Summer Academic Enrichment Eligible Programs

Goals

The mission of Friends School of Minnesota Summer Camp program is to prepare children to embrace life, learning, and community with hope, skill, understanding, and creativity. We are committed to the Quaker values of peace, justice, simplicity, and integrity. Our summer teachers are skilled at seeing and understanding each student, and in sparking a lifelong love of learning by delving deeply into individual interests, questions, and curiosities within the core curriculum. Summer students coming with different academic needs and diverse backgrounds will find support, scaffolding in their learning, and most of all, a warm sense of community and belonging. They will try hard things at their growing edge, and be uplifted by the encouragement and support of friends. Academic curriculum within our Summer Program emerges from the natural world and the community and places in which our summer camp students live. Our summer program is dedicated to empowering future stewards of the natural world and leaders with integrity. Summer camp students can and will go on to change the world for the better through the core knowledge that they gain in our environmental and social education.

Activities

Preparation for Kindergarten: Explore nature, build cooperative skills, share stories, learn through questions, nurture friendships. Nature, Arts & the City: Each day, the history of a new city park, a visit to explore that park, creation of nature-inspired art projects. Saori Weaving: Learn the Japanese art of Saori weaving on traditional looms with yarn, thread, and other fibers. Insect Investigations: Collect, identify, and preserve insect specimens while learning about insect life history and ecology. Assemble a personal insect collection. Mock Trial: Develop speaking & oratory skills, researching and summarizing data, support and refute arguments, expressing ideas clearly and convincingly. Learn about our courts & trial procedures, get theatrical in role rehearsals, and present the case on the final day! Cardboard Creations: Campers will put their construction skills to the test in engineering buildings, forts, animals, puppets, masks, and more out of recycled cardboard! Chemistry Magic: The wildest and most outrageous chemistry experiments and all the science behind them. Dress to get messy! Creative Expression in Nature: Observational hikes, storytelling, singing, improv games, reflective journaling, and nature drawing give camp students confidence and fluency in expressing themselves creatively through writing, story, and drawing, and theater games. Stop Motion Photography: Create the set design, characters, write the script, and then create a short stop motion animation video to share by the final day. Animals & Their Habitats: Each day focuses on a new animal, its habitat, and its daily activities. Create masks and costumes, read stories, and explore nature for potential shelter and habitat. Share animal stories, make masks and costume elements, & creatively explore the world as potential habitat. Final day is a field trip to the Como Zoo! Creative Movement & Acting: Express thoughts and feelings through movement a acting. Group creation & pe

Program Dates

Four, week-long sessions with multiple offerings: 6/20/23 - 7/21/23

Can students reside on campus? No

Can students commute to campus? Yes

Can students take online classes? No