Day 5, Final day of Music Camp

Today was the last day of music camp, I'm guessing Aidan is relieved about this. Music camp was for kids ages 4-12 and Aidan was the youngest there. I think this was a hard transition for Aidan, having come from preschool were all the kids are 3-4 yrs old. In hindsight maybe he wasn't quite ready for this. I think if Aidan was more outgoing he would have been fine but given that he really is a shy individual, this was a bit overwhelming for him. Thankfully, Irene, the camp director is a wonderfully talented and nurturing woman who was really skilled at drawing Aidan out and supporting him when he needed it.

Aidan did get a lot of good exposure to different instruments, percussion and string. He got to see what's involved in learning to play an instrument, and participated in a variety of activities, conducting music, writing songs, singing and performing. They did art activities as well, but once again I think the art was geared more towards the older kids. He did take part in a mural painting which he enjoyed and took a lot of pride in.

Would I send him back to this camp in the future? Most likely when he's a bit older, that is if he still demonstrates an interest in music. He did connect with the director. The programing was fun and laid back, yet educational. I was also pleased with the diverse group of kids, from all different backgrounds....although I have to say lots of violin players.

Congratulations Aidan, you made it through a week of music & art camp. Mommy & Daddy are so proud of you!

Day 4 Music Camp

"Mama, I think I want to play the banjo"

Day 3 Music Camp

Not too sure what went on today. I asked Aidan, "what did you do today?" and I got a response from him "I don't know." What do you mean you don't know??

Did you sing? yeah.
Did you play any instruments? Yeah.
What did you play? Drums.
Did you do art? No.
Why not? I don't know.

You get the idea, this conversation was like pulling teeth. Irene, reported that Aidan worked on a song he's writing..."I like applesauce and I like honey. I like bananas and I like doggies. Chugga chugga chugga chugga choo choo." He performed this while playing the drums during a talent show they had today where each camper performed what they were working on. Sorry to say that I missed this, would have loved to have seen it.

Urban Eggs

Although we live in an urban city we still get to enjoy farm fresh eggs. How lucky is that!? We have a few neighbors who have chickens. One of these generous neighbors brought over some fresh urban farm eggs for us to enjoy. The eggs are just gorgeous, there's brown, aqua-blue, and white eggs.

Counting Ice Cream Scoops

Play = Learning. My boys have plenty of unstructured play, but with our busy schedules, I try to take every opportunity to make play time = enjoyable learning with fun craft activities. Because it's summertime, I decided to do craft time with the boys that had a summertime theme. What's better than ice cream in the summer. We made ice cream cones on paper. The kids got to pick how many scoops they wanted on their ice cream cones. Then, with my help, we drew them, cut them out, and counted the scoops together out loud. They had so much fun with this.

Sweet Cupcake Surprise

Daddy brought home some sweet cupcake surprises today to celebrate Aidan's success at attending music camp. I know we've gone way over board. Most kids just go to summer camp and that's it. It's just plain fun to have something to celebrate....and lots of yummy fun to celebrate with La Farine goodies!

Day 2 of Music Camp

Aidan poses next to the mural he helped paint

Aidan and Irene, the camp director

Well we got to a shaky start this morning but it ended in a success! We arrived and found that there was another new 4 yr old at camp today. Aidan and this other boy are the 2 youngest campers. I thought, "great news maybe this will put Aidan at ease". I was wrong, it didn't matter to Aidan. Although we started with Aidan being enthusiastic about music camp on the drive there, when we arrived he began to cling to me again. I sat down with him and joined the music circle were he was introduced to the cabasa then a rhythm circle began with each camper taking turns to conduct the group. Aidan was not an active participator in this but he was actively observing and was clearly very interested however, his fear of being left there was interfering with his ability to let loose and have fun. We then broke for snack time and this was my time to break loose from Aidan and the camp. Irene, the director, and I decided that I would leave and he would be allowed to have a melt down for half an hour. If it continued, she would call me to pick him up, so he wouldn't be too traumatized. Irene, called me in half an hour and reported he was doing great, what a relief! When I picked him up this afternoon, despite his small nose bleed he was having, he was in good spirits. He ran me down his schedule of events, he painted, played the violin, drums, went to the park for lunch, and started writing a song with his fellow campers. They will be performing for us at the end of the week, yay! Irene reported to me that Aidan had good rhythm, this I'm excited about. Can't wait to see what instrument he finds his niche in.