Mystery Themed Camp: Craft Time

This year's Summer Short Course at our school choose a Mystery theme, which included activities such as Host a Murder Mystery, a Forensic Science class,  and playing games like "Clue." Snacks included Jell-O cups, and students had to figure out the flavor because it didn't match the color. 

For Art class, we screen printed Camp T-shirts with the picture of an eye in the middle of a magnifying glass. I loved this image not only because it goes along with the idea of being a detective but also because all of the students have visual impairments and are no strangers to magnification devices.

We only had three days together, so for the two day project we did basket weaving. This allowed a discussion about how looking for and understanding patterns can help solve crimes. In a series of crimes, what is the common thread? Are they all committed in the same part of the city? Are they committed at the same time of day? Are the victims a similar age, sex, or race? Do they know each other? Maybe they're all members of a club or students at the same school? We discussed several scenarios in which finding patterns would be helpful in cracking a case. Then we discussed the pattern used when weaving a basket. It was a little bit of stretch for a crime solving theme, but everyone enjoyed it, and they had something nice to take home after two days of weaving.

 

Sports Themed Camp for the Blind

I had such a blast at last week's summer course!  Blind and low vision teenagers from around state of Georgia came together to play beep kick ball on a wheel chair accessible ball field, go bowling and  attend a baseball game! They spent a morning to do virtual fishing and hunting. Students took a tour of the Sports Hall of Fame, went swimming, and learned yoga. They rode a mechanical bull, played goal ball (similar to indoor soccer but with three blindfolded teammates on a gym court) and attended a tennis clinic with soft, bouncy, jingly tennis balls.

Part of my responsibilities for this program included doing art projects.  One day they screen printed their own camp t-shirt, using a silk screen I had photo-mechanically processed with a design my husband did in Adobe Illustrator based on my drawing.

The next day, students created their original designs, which were cut out of paper for stencils to screen print on their tote bags.

And finally they chose colors and designs to represent their own team before making into felt penants (not pictured).  

I also made a sports themed photo booth to help capture the moment and save happy memories.

By the end of the week they were all worn out but hopefully feeling more fit, more confident, and more independent than they were a week  earlier. Yay for camp!