From st mobils sewing

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Still Room to Join Us for Camp

Drop-ins welcome

   Register Now for July & August

This parent/child class is a sweet mixture of laid back preschool, a visit to grandma’s house and an outdoor adventure.  This is a place for kids to explore and create with paint, glue, play dough and all sorts of art supplies, have fun with real cooking, listen to stories and play with friends.  At camp parents (grownups) will have just as much fun as the kids and there’s no clean up when you’re finished playing.   This will be primarily an outdoor experience.  We’ll start each class with an informal circle time on the lawn including parachute play, a few songs and maybe a story and a little yoga.  Then everyone is free to explore and do the projects which will be set up for the kids to do with their grown up at their own pace. Bring a lunch and we’ll all gather together on the lawn for a picnic and a closing story.  Come join the fun!

Mark your calendars and reserve a spot.  Camp this summer will be Tuesdays, 

  July 6^th-27^th, August 3^rd-24^th and Wednesdays, July 7^th-28^th, Aug 4^th-25^th. 

Camp will be 10am-12noon,

 $80 for a 4week session (drop-in $25)

sibling discount , babies no charge

 Some of the things we’ll be doing this summer include making cute little gnomes from branches,  BIG  painting, back by popular demand-Goopy Soup!, stick picture frames, father’s day portraits, we’ll make a fairy door, there will be cooking and sewing and yoga and gardening….the fun never ends!  As always I’ll have projects the grown- ups will enjoy too

Feel Free to call or email with questions

528.6208       gail@smilingtreegail.con

 Register Now — Please send your check to hold a spot

From smaller albumn favs

Summer at Smiling Tree Farm
 

From st June 2010 kites

It was hot today and everyone seemed to be happy hanging out under the oak trees crafting.  We made a simple little kite  (which really works) and a colorful windsock.  Both crafts were very simple with lots of wiggle room.  With both the kite and the windsock we started by decorating the paper we used to make our craft.  I had stickers and stamps, felt pens and colored pencils.  Some of the kids were finished in an instant, others sat down and meticulously placed stickers side by side in a planned pattern.  We also had play dough out.  The kids seemed to really enjoy working with the playdough too.  Today was an example of how kids like to revisit the familiar.  Paper, felt pens, stickers, stamps, playdough, rolling pins, water play, hanging laundry….these are all things all these kids are familiar with.  This hot day was the perfect time to hang out in the shade and work with familiar materials in a comfortable way.

It was so hot that we didn’t eat our lunch out on the front lawn as we usually do.  It seemed cooler in the craft area so I spread the blankets out on the gravel in the shade.  As everyone ate lunch I read some poetry…..it was a very sweet moment.

From Gnomes

 We had an invasion of gnomes at camp this week.  I had fun cutting branches from my oak and pine trees to create “starters” for the kids and grown ups to transform into gnomes.  I drew faces on some of the sticks and left the rest blank.  Most of the kids chose the blank sticks to create their own interpretation of the project.  We were making gnomes; you know, beards and pointy hats.  Oh no, that’s not the whole story.  Many of the kids wanted clothes, shirts and dresses, some with beards and dresses some with no beards.  Everyone loved this project.  This was something I found online at That Artist Woman.  I’ve used lots of her ideas.  Take a peek it’s a great website.

From st paradchute gnomes

Wonder,respite,enjoy one another, these are the words I love to hear people say about their time at camp.  Thank you Anna for your kind words.

Smiling Tree Camp has been featured on the Sono-Ma website again and I’m very excited.  Sometimes it takes hearing it from other people to know whether what you’re doing is right or not.  Holly, “the” Sono-Ma has described Smiling Tree Summer Camp in a way I never could and in a way I hope everyone who comes to camp agrees with.  If you’ve got the time please take a minute to visit her site and make a comment on the  article about my camp.  While you’re there look around and find some of the cool things she has to share.  The article about Smiling Tree is in the “Live Local” section, in the “Earth Centered” section of the website there is a story (with tutorial) about a mom who built a play kitchen for her child out of an old entertainment center she bought on Craig’s list for $20……….it’s adorable!!  There is also a local pediatrician, Mark Sloan who writes a regular column.  Dr Sloan’s article about pesticides and ADHD is in the body and soul section of the site.  By the way, I have an ad on the home page.  There’s lots to see in this new website and I’m proud to be featured there.