Every week in July, we’ll bring the parents of Beijing their very own summer camp curriculum. We’re keeping it truly simple, uncomplicated, and as inexpensive as possible so choose activities a la carte or follow the entire week’s agenda – whatever helps!
This week our theme is Natural Shapes, and here is the schedule:
Monday: Shapes and Math review
- The website Math is Fun has an excellent Geometry page that allows kids to review shapes, no matter their age or education level.
- Have your kids go around the house and find all the circles, all the squares, all the triangles, etc., and line them up by size.
- Then ask pointed questions such as, how many triangles make a square? What’s the difference between a square and a rectangle? And so on…
- Make your own shape stencils out of cardboard to trace. What animals can you make out of shapes?
- Pair activities with these songs:
Tuesday: Nature Walk
- Take a look at this list of Beijing parks and outdoor spaces where you can picnic and spend time on the grass.
- Pack a fun lunch with a mix of nutritional and simple snacks, and lots of water!
- Head to a park with a small picnic basket, sunscreen, and reusable bag where you can store your nature treasures.
- Set the ground rule that it’s okay to take a nature treasure if it’s “found on the ground,” but not off trees, plants, bushes, etc.
- Challenge your child/ren to point out shapes they see in nature: Does that tree look like a triangle? Is a bush a rectangle? How many rocks are ovals and how many circles? How do different shapes stack on top of one another?
- Most of all, enjoy your time in nature together.
Wednesday: Shapes in Nature (craft)
- Choose from some excellent nature crafts based on your kid’s interests and the treasures that you find! Below is an example:
A Beautiful Nature Frame by Little Pine Learners - Choose an assortment of lovely rocks. Take them home and rinse them, then clean them with soap and water, rinse them again, and let them dry. Paint happy messages on each rock and leave them out in nature for other friends to find!
Thursday: Make a Face/Find a Face
- Now, choose a different location for a walk and find faces in nature: These can be a rock face that has eyes, a building nearby that looks like it’s smiling. Really, the possibilities are as vast as Beijing itself.
- Then take your nature treasures (always “found on the ground) and make faces for other people to find!
Friday: Math in Nature
- Concentric circles are everywhere, flowers follow the Fibonacci sequence. Simply put, fractals, hexagons, and just plain symmetry are all math concepts prevalent in nature. Read this article from Children’s Discovery Museum and wander your neighborhood looking for math in natural and man-made shapes!
KEEP READING: Download the Jingkids DIY Summer Camp Calendar!
Images: Cindy Marie Jenkins, QQ music
