Mamas Facing Forward Stay Home Summer Camp was a project I developed during the isolated summer of 2020. For each theme I provide a menu of options to choose from, including: virtual learning resources, easy craft & snack ideas, simple activities, books, and movies/TV.
Trust me, whether you do it for a full week or just for a day, there’s something magical about doing a bunch of activities that all share the same theme. In fact, even though my kids will be traveling and attending regular summer camp this year, they’ve also requested some Stay Home Camp – so stay tuned for a couple of new themes!! I’ve also added “field trip ideas” to themes from past years as well.
I hope these ideas will provide your family with a little fun – while at the same time making summer a bit easier for you!!
Love, Mariah
ART CAMP!
The menu this week is a little bit different! I’ve got a section with 5 lessons based on different famous artists/styles – each lesson has a show to watch, a book to read, and an art project to make – with the idea being that you do one lesson each day (but use it however you like, of course!)
I also have a list of general art ideas you can do instead or in addition. I wasn’t able to come up with too many documentaries or movies that focus directly on art, so I’ve tried to suggest movies that focus on expressing feelings or that are particularly imaginative. I’ve also included a free printable you can hang up at home while you work on this theme.
NEW! Field Trip Ideas:
- To local playgrounds with art features
- To the local art museum
- To a local art supply story or crafting spot
- To a city to look for outdoor sculptures and murals
- To the sidewalk to draw with chalk!
- To the library to get more books about art
Things To Learn:
- Explore together
online
- Brain POP Arts & Music (If your school does not provide you with a BrainPOP account already, you can request free access during school closures)
- Virtual tours of
famous art museums
- Guggenheim Museum (New York)
- J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles)
- Louvre (Paris)
- Musee d’Orsay (Paris)
- National Gallery of Art (Washington DC)
- The British Museum (London)
- Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam)
Famous Artists & Their Styles:
Note: This section includes five lessons (one for each day) about famous artists introduced through an Amazon Prime show called Creative Galaxy. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can start a 30-day free trial – which will give you access to Creative Galaxy and all the videos available on Amazon Prime.
- Abstract Art – Wassily Kandinsky
- Watch: Creative Galaxy: Season 1, Episode 11
- Read: The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock
- Make:
- Recommended materials: construction paper, scissors, glue
- Instructions: Happiness is Homemade
- Action Painting – Jackson Pollock
- Watch: Creative Galaxy: Season 1, Episode 3
- Read: Action Jackson by Sunni Myers
- Do:
- Recommended materials: large paper or poster board (or a flattened cardboard box would work!), paint, various kitchen utensils
- Instructions: The Resourceful Mama
- Cubism – Pablo Picasso
- Watch: Creative Galaxy: Season 1, Episode 10
- Read: Picasso and the Girl With The Ponytail by Laurence Anholt
- Make:
- Recommended materials: paper, paint or markers, pencil, black marker pen
- Instructions: NurtureStore
- Pointillism – Georges Seurat
- Watch: Creative Galaxy: Season 1, Episode 1
- Read: Katie’s Sunday Afternoon by James Mayhew
- Make:
- Recommended materials: paint, paper, Q-tips
- Instructions: Happy Family Art
- Post-Impressionist – Vincent Van Gough
- Watch: Creative Galaxy: Season 1, Episode 5
- Read: Katie and the Starry Night by James Mayhew
- Make:
- Recommended materials: white paper, crayons, watercolors, paintbrush
- Instructions: Parents
- Make:
More art ideas:
- Bath Paint
- Recommended materials: shaving cream, food coloring, paintbrushes, muffin tin
- Instructions: Fill each spot in the muffin tin with shaving cream. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to each container and stir. Give the kids paintbrushes and let them paint in the bath or shower – rinse with water for easy cleanup when they’re done! (NOTE: You may want to test this in advance to see if the food coloring will stain wall or grout)
- Chalk Paint
- Recommended materials: cornstarch, food coloring, muffin tin
- Instructions: Happiness is Homemade
- Collaborative Drawing
- Recommended materials: paper, something to draw with (marker/pencil/crayon)
- Instructions: Work together to create a drawing – or have your kids work together. In this instance, I drew the body of each character and let my kid draw the head. He was at a stage where he didn’t know how to draw many different ways, so it was really fun for him for each drawing to be different. (If you have more drawing skills than I do, you may want to take a look at Busy Mockingbird’s gorgeous collaborative drawings!)
- Paint the Playhouse
- Recommended materials: washable paint, plastic playhouse (or other large plastic toys)
- Instructions: Give the kids washable paint and let them paint the playhouse! Then give them the hose and a sponge and let them wash it off. If you don’t have a playhouse any large plastic toy will do. Half the fun is painting, half the fun is washing and playing in water.
- Race Painting / Drive Drawing
- Recommended materials:
- Race painting: butcher paper, board or flat surface to create a slant, paint, toy cars
- Drave drawing: paper, toy cars, markers, tape
- Instructions
- Race Painting: We used a board and a chair to create a slanted surface, then covered it with butcher paper. Then I put a few blobs of paint at the top of the slant, and the boys rolled cars through the paint and down the slant to create their paintings.
- Drive Drawing: If you don’t have the materials to make the slant (or if racing cars through paint seems like too much of a mess) you can still have fun with cars and art by taping a marker to a toy car and letting your kid drive it around to create drawings.
- Recommended materials:
- Vertical Chalk Art
- Recommended materials: chalk, painter’s tape (optional)
- Instructions: Find a surface such as a fence or a wall to create some vertical chalk art! You can draw anything you please with the chalk or you can try a painter’s tape collage. We created shapes with painter’s tape and then colored each section a different color. When we removed the chalk we were left with some very interesting fence art! And chalk can always be washed off with water later on.
Time For A Break!
- Books to read
- Action Jackson by Sunni Myers
- Mattisse’s Garden by Samantha Friedman
- Sophie’s Masterpiece by Eileen Spinelli
- The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
- The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock
- When Pigasso Met Mootisse by Nina Laden
- Documentaries to watch:
- TV shows to watch:
- Reading Rainbow
- Season 9: Episode 4, 6
- Season 13: Episode 4
- Reading Rainbow