Lil' Baker Summer Day Camp

It's done!  After many hours of testing each recipe and being on the brink of giving up, I finally hunkered down and finished my Lil' Baker Summer Day Camp.  This camp is awesome.  Each recipe is tried and true.  I wanted recipes that anyone could do!  I went through a lot of recipes and at one point, I thought this project was out to get me...but then I had a break through.

Who is Lil' Summer Day Camp Made For?

Just about anyone!  I started doing my own summer day camps last summer and had a blast.  The best part was being able to do them with my kids.  There is something special about setting a time and place to make magic happen.  Lil' Summer Day Camp could be just that for your family.  I also kept those in mind that want to run their own day camps, but don't want to spend hours of planning to get an amazing and memorable camp experience.  Read more about starting your own day camp here.

What's Inside?

I included 5 days of lesson plans for you to create and explore baking with a science perspective.  Each camp day is allotted about 2 1/2 hours of time.  The recipes all fit with in that time frame, given that the kids don't get too crazy on you!

Here's a sampling of what recipes and science you'll get:

• Style your own apron and hat
• No-Bake Cookies
• The Science Behind Cookies
• Cake From Scratch
• Measurement Games
• Freezer Jam
• Homemade Butter
• How Yeast Works
• 90 Minute Bread

If you want to use the day camp as part of a real day camp setting, I included a super helpful estimation sheet to help you decide the cost of each day camper attending.  You can pick up a copy of Lil' Summer Day Camp for $10!  That's cheaper than taking your kids to the movies and this camp will build lasting memories too.  If you buy this for business, include the price of this into your day camp fee.

Rave Review from Lauren of Literacy Mom of 3, "Oh, my goodness, this packet is incredible!  You have included so many content areas into this plan with such fun activities."

Lil' Baker Summer Day Camp Curriculum

$10.00

A Peek Inside

I will share with you one of the fun activities that you get to do in this summer day camp.  Homemade Butter!  I asked my kids where butter came from and surprisingly, they actually knew cows were involved.  I was expecting them to just tell me, "the store".

The ingredients for butter are simple, heavy whipping cream and a little salt.  We used Ziploc containers that hold about 4 oz of cream.  Fill the container about 2/3 of the way full and drop in a clean marble.  Why a marble?  This helps as they are shaking the container to hear when to stop.

Snap the lid on and tell them to get shaking!  My kids were such wimps, after 5 minutes they were worn out. It takes about 25 minutes to make butter.  Check out the pics to see each little step of the process.  You'll love my technical terms!

Please share on your favorite social media outlet with others that liked this post as much as you!  I appreciate you coming by today.

3 of you  have a chance to win a copy of this summer day camp right now!  Starting today, leave me a comment (with your email address) on this blog post telling me your favorite kitchen memory as a kid.  I will pick a winner at random on Monday, June 10 2013 at 11:00 PM MST.  Winners will be notified by email and given 3 days to reply before another winner is chosen.

Using Foldables

Foldables are a fun and different way to shake things up during a tutoring session.  Today, I am going to do a quick overview of what I've been working on with my reading student this month.  We are using a foldable!  If you are unsure of what a foldable is, check out some of my blogger friends posts about them.  There are TONS of ways to use them.

Teaching in the Early Years 
Corkboard Connections
A Teachers Treasure

Here are a few topics that I think foldables go great with:

Phonics Lessons
Math Vocabulary
Test Prep
Science Vocabulary

Have you used foldables in a tutoring session before?  Tell me how it went!

Science Videos

Science videos are the best!  I've found some good ones, but you can also check out my Collaborative Pin Board for Kid Friendly Videos to see what other fun things people find.
Below is Bill Nye the Science Guy.  He's teaching about the Water Cycle. 

Science Hypothesis

Tutoring students in science when they are younger is rare, but there are several tutors out there that help older high school/college age students.  Finding engaging ways to get involved with hypothesis and doing experiments can be a daunting and frustrating experience for students.

First of all, we get these crazy notions that if our hypothesis at the end of the experiment doesn't prove to be true, somehow we did something wrong and need to go at it all over again.

Steve Spangler's blog is always full of great experiments and ideas for science.  This week I found an article about Science Fairs and hypothesis.  Check it out.  They do a great job over there.

CRASH!

CRASH! is one of the most wonderful tutoring games I have ever used.  The best part is that you can pull it out at a moments notice and write what ever you want on it too.  My younger students and even some of my older (middle school) students enjoy playing.  You can use it for any subject!

The great part about this game is that you can make as many cards as you need or as little as you need. Students will feel like their turn is longer too. It's just plain old fun and FREE!

To download, you'll need to visit my other blog's Teachers Notebook Shop or Teachers Pay Teachers by clicking here.

After you download and print the amount of cards you want, laminate them next.  This allows you to write on the surface of it and erase it later to use again and again.

To Play:
Decide which subject you would like your students to practice. IE: addition, subtraction, algebra, rhyming words, spelling words, etc.
Write on one side of the car what you decide in wet or dry erase markers. Spread the cars over a table or on the floor. The first player picks up a car and does the  problem. The same player continues in play until they get a car that says "CRASH!" on the back. The game ends when all cars have been played. The player with the most cars wins!

Static Electricity

Leslie at Science Gal has a wealth of information on science and research.  Check out her button in my sidebar!  This week she shared a video about static electricity. 
Static Electricity comes from atoms (everything is made of atoms) having an imbalance in their electrical charge.  These charges will build up on the surface until they find a way to be discharged.  Hence when you scoot your feet across the carpet (building a charge) and then touch your cat-ZAP!  The charge was discharged to your sweet kitty.
With your students get some balloons out, rub them on your hair or theirs.  Maybe scoot your feet on the carpet.  Use this as a segway to teach students about atoms and their electrical charges.  This video that was shared on Science Gal shows static electricity beautifully!
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In the Beginning...

Welcome to The Tutor House!

This is a brand spankin' new blog written by me, Adrianne Meldrum from Kidscogworks.com. I tutor students from elementary up to middle school. When ever I am tutoring, I find myself hunting the internet for tips and helps on teaching concepts to my students.

I find great stuff, but I wanted somewhere central that other tutors like me could find them. So here it is, I began The Tutor House.

My goal here at The Tutor House is to provide you with tips and minilessons for you and your students. This blog is mainly aimed at tutors, but can also be a wonderful place for homeschoolers and teachers needing a little bit of help teaching a concept they are unfamiliar with.

The blogging schedule for this blog will hopefull go as follows:

Monday: Brain Tower

Tuesday: Reading

Wednesday: Math

Thursday: Science

Friday: Test Prep

Saturday: Motivation Techniques

There also is a page where you can submit a tip for teaching any of those subjects. All you have to do is fill out the form and I will notify you by email when the post is going to go up. For example, if you have a catchy song or a clever way to teach integers...this would be a great place to share that tip.

As I hunt the internet and make connections with other great teachers, I will pass on the information! I also welcome guest bloggers. All you have to do is shoot me an email!

Thanks for coming by today! \