Can you think of a better way to start your summer than spend a week exploring the world of blossoms and butterflies with a group of thoughtful and artistic 3 to 5 year olds? No? I didn’t think so. Our Blossoms, Bubbles and Butterflies camp wrapped up on Friday as we watched some beautiful works of art walk out our door, in the hands of some very proud artists.

In addition to the art pieces, we engaged in some pretty wonderful (and hilarious) conversations.  Here’s a sampling…

Christianne had just finished telling a story about how she was sprayed by a skunk when she was young.  The children found this pretty fascinating, and had a number of questions and comments for Christianne.

Sophia: But you don’t still stink, right? Wait…do you smell, Christianne?

The students start sniffing in Christianne’s direction

Juliet: No, it’s all dried up now.

Good point!

Over the course of the week, each student worked on a multimedia art project that came together on the final day of the camp. On the first day we went on a walk through our neighbourhood, sketching flowers along the way. We blew bubbles in the park and had a picnic snack. On the second day, the campers painted the background of their canvas and on the third, they cut out blossoms based on their sketches from painted paper. On the fourth day they made butterflies out of polymer clay and on the final day they put the whole piece together and added bubble prints to the finished product.

Throughout the process, Christianne shared some of her favourite stories about blossoms and butterflies.  As we were reading a book about a fly who couldn’t fly, Tully piped up, “Maybe her mom or dad could hold her up!”  If you weren’t at the camp, but you’d like to read some of the books, or if you were at the camp and you’d like to revisit some of your favourites, here’s the complete list of everything we read.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (with props)

Snail’s Birthday Wish by Riona Rempt

Tadpole’s Promise by Jeanne Willis

The Wonderful Life of a Fly Who Couldn’t Fly by Bo Lozoff

Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson

Don’t Worry Bear by Greg Foley

The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone by Timothy Basil Ering

I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe

Varmints by Helen Ward

The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen

Rose’s Garden by Peter H. Reynolds

On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole

Find the books at the public library, or at your local independent bookstore.

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