DIY Summer Camp: Part 1

I have an old blog, you know one of those freebie ones, where I’d write a weekly update on our schooling. It was more like a portfolio and basically just for me. (I was the only reader, haha…)

I figured it would be fun to repost some of our old DIY Summer Camp At Home ideas since it’s summer. And everyone is at home. And we are back at it in our house! (As soon as we get a few warm days in February, the kids start planning ideas!!)

Pirate Camp
This camp was done during the summer of 2016! (WHAAATT?!) It was the first “DIY Summer Camp” we ever did. It was all because I was babysitting & had more kids than I had seats for in my vehicle. We had to stay home every day and I craved a bit of routine. Playing all day was a bit much for my very-structured, type A personality. So, I created a week-long theme that captured everyone’s attention for about an hour each day. It was fun, novel, and kept me from going stir-crazy. Each day we read a few Pirate books and then did a simple activity from the list below. It was geared for little kids, but could easily be intensified for older ones. (And I didn’t get many pictures because I was busy holding a sweet baby most of the time!)
Day 1: STEM Recycled boats- It was recycling day, so I gathered things from the bin before the kids took it out. They used different materials (egg cartons, soda bottles, bubble wrap, foil, wine corks…) and then we tested the boats on the live seas, yaaarrggghh!
Day 2: Dress like a Pirate- The kids painted stripes on shirts and I cut the shirts to make them a bit ragged looking.
Day 3: Pirate cookies- Sugar cookie dough balls were given to each child so they could make a pirate creation. There were bones, skulls, mermaids, peg-legged pirates and a ship!
Pirate newspaper hats- Fold newspaper to create triangle hat, staple and decorate.
Day 4: Pirate Treasure sensory bin- Flower-water crystals, that had been given to us, became “pirates gold” in a NON-EDIBLE sensory bin. We’ve done Jell-O bins in the past and I had to remind the kids a few times…This isn’t Jell-O!!
Day 5: Pirate telescopes (Paper towel rolls) and Pirate hooks- Stab a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup and add a foil hook!
Day 6: Pirate Swords- cardboard swords to decorate and use for pretend fights!!!
Day 7: Pirate Flags- The kids used black construction paper and white crayons & oil pastels to create their own pirate flag.
Day 8: Treasure hunt around the neighborhood with a map & real “treasure.”
The camp cost less than $10 for 5 kids to participate. It took up about 1-2 hours of time per day and most activities were created/ prepared for in less than 30 minutes.