Fives Choice Class Season Overview
Please note: below you will find 2024 choice classes; 2025 classes will be published in the Spring
Choice Classes meet Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for an hour. Full Day Fives select one class from Block A, B and C.
| Session 1: June 24th- July 5th | ||
| Block A: Mat Games Sign Squad Over and Under the Rainbow | Block B: Paper Palooza Soccer Beginners Slime Time | Block C: Sensory Exploration Coloring Outside the Lines Clowning Around |
| Session 2: July 8th- July 19th | ||
| Block A: Finders Makers Painting Without the Brush Circus Circus Fives Cafe | Block B: Gaga and Other Games Wildlife Heroes Mix, Blend, Create Dance Into Joy | Block C: Tag Games Nature's Workshop Shape Makers Jungle Adventure |
| Session 3: July 22nd- August 2nd | ||
| Block A: Super Soccer Little Red Post Office Costume Bonanza | Block B: Pizza Shop Potion Party Backyard Team Games Creative Dance | Block C: Sensory Sensations Everybody Dance Now Have You Met My Monster? |
Session 1
Block A: 10:30-11:30
Mat Games (James Miner) – Kick your shoes off and let’s have some fun! This class is designed for the campers to have freedom of adventurous movement while in the context of group games. What’s your mode of transportation? Rolling, slithering, slothing? We’ll play a variety of games from Fishy Fishy and Duck Duck Goose to Rollie Pollie. How we move is up to you!
Sign Squad (Christine Elmo) – In this art class campers will learn about signs – why we need them, what they look like and which signs get our attention. Then we will use various materials to make our own fun, informative, helpful signs to be posted around camp. Kids will create the messages and designs for their signs and then decide together where they would be most helpful around the camp community.
Over and Under the Rainbow (Tara McLoughlin) – In this class we will learn how to sew using yarn and simple stitches to create our very rainbow inspired works of art. Kids will finish the session with beautiful rainbow creations to bring home!
Session 1
Block B: 1:30-2:30
Soccer Beginners (John Henry Katinas) – In this class campers will practice a variety of engaging drills and games designed to improve soccer skills – from dribbling and passing to shooting and defending. Along with the physical activity we will emphasize teamwork and being a good sport. Let’s GOOOO!
Paper Palooza (Christine Elmo) – Have you ever wondered how paper is made or thought about making your own? Do you enjoy sensory experiences and art? Well then this class is for you! Campers will make their own paper using water, pulp, and silk screens. Additional materials will be collected and added to the pulp mixture creating textured paper. In the second week of class, children will collaborate to artwork from the pulp-mixture to put on display in camp for all campers to look see and enjoy.
Slime Time (Andrea Messaoud) – Welcome to the lab, the slime lab that is! In this choice class campers will create all kinds of slime. Fluffy slime, sticky slime, bubbly slime, smelly slime, glittery slime, ice slime, any kind of slime you would like! At the end of the camp session we will invite everyone in the camp community to come to our outdoor lab on the roof and get slimed! So bring all your slimy ideas and get ready for an ooey gooey session!
Session 1
Block C: 2:30-3:30
Sensory Exploration (Inga Manticas) – Play and explore with clay, paint, slime, and glitter! We’ll explore finger-painting, model magic creations, basic print-making with bubble wrap and sponges, and more. Activities will allow students to experiment with the sensory qualities of various art materials, enjoy different colors and textures, and practice some basic motor skills required for art-making.
Coloring Outside the Lines (Dana Riebe) – In this open-ended class, campers will be encouraged to “break the rules” with their artwork. Using both “The Beautiful Oops”, and the works of various mixed media and recycled material artists as foundational material, campers will explore sides of their artistry that they may not have seen before!
Clowning Around with Mimes (Andy Hunter) – Come one, come all, to “Clowning Around with Mimes” where we will astound audiences with our silly tricks, invisible walls, and bouncy red noses! Join us as we become cooky clowns and magical mimes. You will learn how to spin plates, juggle, and lift impossibly heavy things like invisible cars!
Session 2
Block A: 10:30-11:30
Finders Makers (Christine Elmo) – Each class we will go on a short neighborhood walk to a community garden. Campers will bring baskets to collect the nature we find (i.e. fallen leaves, flower petals, acorns, stones etc). Children will use their gathered materials to create artwork both individually and as a group. We will use our found nature in the artwork itself and as tools – like as paintbrushes or stamps. This class will be a chance for kids to practice observation, collaboration, fine and gross motor skills all while having a great time!
Painting Without the Brush (Jordan Segal) – In this class, campers will paint beautiful works of art. The only catch is – we will not be using paint brushes! Campers will experiment with various tools and materials to see what works best for their paintings. From feathers to pipe cleaners, campers will get as creative as their hearts desire. On the last class of the session, their unique works will be on display in our very own make-shift gallery so we can see all of the artwork together and admire each other’s creations!
Circus, Circus (Nora Woolley) – Ever wonder what it would be like to join the circus? Think of how many roles you could play! Everyone will have a chance to perform an incredible acrobatic act, invent a magic trick, discover their clown within, try on their ringleader hat, and even take turns training a lion! The final class will conclude with a spectacular circus performance extravaganza…plus popcorn for our friends!
Fives Cafe (Hayden Murphy) – Welcome to Fives Cafe: A choice class for kids who likes to cook and bake. We will learn the basics of cooking, follow recipes, and have fun tasting our own creations. Then, we will work together to design our very own cafe complete with chefs, waiters, menus and decor. Campers will get the opportunity to practice collaboration, completing projects with multiple steps, and to using their culinary imagination.
Session 2
Block B: 1:30-2:30
Gaga and Other Games (John Henry Katinas) – Let’s play ball!! In this fun, physical ball games class, we will play Gaga, an LREI favorite, and a wide variety of other ball games. Campers will have a safe and fun environment to build team work and coordination skills, while having a great time!
Wildlife Heroes (Sara Janoff) – In Wildlife Heroes, children will learn real-life wildlife rescue techniques in a dramatic play setting. Using plush toys and other props, we will run a wildlife rehabilitation center throughout camp, answering calls of animals that need help and going on adventures to rescue them. We will help to nurse our hurt and sick animals back to health, then release them back into the wild! This class will build our skills of teamwork, our sense of responsibility, and let us explore ways to care for the wildlife we share our world with.
Mix, Blend, Create (Christine Elmo) – Let’s mix it up! In this sensory/art/cooking class our focus will be on mixing materials to create something new. Projects will include bubbles, paint, jello, lemonade, cookies, and more! Campers with then share, use, play with, and eat the things they have made!
Dance Into Joy (Lulu Grant) – The class is about learning and making different celebratory dances. Class will start with a warm up and some basic technique. Then, campers will work together to create dances about joy and celebration dances for any type of occasion. By the end the children will have two dances they can share with the camp community.
Session 2
Block C: 2:30-3:30
Tag Games! (Denzel Johnson) – Get active and have fun in Tag Games!! Campers will enjoy chasing one another in old classics such as All-Is-It and Fishy-Fishy, and Ship Shore. Tag Games will provide a perfect space for active kids to move their bodies while also giving children a space to stretch their creativity and create their own Tag Games.
Nature’s Workshop (Klarizze Posadas) – In this art and science class, campers will explore their artistic skills using nature as one of their featured materials. The class will watch a seed sprout and see the early stages of life with their own seed viewer. We will make rainbow flower bouquets, leaf and flower prints, and create our own “plant people” as they prepare for the culminating project – a living diorama! Campers will work on their investigating skills, making predictions, and collaboration as they create beautiful works of nature-inspired art.
Shape Makers (Christine Elmo) – In this multidisciplinary art class, curious campers will explore the possibilities of three basic but powerful shapes: circle, square and triangle. Art projects will include stamping, painting, and sewing shapes. Campers will even play shape games and make shapes with their bodies. Let’s see what we can make with shapes!
Session 3
Block A: 10:30-11:30
Super Soccer! (Denzel Johnson) – GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL! In this soccer class, we will practice passing, shooting, and blocking, while learning about the different positions and even working on some game strategy. Sportsmanship and teamwork will be encouraged when we take the “field” in friendly competition.
Little Red Post Office (Christine Elmo) – In Little Red Post Office campers will create their own camp postal system! We will create letters, post cards and stamps and deliver the mail to camp friends, and anyone else we want! This class will focus on creativity, community, and fun!
Costume Bonanza (Klarizze Posadas) – Costume Bonanza will focus on our creativity and innovation in creating costumes and playing dress-up. We will get in touch with our creative side and have fun using construction paper, recycled fabric, and reusable arts and crafts materials. We will try to recreate our characters, their costumes, or simply create our own interpretation of our the many fictional characters that we adore. Each costume made will be shared among the class and as a culminating event, we will use our favorite costumes and have a parade extravaganza around the community on our last day.
Session 3
Block B: 1:30-2:30
Pizza Shop (Clara Campos) – In this dramatic play/construction art class we will use our imaginations, pizza shop knowledge, and plenty of art materials to design and create our very own pizza shop! We will construct a pizza oven, cash register, menus, and of course paper pizzas with all the toppings. On the last day of the session we will have our Grand Opening and invite other camp groups to come be our customers.
Creative Dance (Christine Elmo) – We will explore the basic elements of dance in exciting and engaging ways. Fun warm-up stretches and songs will be followed by dance games and activities that will awaken our physical potential for movement.
Potion Party (Sara Janoff) – In this class, campers will ignite their sense of magic and wonder by working in a potion shop! Using a variety of materials, we will create different potions. Can we make ones that fizz? Bubble? Glitter? Glow?! Campers will learn scientific properties of different liquids, color mixing, volume, floating and sinking, while planning and conducting experiments and having an engaging sensory experience!
Backyard Team Games (John Henry Katinas) – Using the gym and our neighboring park on Houston, campers will get to play a variety of playground classics! Each class will feature multiple physical activities for kids to participate in while building their teamwork skills. We’ll play tag games, tumbling activities on the gym mats, ball games, and even have campers come up with their own games!
Session 3
Block C: 2:30-3:30
Sensory Sensations (Sylvia Jane Sackheim) – Campers will explore different sensory materials. We will discover different textures, and will explore by using our hands to feel them! On our final class, we will make a sensory collage that we can take home to share what we have discovered with our grownups!
Everybody Dance Now (Mary Matheson) – As Whitney Houston says – “I wanna dance with somebody!” In this fun dance/movement class, campers will explore many forms of dance. Each day, we will read a story that inspires us to move, listen to music, and most importantly get down and boogie. By the end of the session, campers will have a dance to perform, have some new dance moves, and friends to dance with. Let’s get moving!
Have You Met My Monster? (Hayden Murphy) – Uh-oh, there’s a monster at the end of this book! Is it nice? Is it scary? Does it have 4 eyes and 5 legs? This class is for kids who love monsters. We will begin every class with a book about a monster to get some inspiration and then, we will have work time to design and build our very own monsters to take home with us!