Summer Joys

I've been realizing this week how truly blessed I am to have such a wonderful job this summer. Somehow, it's just different than last year (even though I was at the same place). I love being the program director for a summer day camp, the responsibility of being guardian of so many youngsters, and the challenge of creating a program diverse enough to feed the hearts and minds of such a wide range of kids!

Just had to share some pictures with you. Wouldn't days like this make you smile, too?

During "Animal Safari Week," the kids had fun learning about different animals and the places they live. We did face paint on the kids to help them dress up as their favorite animal. I loved their creativity!

Here's a picture of a few of our animals:

(a mouse with cheese, two cats, a dolphin, a cheetah, and a zebra)

I'm the only person I know with access to a genuine cheesehead hat! (thanks to my handsome Greenbay Packer's fan)


Speaking of whom, Jesse had to get in on the fun too! He used his imagination and dressed up as a bluejay (with the help of some blue hair gel!)



Pretty much, this is one of my favorite pictures ever. Eddie decided to dress up as Cat in the Hat for his animal, and Savannah's in her full fledged cheetah costume!



During "Ocean Exploration Week," we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Savannah and Austin were the only two who wanted to pose with the shark...



Some of our kids watching a diver feed the sharks in the tank



Possibly my favorite things about the ride home on field trip days:



Engrossed readers during our daily reading time after lunch:



Working on the mural for this week's theme:



Each of them added their own dinosaur to the mural. I was impressed with the amount of research even the youngest ones did to make their drawings as accurate as possible (and then of course, we got some unicorns, too...)



Lizeth and Carissa playing happily during free time:



Every Tuesday, we make a trip the the Glendora Library to participate in their summer reading program, and enjoy the educational programs they put on for children every Tuesday afternoon. We've seen puppet shows, wild animal presentations, and all sorts of great things. This week was a man who played the guitar and sang. The kids loved him!



It truly is an adventure. And I love it!

**Funny
sidenote...in his sermon on Sunday, Pastor used a story about a family who lost their 4 year old at an aquarium. In the margin of my bulletin, I wrote to Jesse, "And I took TWELVE kids to the aquarium last week and didn't lose ONE!"

He quickly wrote back, "that doesn't mean you get to have twelve kids."

Hahaha! I've talked him up to 3 or 4 kids, and that's probably as far as I'll get :)