A Summer of Exploration with Galileo

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Galileo Camps.

Summer Break has come to an end for another year and that means it's time to...

...start planning ahead for next Summer Break! 

What? Already? Yes!

This Summer Break was pretty hectic for us but we made sure to squeeze in a couple of weeks of Summer camp among all of the moving madness and our trip back to Australia. Despite how busy we were, it was important to me that the kids have a little normalcy and something special just for them during all the change. Plus, it got them out of the apartment while I was busy packing. Ha! Everybody wins!

Anyway, one of our very favorite Summer camps is Galileo. Ava has been going for the past three years and has always had a fabulous time. This year Lola joined her big sister for her first ever Summer camp experience. They both had a blast and learned new skills at the same time. 

Galileo camps are structured in a way that maximizes both the fun and the learning opportunities for kids of all ages, from incoming kindergarteners through to eighth grade. The younger kids (Pre-K to 5th grade) take part in Camp Galileo, a traditional Summer camp with science, art and outdoor activities focused on a fun weekly theme. The older kids (5th to 8th grade) take part in Galileo Summer Quest, a specialized camp focusing on a single major based on varying interests including drones, YouTube production, robotics and, Ava's choice this year, cooking. Both camps foster creativity and team work while teaching the kids important skills and boosting their confidence. The camps look so fun I wish I could sign up for myself! Summer camp for adults... wouldn't that be great?

Let's take a look at Ava's week at camp first...

This year, Ava's major for Galileo Summer Quest was Chefology: Decadent Desserts. As you can imagine, she spent her week learning how to make deliciously sweet treats. Seriously, this was the best camp ever as she brought something home to share pretty much every day! She learned how to make sugar cookies with royal icing, sweet crepes, ice cream sundaes (made with home made ice cream and sauces) and delicious fruit pies. She also learned important skills such as how to read and write recipes, how to accurately measure ingredients and how to use various pieces of kitchen equipment. It did wonders for building her confidence in the kitchen. The kids worked in teams as well as on their own throughout the week and came together on the last day to make a delicious presentation for family members. We were treated to sugar cookies, crepes and pies, and I've got to say, they all tasted delicious.   

Lola's week at camp was based on the theme Expedition Everest. This theme was carried across all parts of her day at camp including her art and science classes. In art class Lola worked on creating a Nepalese style puppet from paper mache, fabric and various craft materials. She kept her puppet's identity a secret all week, so it was a nice surprise to meet "Mr Whiskers" her purple cat puppet on the last day of camp. Mr Whisker's arms move about and Lola was pretty excited to show me that he can even dab! A very important skill for any puppet! Along with her creative work during art class, Lola put her imagination to work in science class creating a mountain rescue robot prototype. With popsicle sticks, foam, plastic tubing, lots of hot glue and a syringe she created a walking rescue robot designed to scale the heights of Mount Everest to rescue trapped hikers.

Along with their set curriculum, both Ava and Lola took part in plenty of fun outdoor activities including fun games and plenty of free play time. There were daily spirit days (dress in your team color, Galileo spirit day etc) with the highlight being Water Day in which the kids took part in all sorts of fun activities that left them dripping from head to toe!

As I've already mentioned, the girls had a fantastic time at Galileo again this Summer. Ava's confidence in her cooking skills grew immensely and Lola became much more independent after her first week of Summer camp. Lola had been a little nervous about not knowing anyone in her group at first, but even after the first day I could see that her independence and confidence had grown, which is just what she needed with the move to a new school coming up.

At the end of their week at camp the girls both received certificates from their team leaders and a pin to attach to their name tag lanyard. Lola was pretty excited to come home with the Galileo rubber chicken pin (for first year campers) and Ava added another badge to her collection.

Galileo camps really are a special place for kids. The curriculum is fantastic, from both the parents' and kids' perspective, and the staff really are the best. The staff work hard to make all the kids feel welcome and to create a fun atmosphere while keeping everyone safe at the same time. They do such a great job, and I was happy to recognize plenty of faces among the camp leaders from previous years.

To learn more about Galileo camps and to find a camp near you head on over to https://galileo-camps.com/

Summer Camp Fun with Galileo

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Galileo Camps but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

It may be a grey and rainy day here in the Bay Area, but Summer is just around the corner.

And Summer means Summer camp!

For the past few years Ava has been attending Galileo Camps here in Berkeley and she has always had a blast. This year is no different and she can't wait.

This week the kids are on Spring Break and rather than travelling like we usually do we're staying home and having "Camp Mum". A week of hands-on craft and STEAM activities inspired by Galileo as well as a little exploring out and about. I'm keeping the kids' minds active and learning while we have fun together.

Today we took a fun activity from the Zoom, Fly, Bolt, Blast Steam Handbook from Galileo and made grabbers with simple materials. They were easy enough for the kids to make on their own and provided a ton of fun when done. 

Ready for Summer with Galileo Camps

Summer may seem pretty far away right now, especially for those of you in the colder parts of the country, but it's sneaking up on us and will be here before we know it. And that means the end of the school year and the start of long Summer break will be here before we know it. Time to start making plans for the Summer!

Growing up in Australia, Summer camp was only something I knew about from American movies and TV shows. I had no experience with it myself, but I always thought it looked absolutely magical!

Now that we're living in America, I love that my kids get to take part in things that I only ever saw on TV at their age. Trick or treating at Halloween, playing in the snow over Christmas, handing out Valentines to their classmates, and yes, Summer camp!

Last year Ava attended Camp Galileo for the first time and she had an absolute blast. At pick up on that very first day she was asking me to sign her up again for this year. Now that's a sure sign of a great camp!

Galileo offer a range of innovative camps for children from pre-K through to 8th grade. Their STEM focused camps teach kids to explore, create and make mistakes without fear, and I can tell you that Ava had so much fun with all of these aspects last year. She loved the medieval inspired projects that she worked on during her week at camp, and was so proud of the working catapult that she designed and made on her own, as well as her stain glass griffon (that still hangs in our living room window today). She brought home the skills she learned in making these projects and set about teaching both Lola and Mathilde - and even produced a stain glass DIY video to share on YouTube!

Ava not only learned new skills from her week at Camp Galileo, but also gained confidence. Confidence in herself and her own abilities. Confidence to try new ideas even if they might fail. Confidence to make new friends. That confidence that she came home with was so inspiring and I can't wait for it grow again this Summer.

That's the thing about Galileo. The camp curriculum sparks kids' imaginations and gets them excited to learn in creative ways. They focus on team work and build a camaraderie among the campers and staff through fun games, outdoor activities and spirit days. The staff are carefully selected and they're all great with kids, making the camp experience as fun as it should be.

Galileo offer two camp options for children of different ages. For kids Pre-K through 5th grade there's Camp Galileo, which Ava took part in last year. Kids work on art and science projects as well as outdoor activities. Through teamwork they create works of art such as spinning solar system mobiles and glowing neon signs, as well as engineering inventions like slingshot cars and rideable scooters. This year's camp will be organized around the following exciting themes:

• The Incredible Human Body – The Art and Science of Being Human
• Space Explorers – Cosmic Art and Astronaut Science
• Road Trip Adventure – Art and Engineering on Route 66
• Galileo Makers: Materials Challenge – Extraordinary Art and Inventions with Ordinary Supplies

For older kids, entering 5th grade through 8th grade, there's Galileo Summer Quest. Each week kids choose from 11 immersive majors for which they are mentored by expert instructors with professional tools and materials. Campers can produce YouTube videos, engineer robotic pets, create delicious confections and so much more. This year's Galileo Summer Quest majors include:

• 3-D Modeling & Printing
• Catapult Builders
• Chefology: Breakfast Club
• Chefology: Supreme Sweets
• Go-Kart Builders
• Mobile Game Design 
• Mod Design with Minecraft
• Mystery Room: The Great Escape
• Robot Pet
• Virtual Reality 
• YouTube Producers 

Ava is super excited to take part in, well... pretty much all of these! The Minecraft and Escape Room camps are definitely at the top of her list.

Now is the time to sign your kids up for Summer camp with Galileo! 

Click here to learn more, find a camp near you and sign up. Little Hiccups readers can save $30 on one week of Camp Galileo or Galileo Summer Quest with the code INNOVATE18. Simply enter the code at the checkout. Discount is redeemable for one week of Camp Galileo or Galileo Summer Quest per family only. One-time use. Combinable with our Refer-a-Friend and Multi-Session discounts. Not combinable with any other marketing discounts.

Are you ready for Summer? It will be here before we know it!

Ready for Summer with Galileo Camps

Summer is almost here! Can you believe it? Ava and Lola have just five weeks of school left before the Summer break and they couldn't be more excited. We have some pretty fun plans lined up for this Summer. We have friends and family from Australia coming to visit, a little bit of travel, and, the most exciting thing for the girls, Summer camp! 

Summer camp is still a relatively new thing to this Australian expat. To me, sending the kids off to Summer camp feels like we're taking part in an American institution; another thing, like Halloween and handing out Valentines at school, that growing up I only experienced through American television shows. Another box to check off in our list of embracing American culture.

Ready for Summer Exploring

     

On Friday I was reading the girls' weekly school newsletter and right there in the first paragraph was a sentence that really jumped out and caught my attention: "There are only six weeks of the school year left". Six weeks! Eek! I can't believe that the long Summer vacation is almost upon us again.

With the realization that Summer is almost here I really got thinking about our plans for the break. Ava will be attending a Summer camp for two weeks for the first time ever (I'm just as excited about it as she is!) but apart from that we have absolutely no plans. The thought of all three kids home, all Summer with no plans kind of freaked me out a little, so I started thinking about activities that we can do to keep ourselves busy. We're sure to be doing lots of crafting at home, but with limited space in our apartment, and the lovely Summer weather, I like to take the girls out as much as possible over Summer.

We're really lucky here in the Bay Area that we have access to both stunning urban and natural environments. We'll most likely spend plenty of time hanging out in San Francisco visiting museums, galleries, cafes, playgrounds and amazing outdoor spaces along the waterfront. But you can guarantee that most of our time will be spent getting in touch with nature here in the East Bay where we have a wealth of parks filled with all sorts of natural wonders to explore. We sure do love to explore!