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June 22, 2015

Differentiation Guide: Taste of Doodleville

*Please note* This blog is intended for campers (ages 3+) but toddler teachers may find some ideas easy to adapt. Toddler teachers are also encouraged to review the toddler-specific differentiation ideas found in the curriculum notes.

“Taste of Doodleville” provides campers the opportunity to experiment with mathematical and scientific concepts.  Utilize the differentiation activities below to maintain student interest and excitement throughout the week.

Here are a few ideas to help you make this week’s camp experiences more appealing to your campers.

• Your school age campers may enjoy a game called ‘Minecraft’. This is a video game where players build their own world. Combine ‘Minecraft’ and “Taste of Doodleville” as you build marshmallow Minecraft worlds! Provide marshmallows of various sizes, and paint. Encourage campers to use toothpicks or craft sticks to paint the marshmallows and then stick them together to build a Minecraft world of their own!
• For younger SA campers, consider playing a game of catch the ice cream! More information on how to create and play this game can be found
• For all campers, try spaghetti painting! Grab a handful of spaghetti and only cook the bottom half of the bunch. Then, wrap the uncooked part of the spaghetti together with yarn. Bring your spaghetti brushes to the outside easel and paint away!

Don’t forget to also:

• Utilize this week’s club options! There are many appropriate and exciting activities for campers at your fingertips.
• Keep adding pictures and experiences to your Summer Camp scrap book! Parents will enjoy pictures of campers cooking, eating, and playing!

Additional Options for Differentiating and Extending “Taste of Doodleville”

• Campers will enjoy collaborating to make a pizza that they will enjoy eating during lunchtime! However, once the pizza goes off to the kitchen children will miss how dough rises to turn to bread. Differentiate this activity for children who desire to know “how” and “why” dough turns to bread by conducting this simple experiment. Mix one tablespoon of sugar into one cup warm water. Add one package of yeast to the mixture. Take a before and after pictures and make observations about what happens after a few minutes!

• Serving up noodles is a Sensory experience that campers are sure to remember! Differentiate this activity for children who may need a gross motor option by turning this activity into a relay race. Take students outside with plates and cooked noodles. Students will need to use tongs to pick up the spaghetti, put it on their plate, and carry the plate to the other side of the playground to fill a bucket!

• Some campers may be hesitant to smell, taste, or touch particular kinds of food. Differentiate food experiences based on the like and dislikes of your campers. With teacher supervision, follow this link to a list of child friendly recipes. Show campers a list of ingredients that you have readily on hand and remind them that they can only make food that uses the ingredients that you have. Write their chosen recipe on a note card and then work together to create their choice!

• The center wide Bake Sale provides opportunities for differentiation of roles based on the interests and strengths of your campers. Crafty campers may enjoy creating decorations to give your bake sale a special touch. Math minded campers can be responsible for counting inventory, assigning prices, and tracking sales. Campers who especially enjoy mixing, measuring, and making can lead the way in creating the goods for your bake sales. There is something for everybody!

• Extend literacy options- for example “Little Pea” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Examples of literacy extension in action can be found Other books that would easily extend to classroom experiences may be “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle and “I Will Never Not EVER Eat a Tomato” by Lauren Child. Read alouds for each of these options can be found on youtube if a book is not available for use.

• LEAP teachers can extend this theme using abcmouse.com in small groups or pairs. There are a lot of choices for puzzles and games related to food available for your use!

 

• Extend your “Taste of Doodleville Theme” by leading all campers to create a recipe book to bring home and share with their parents. Creating family connections and bonds is just one more way to make food preparation meaningful and memorable.