Camp Gigi, Year 3

This summer was the third year of Camp Gigi and again it was different from past years. This year my two grands who attended camp were five years old and getting ready to enter Kindergarten. As they continue to grow up and their abilities and interests change, I think about how to change up what we do to make it more “theirs.”  Camp Gigi changes with them, and each year is a new adventure!

This year I didn’t do much detailed planning until close to the start of camp, though I did give a lot of thought to what they would enjoy doing together, what local resources we could tap into, and what would make the experience meaningful for them. 

Again this summer I made the most of the local resources in our area; some were new to us and some were favorites from last year.  I chose Farming as our topic to explore for the week because there are several different types of farms near us to explore and discuss. We visited a farm that grows vegetables and flowers and a farm that raises cows and sells products that come from the cows. You might choose a different theme based on the types of local resources available to explore where you live. 

We read lots of great books about farms, farmers, and farm animals!  Some of the ones I would recommend are:  

• The Farm is a Family, by Dan McKernan 
• Farming, by Gail Gibbons 
• Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken, by Kate DiCamillo 
• and, three different National Geographic Readers*: Farm Animals, by Joanne Mattern; Ponies, by Laura Marsh; and Goats, by Rose Davidson

(*National Geographic Readers are wonderful non-fiction books that explore all kinds of topics for kids—I always had lots of them in my Kindergarden classroom.)

For one farm-related activity, we dipped into science and developed a hypothesis about what would happen if we shook up cream from the farm in a jar. We found out that we made our own delicious butter! We also did some art projects: the favorite was making a painting of one of the cows we had seen that day.  

Our loose schedule was to do activities and outings each morning, and every afternoon I just let them play together and navigate their play in their own way.  It was so fun to listen to them play “family” and push each other to take some risks in their water play.  To me, this is where the magic is: letting them just be kids, enjoying each other and creating great memories.  As I have said from the beginning, if you decide to put a camp together you can try structuring it tightly or make it as simple as providing an opportunity for your grandchildren to enjoy each other and time with you in a different environment. Remember, one of the original goals of Camp Gigi was to bring together cousins to make memories with each other and with me.

Now, on to thinking about how to include my littlest grands (a 3-year-old and 2-year-old) for next year—the positive reviews have spread and they are asking to come to Camp Gigi, too!  More on that next year! 

Have you tried to put together a "camp" experience for your grands?  If so, how did it go, what did you learn? If you have not, what do you think would be your biggest challenge in trying something like this? Do you have questions that I might be able to help answer?