Time for Summer Camp! A Camping FREEBIE for Your Class!

Hi, Everyone!

Okay, well. maybe it's not quite time yet for really going to summer camp, but I know that lots of you are planning for a camp theme in your classroom at this time of year. This is a theme that can be kept simple, but it's so much fun to get going with the tents, flashlights, compasses and everything else that will have your kids going crazy...but also learning like crazy!

Instead of handling this theme all by yourself, consider teaming with another teacher (how about using one classroom for songs and stories, the other for nature and camp games?), or brainstorming ideas with your class ... it's a great opportunity for a little shared writing!  The sheer number of ideas is huge, so be prepared to pick and choose to keep it manageable.

Here are a few sources of ideas to get you thinking!
This is what one first grade teacher wrote about her one-day camping event.
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/415.html

This  post is aimed a bit higher for grade levels 3+, but take a look at some of the awesome links that are listed at the end!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/04-1/lesson022.shtml



The always-amazing Cherry Carl has some great things, including themed writing paper and a word list for writing at http://www.carlscorner.us.com/Camping.htm .


KinderCorner has a super collection of ideas, many of which will be useful for first and second graders and even beyond. There is a wonderful collection of summer camp read-alouds here!
http://www.kinderkorner.com/camping.html

It will definitely take you some time to sift through all of the resources here, but http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/  truly is "ultimate"! Don't miss the camp songs! Try copying some of the songs on charts for shared reading. Individual copies would make good additions to Song and Poem Notebooks. Gather around the classroom "campfire and enjoy!



And finally, the promised FREEBIE! Dashing around filling up jars with fireflies (we call them lightning bugs here in NJ!) is a memory-maker on any camping experience! Mix in some math facts and you've got...

Click here to download!

It includes 12 sets of matching cards like these...

... as well as a student recording sheet. 

"Catching Fireflies" is one of the 24 literacy and math activities in my new Summer Camp unit at Teachers PayTeachers. Here are a few more!

Click here or on the cover to see the complete set.

If you use a summer camp theme, what's your favorite activity?

Happy Teaching!