interest.summer.activity

don't you just love fresh guacamole? i used to make it all of the time and truthfully i got burnt out. summer seems to be around the corner though. at least it is in the air today and maybe the good old guac could make a come back. it is this afternoon at least, my lunch served up amigo style. i was watching a slice of television before bed and the truelove, and caught up with a couple of ideas. i have long abandoned no waste wednesday but thought i would sorta bring it back today. inspired or not. really cool summer activity for your small children. start setting aside a couple dollars each week, save up a little to send your little tikes out into the world of camp!!!

1. Circus Camp: this looks really awesome you guys!!! if i had a kid or two i'd have to send them to barking legs theatre for a week in july just so that they'd have this opportunity and the ability to thrive outside of the daily routine. by the end of the week your child has been lifted into a new world where art and music and performance becomes their life. by the end they've got a circus to perform and you get to watch!!! your little guy only has to be four years old and it's for a short time each day, 8:30am-12:30pm {snacktime included}. the day is split into four sections: visual art {planning, designing, creating the set for the circus}; music {writing music and song, developing the instruments, and playing instruments for the circus}, performance {learn about stage presense, acting, behavior, how, where, when to come onto stage, write circus script}, and finally movement {learn how to dance, act like, be the animals in the circus}.

doesn't it sound so...well go check it out and starting saving the moolah!!!

2. Chattanooga Zoo Camp: unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of info on the website yet for this yearly upcoming event. they promise to update soon. i think if your kid is into animals and says that he/she wants to be an animal or a vet than this would be a place for them to go and see, play, and do. i remember when i was a senior in highschool i volunteered at the zoo as a "friend of the zoo." for an entire semester i went and cut up all kinds of food and proceeded to feed all of the animals, even the tigers. the zoo then, wasn't what it is today and i'd definitely go to the zoo and see if it is an environment you'd want your kid to be in but this sounds pretty neat! let me know if you have got more info or if your kid has ever been...i'm interesed.

3. Chattanooga Nature Center Camp(s): the CNC has a whole lot to offer all year round, but especially in the summer for your kids!!! i personally was involved with the CNC camps many years ago when they were first getting started and the camps were so much fun, kids and parents loved it alike. it is a little different these days, more organized, more age specific and of course the nature center continues to strive in growing little people's minds. when my brother was a young kid he was able to volunteer as a junior camp counselor, he was actually their very first counselor in training. and was the little boy so eager to be outside and in the nature that they actually began a CIT program. this is really perfect for your older children's needs. how cool, how adventurous is that?

anyway. it's not a crafty post today but hopefully one that will help and give you some summer activity ideas. i'd also like to suggest that if you are short on the fundage you should offer to volunteer at one of these camps for a discount rate or maybe you and all your mommie friends should start a summer camp of your own. a co-op camp or something. learn to teach your children about the grassroot efforts and opportunities in our little community.

^above: the poison tree my most "interesting" photo, according to flickr. what is the most interesting photo you think you've ever taken? i mean really, it has got to be more interesting than my poison tree.

i have so much to post today: a specific discussion i had with my mom last night, one of those great thought provoking conversations, that i'll have to post about tomorrow or something. have a good day and stay interested in what you and your family are doing!!!