookout for picnic crashers as they paraded around the center singing "The Ants Go Marching." They also read a story called Two Bad Ants and then tried to not have manners like those ants! They created a food collage and practiced making a pattern with red and white squares to make a picnic blanket. Later, the Strawberries loved laying out another blanket and eating their own lunches on the floor in the classroom.

S'more fun was had on campfire day in the Strawberry room. The class built a fire with wooden blocks and red and orange construction paper. They discussed campfire safety rules and sang songs as they cuddled around the fire. They class identified their colors as they checked out a picture of bears around a fire and then pretended to be the bears after they made their own bear masks for art.

Next week the campers become world travelers with the new theme of POSTCARDS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE. If you have any interesting items form your families' travels, please be sure to share. Thanks. Speaking of sharing, the Strawberries thank Ila for bringing her camping gear to share with the class and Nina for letting us check out her great camping pictures.

Happy Weekend!
All the Best,
The Strawberry Teachers