Saving Lives and Minds (SLAM)-- SUMMER CAMP

Science, technology, engineering art and mathematics (STEAM):

Camp Special EFX was a dynamic STEM activity devised to help campers learn the science behind Hollywood’s special effects.  Activities demonstrated concepts related to light, sound, perception, illusion and model building. Lessons included plot development, storyboarding, set building, filming, and sound effects. Students also learned various special effects makeup techniques working with the same materials used by professional make-up artists. They simulated cuts bruises, artificial blood and old age. Students wrote, built characters, and directed their own stop motion animation movies. Everyone’s artistry was showcased in creating their own cinema masterpieces!

An excursion to SparkLab! at the National Museum of American History inspires invention!  The creative environment at The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation invites children to create, collaborate, explore, test experiment and invent. SparkLab! activities are designed to incorporate traditional STEM  with common art themes that connect to Museum collections.

Hands-on crafting and art centered activities kept everyone busy. Throughout the summer campers created jewelry boxes, tribal masks, crafted origami animals, drew pictures of nature, created balloon animals and painted portraits.

Health:

Storybook Kitchen was introduced to provide unique cooking experiences for our budding cooks. Using literature related cooking experiences to foster the development of many learning and social skills in math, reading, language development, nutrition and cooperative group work. Led by Mark Henry of Healthy Living Inc. he served up lessons on delicious alternatives to unhealthy favorites. Each cooking experience was a whirlwind of fun and culture. Students made Moroccan rice, lentils, cabbage and pulled BBQ chicken.

Campers engaged in a wide range of sports and cardiovascular centered activities; from kickball, jump rope, ultimate frisbee, skateboarding, Zumba and tag. During outdoor exploration, students participated in nature talks in the school’s green garden space.

Weekly field trips became one of the many highlights of the CBM Sumer Camp Experience!  Rock climbing at Climb Zone, bicycle safety course, and swimming at Great Waves Water Park made the summer complete.

Literacy:

CBM placed a strong emphasis on reducing summer learning loss by incorporating unique literacy based activities with a focus on reading. With the Summer Bridge Exploration series, students entering grades K- 5 prepare for the new school year through project based learning. Our goal was to keep learning alive by applying skills in fun ways, all while enjoying everything summer has to offer. Lessons and activities span the curriculum supporting critical thinking skills and growth in math, reading, writing, social studies, science and the arts.

As recipients of the 826DC 2015 Summer Literacy Partnership Grant, students had the pleasure of working with these award winning artists. 826DC’s mission is to make kids fall in love with creating! Through savvy literacy projects, campers were taught how to craft a standard sonnet using Shakespeare. As publishers, they worked collectively-- writing, creating alternative scenarios and illustrating their own Choose Your Own Adventure books. While the goal was to strengthen their creative confidence and composition skills, our students walked away with so much more!

Other ways, CBM stretched the bounds of their creative minds was through spoken word and song creation with the help from Bomani Armah, Lyrical Poet and Rapper. His unique and fun approach engaged everyone by tapping into of their learning styles.  In viewing uplifting music videos, students listened to positive lyrics that they would soon try their hand at writing.  Once musical accompaniment was added to each child’s lyrics, the vibe and energy of hip-hop was infectious and memorable.

Jet Blue Airlines offered free books through their “Soar with Reading” Program. Jet Blue placed thoughtfully designed vending machines that dispensed brand-new, free books for children ages 0-14. Excited campers participated at Mathew Memorial Baptist Church location enabling them to take as many books as they were interested in reading! 

Research from the National Summer Learning Association has shown that summers without quality learning experiences and skill building put our youth at risk falling behind. The aforementioned efforts by CBM look to accelerate achievement through summer learning opportunities.