Introducing Sprout Scouts Playcamp!

School is nearly out and summer days are shining just around the corner. For some that means counting down the hours, minutes, milliseconds... and for others, there is a bit of angst as we wonder how to fill and structure the time at home with children. Whether you're looking to fill the whole day or supplement hours at home after camp programs, our summer Sprout Scouts Playcamp is a resource I am excited to create and share with friends and family near and far. Today I will introduce our outlined themes for the summer ahead. In the days and weeks to come I will post on play activities related to each theme. Each theme will include art activities, sensory play ideas, dramatic play, science, cooking, building activities, book suggestion, family field trip ideas and more! Some will be great for indoors and others best suited for outside. Most activities will be mainly geared toward ages 0-7, however, many can be adapted and modified to work with your own family structure.

Sprout Scouts Playcamp is designed to take some of the stress and planning out of the summer ahead. I happen to love planning (sometimes that's even helpful), but I also know that especially in the summer months, things do not always go as planned. I, for instance, have been summonsed to jury duty for two weeks in June! In our southern summer heat, there's plenty to sweat over--don't let planning family fun be one of those things. Our play themes and activities are designed to be U-pick style with none of the backbreaking, bug-biting, blueberry bucket filling labor of visiting your local farm (although that is on my personal Summer Bucket List). You can use what you have, choose what you do, and decide how much and how often.

Our playcamp themes this summer will include:

Digging in the Dirt: Every great sprout starts with great soil! Explore dirt, mud, worms and composting with activities that will get you digging, playing, cooking and creating.. and maybe a little bit dirty!

Rock-It Science: Explore the fascinating world of rocks today and long, long ago. From the tiniest grain of sand all the way to the biggest boulder, we're going to play all about rocks and stones and dinosaur bones!

Creepy Crawlers: Bugs, insects and butterflies, oh my! We will be repeating our summer tradition of growing our own butterflies and learning about the wonderful winged (and non-winged) creatures that creep and crawl in our backyard and beyond.

Grow Your Own Green Thumb: Whether you have a huge backyard garden or only a single pot, some soil and a seed, we've got you covered. Explore vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruits and trees and even some fun ways to help care for and protect the environment as a family. Savor the flavors of the season as you try some of summer's bountiful harvest. If you've always steered clear from beets until now, they just might grow on you...

Art & Artists in the Garden: Got a budding artist growing in your home? Gain some inspiration and encouragement as we explore some of the greats who were greatly inspired by nature. Don't forget your paintbrush!

Down on the Farm: Whether you live near a farm, have access to a local farmers' market or simply dream of raising urban chickens, this will surely be a family favorite. Explore the world of farms and farm animals wherever you live!

Water, Water, Everywhere! You'll be splashing up a storm as we explore rain, pond life and water play in many forms. Warning: you may get wet!

Wind, Wind-chimes and Sounds of Summer: Sometimes the weather really blows and when it does, we make our own wind-chimes, windsocks, pinwheels and other ways to explore the miraculous melodies of summer...

Sun & the Solar System: Summer sun makes us reach for the sunscreen, but what else does can the sun do? We might as well blast off to outer space and discover more! Astronauts in training of all ages are welcome; they will be home before dinner.

A Camping We Will Go: It's time to pitch your tent, whether you're headed to an actual campsite, your own backyard or no further than your living room... Grab a stick and a marshmallow and a camping we will go!

Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Long before Twitter made tweeting popular, backyard birds have been gracing locations worldwide with their sweet melodies, colorful feathers and other unique characteristics. Come get a bird's eye view on some feathery fun and check out your own backyard birds!

Stay tuned in the days to come for more information on each topic. You can also join our Sprout Scouts Playcamp page on Facebook. Summer is coming and the days are sure to be long ones, but we will be happily playing and earning ourselves some scout badges in our Sprout Scouts Playcamp! Hope to see you [virtually] there and in the meantime, feel free to revisit some of my previous Summer Survival Tips...

Happy Playing!