This March, during Waterford's spring break, a few teachers developed and held a week-long Spring Break Camp called, "Come Alive". Campers from PreK-Class V joined in and  explored the theme of awakening the senses through dance, music, art, drama, baking, and science.

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From Ms. Julie, teacher:

I’m excited to share our  Spring Break Camp!  We had so much fun—days were filled with excitement and exploration—and campers were exhausted by the time they went home!  Parents were thrilled at how much fun their kids had and how well they slept!

Our theme for the camp, “Come Alive”, was inspired by The Greatest Showman. Spring is that time when so much is coming to life, and we feel reinvigorated.  We explored many of these ideas, the camp's experiences and projects were filled with this hopefulness. The campers practiced and learned a line dance that went to the Come Alive theme song, and we began and ended each day in the gym connecting to this dance.

"Come alive, come alive
Go and ride your light
Let it burn so bright
Reaching up
To the sky
And it's open wide
You're electrified…"

The theme "Come Alive"  was the start of each day, and each day brought new ideas and adventures to explore:

Monday:  (Bodies)  We played kick ball, had an obstacle course down the halls, through the stairwells and stopped at the library. The ability to explore movement throughout the school was exciting for our students who usually practice being quiet as they walk through the hallways. We made paper airplanes and tested our flying and accuracy skills. And finally, our campers' favorite, was parachuting our animal soldiers off the upstairs balcony.

Tuesday:  (Senses)  Our baking day awakened our senses—we smelled our cooking pancakes in the morning and baked cookies in the afternoon. We listened to sounds and felt objects in a bag, guessing their origins. Students' favorite project for the day was making slime!

     

Wednesday: (Mind) Our own Waterford chess teacher, Mr. Alexander, came and gave campers a lesson on playing chess. Students were able taught about the intersection between a fun game and careful strategy. We also played minute-to-win-it games, hot and cold games, hide and seek in the halls, and made up skits to perform for each other on Friday.

Thursday: (Nature) Our nature day was held for outdoor exploration, and to observe and document the new life sprouting around Waterford's campus.  As is the case in Utah in March, the weather gave us a surprise with a huge snow storm. And, so, what better outdoor activity, we built a snowman instead. We also painted rocks, made bugs out of play dough, painted coffee filter butterflies, and built big cities with Lego. 

    

Friday: (Imagination) On our final day, we implored students to unleash their imagination. We performed skits that students designed and had practiced all week.  And all campers who were feeling bold performed, danced and did gymnastics in solo productions for their fellow campers. And finally, as a finale to the camp, and a wind-down before the final pick-up,  our campers popped popcorn and watched a movie.

When asking students what their favorite part of "Come Alive" Spring Break Camp, we heard:  

Riding flying turtles in the gym!  

Parachuting toys off of the balcony!

Everything!

Waterford's first Spring Break Camp was fun, invigorating, and students welcomed the exploration! See you at the next one!