July 5, 2022
Nannie and Popi were away most of May and part of June and they were SO excited to get back and start hanging out with Martha and Oliver! However… they both tested posi/tive for Covid their first morning back and had to wait TWO more weeks to get all better. Finally, though, they tested NEGATIVE and Nannie Camp could begin!! (It’s really Nannie and Papi camp but Nannie Camp is easier to say and has a nice ring to it!)
Before it got too hot we thought we’d start with some gardening. The first order of business was Bagworm Patrol, then geranium care and yew-pruning. Oliver hadn’t done geranium care for a whole year so Nannie asked him if he remember the three steps. The first one was easy (check for evidence of caterpillars – little black spots under the buds). Oliver thought for a minute and came up with the second one, too – pruning/deadheading (removing brown leaves and dried up flowers). Then he thought some more and remembered the third step – watering!
Martha’s gardening project was pruning the yews and when she had a nice big pile she decided to try making something with the trimmings… a broom! She scouted around for a stick for the handle and found some branches that Papi was getting ready to deal with (a BIG maple branch had broken off a tree in a windstorm). She got the pruning shears and cut a piece off, then asked Nannie for some string and started tying the branches together.
When it was time to go to Grandma’s for sewing time, Martha decided to take the broom to Papa and Grandma and give it to them.
Nannie LOVES children’s art of any kind so we’ll do a little bit of something creative every day. Today we just experimented with color scribbles and Martha created some ‘hair art’! Every time Oliver visits Nannie and Popi’s house he builds a block sculpture and today was no exception.
Khan Academy
Nannie has known about Khan Academy since about 2010, when she started using this amazing online learning resource in her tutoring program and summer programs with middle schoolers, but hasn’t used it or looked at it in years. She was amazed and thrilled to discover that there is now a fantastic Khan Academy Kids App AND that they had put together a terrific summer camp for July and August! It started on July 4th and each week is self-contained… perfect!
Martha also said she wanted to get better at typing so we signed up for Typing.com, too. And since our family happens to think reading the Bible is a good thing we decided to listen to the Sermon on the Mount every day while we do a simple art project. We’re using the YouVersion app to listen.
AND we love listening to books and stories and poetry, so as we drive back and forth or as we go on bagworm patrol or do projects, we take a battery-powered speaker outside with us and turn on something from our Audible library.
Hither and Yon 