Do you remember roasting marshmallows around a campfire with your family then gazing up at the stars before heading to bed in your cozy tent? I never had that experience as a child. I transform my room every May into an outdoor adventure to give my students a new experience.
I teach half day kindergarten in Central Oklahoma.
I teach 24 energetic 5 year olds in the morning and 24 in the afternoon. I try to make my classroom a very active classroom to keep the students engaged every minute of our 2 1/2 hours together. They are so excited to enter my room each day to see what exciting things we are going to do.
My Project
The last Friday in April I stay in my classroom transforming it into an outdoor campsite. It usually takes about 5 hours. My student tables disappear and 5 real tents take their place. The tents become the students new home for the rest of the school year. All of the normal classroom items get put away and covered very strategically with paper to make the kids feel like they are in the woods.
The items that I have asked for will help make our Kinder Camp even more special. The lanterns will hang in their tents. We have our lights dimmed during this experience to make it feel like evening time. They will use the s'mores, fish, and hot dog dog kit in my campfire center. To make it even more realistic I will put the pretend campfire logs in my fire pit.
I have been camping with my Kinders for 10 years. It is a fun filled month of activities that keep the kids learning and having fun right up to the last day of school.
Camping with my students has become an activity near and dear to my heart.
We have become a family through our year together. Usually by May the students are getting excited about summer and we have wrapped up our big learning objectives. Kinder Camp is a way to culminate everything they have learned and seal our bond as a family. When I see my past students and they talk about their time in my class, camping is always the first thing they bring up.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Pembrook and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
