"Mommy Camp": Reggio Emilia-inspired life

When my son was an infant, during the summers, I would really miss working at summer camp. Summer camp was a huge part of my life and I had just resigned from Brooklyn Children's Museum to be home. It was a rough transition.  To cope, I planned different outings and activities for my son and I. Though he was not walking, we had a blast and thus "mommy camp" began.  As he grew older, and with the addition of my daughter, mommy camps became our way of life during his preschool breaks and my class breaks. It was a way for us to get to know each other again and spend time together.

This year, mommy camp was one full week in the summer (squished between summer camp, work and family vacation). We embarked on a whole new type of mommy camp.
I realized very quickly that most of the things that we had done in the past were out! Having two children in such different developmental stages (5 and 2) automatically crossed pretty much anything indoors off my list. There were three things that I would say are the most important lessons I learned during mommy camp this summer-

1. Always, always pack food.  Always.
2. Keep activities open and outdoors as much a possible.  Nature play really balances out most of the gap between kids of a differing ages.  They can work right next to each other - doing totally different things.
3. Keep things simple!

With that in mind. Here are some pics of us exploring Brooklyn:

Erie Basin Park (behind Ikea Brooklyn) is a great place to explore and see tugs and barges sail. There are also a few exhibits of tools and other information about sailing as well. We had a great time exploring, especially when we came to this structure. 

Look Mom, I am jumping hurdles!

Red Hook Farm right across from Ikea:

Stop and smell the flowers.

"Wow, that is a big watermelon!"

"I found a 'loupe!"

I was looking for a quick project we could make that was temporary as well as fun for my son. We had some odds and ends around the house so I decided that he would help me build a light box for his room so that he could do some exploration on his own as I put his sister down for nap.  It was super easy! A plastic tub, clear tape, a light and some parchment paper to diffuse the light.

 Outdoor exploration is a must. There is always something new to learn!

Gotta love bubbles.

Working hard on his tree house.

Sand and water play!

Helping.

Hours of fun on this mulch pile.

Container Garden... poor carrots!

We spent a great deal of the time we had left building and creating. Collage was the flavor of the week for both kids.

 

Keeping his math sharp building, sorting and and stacking blocks!