Build Their STEAM Skills and Life Skills at Galileo Camps
Disclosure: This post is written in partnership with Galileo Camps. All opinions are my own.
Although I really like the fact that summer means our family schedule is a little more relaxed, I firmly believe that summer is also prime-time for learning. Recently, k and n had the opportunity to attend Galileo Camp’s week-long Summer Quest program. This program is geared for 5th-8th graders, and offers various “majors”:
- 3D Modeling & Printing
- Chefology
- DIY Hoodie
- Drone Innovators
- Go-Kart Builders
The kids were excited to participate in the Go-Kart major. D and I are not the “handy” type, so this is not something we would attempt to do at home! I remember taking woodshop in middle school, but those types of classes are not offered at the kids’ school anymore.
The Galileo Summer Quest program we enrolled in was Monday-Friday, from 9-3 (extended daycare available) at a local elementary school. During our initial check-in, I could tell that this was a well-organized program. n was feeling a little nervous, but the enthusiasm and friendliness of the counselors was infectious! The counselors held entertaining opening and closing ceremonies and organized fun activities such as Water Day for the campers throughout the week.
All of Galileo’s Summer Quest programs focus around STEAM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math). For the Go-Kart session, they give the kids a basic design, but encourage them to customize their Go-Kart according to their individual preferences. Some of the fun features that can be added include working doors, foot brakes and license plates.
The kids learn how to use a handsaw, screwdriver, and power tools. They are taught the importance of accurate measuring and how to assemble the kart’s wheels and axles, steering column, hood and seat.
It was such a satisfying experience for the kids to see their project come together. They started out with some wood and screws and ended the week with a fully functioning Go-Kart. They learned how to collaborate and help each other out. They experienced set-backs and learned how to ask for help and keep moving forward. They also experienced first-hand how tiring this type of physical labor is. This type of hands-on learning really provides some invaluable lessons, not only for building, but for life!
The t-shirts the kids received at camp nicely summarize the character qualities that Galileo Summer Quest tries to instill: “Visionary & Courageous & Collaborative & Determined & Reflective”.
If you are looking for an educational camp experience that your children will not forget, I would recommend looking into Galileo Camps. Galileo Camps have been around since 2002 and are designed for kids pre-K through 8th grade. Check out the programs Galileo offers near you.
Wise Words for Parents of Teens #ParentingPlaylist
Disclosure: I received compensation in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
My daughter is now twelve years old, so that means we are fully immersed in the tween stage and everything that entails. I must admit, the teen years are a stage that I have not particularly been looking forward to experiencing with either of my kids. The changes, problems, stress, and negative influences all seem to carry more weight during these years. However, I know that this is also an exciting time when our children are discovering who they are and figuring out what they want to become. A healthy parent-child relationship is critical during these years.
The Center for Parent and Teen Communication (“CPTC”), which is based out of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is a valuable resource for parents of teenagers looking for guidance on improving and strengthening their relationship with their teenager. The CPTC website contains a multitude of articles that address a wide range of parenting topics. The website also has a series called “Parenting in 100 Words” that offers “snack-size” pieces of advice for parents of teenagers. Here are some of the advice snacks that I put on my personal “parenting playlist”:
You have probably heard about “Tiger Moms” and “Helicopter Parents”. However, according to the CPTC, the best parenting style is being a “Lighthouse Parent”.
Lighthouse parents do their job by balancing care with protection. They’re like lighthouses: guiding their children so they don’t hit the rocks and sink, steadfast, keeping watch. They provide warmth and rules.
I really like the analogy of being a lighthouse for my kids. While we cannot prevent the storms of life from hitting our kids, I want to be able to guide my children through them. I want them to know that my husband and I are a “safe place” and that we are always looking out for their well-being.
“Keeping Your Cool” is pretty self-explanatory, but it is a good reminder nonetheless. Just this past week, my daughter injured her little toe. I ended up taking her to urgent care for x-rays to see if it was broken. It had been a busy day for me, and spending the evening at urgent care was the last thing I wanted to do. During the drive there, I found myself being upset and blaming her even though I knew it was not her fault. I eventually was able to calm down and “keep my cool”. As a result, we ended up having two hours of quality mother-daughter time that would have been otherwise wasted.
As parents, we need to remember that we should “cherish every stage” of our children’s life. I remember looking forward to and celebrating every milestone during the baby and toddler stages. As parents, we need to continue to do this and not let the teenage milestones go by unnoticed. I would like to start a scrapbook where my daughter and I can both record some of these milestones.
According to this piece of advice, parents should be more concerned about what our kids are learning vs. focusing solely on academic grades. The CPTC suggests asking teens what they learned at school instead of only caring about test scores and grades. When I tried this, I found that my daughter was more open in talking about her school day.
5. Playtime, Downtime, Family Time (“PDF”)
This piece of advice caught my attention because of the catchy acronym. It is vital for kids to have quality playtime, downtime, and family time in order to be successful in school (and reduce stress levels). I have recently tried making more of a concerted effort to create family time by enjoying a nice meal together or playing a quick board game. Even though our schedules are busy, “PDF” gives us a chance to reconnect.
Be sure to check out the CPTC website for more valuable parenting advice and create your own #ParentingPlaylist that you can implement with your teen!
DIY Halloween Costumes: Referee + Charlie Brown
The past couple of years n has been able to wear some hand-me-down Star Wars costumes. Since he has outgrown them, we needed to come up with a new costume idea. He agreed to be a referee.
I bought a cheap white polo and painted the stripes with black fabric paint from Michaels and painter’s tape. I only painted stripes on the front because I was too lazy–ha! We bought the black baseball cap from Michaels (the last one in the store!) and he already had the pants.
k went to a Halloween dance a couple of weeks ago and her friends all dressed up as different Peanuts characters. She made her own Charlie Brown t-shirt with the same bottle of black fabric paint. Again, I bought the yellow t-shirt from Michaels. (What would I do without Michaels and their 40%-50% coupons?)
This year k wanted to hand out candy instead of going trick or treating. Too bad we only had five groups of kids come by!
Our Kids Sang In a Honda Commercial!
A few years back, D had the opportunity to be in a Mazda commercial through work. A couple of months ago, our kids had the opportunity to record in a studio for a Honda commercial through our church.
Since it looks like the commercial will only be shown in Japan, here it is for your viewing pleasure. k asked, “If it is a Japanese commercial, why are we singing in English?” Ha–good question!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVgcipDDsec
Here is a behind the scenes video where you can catch some glimpses of k and n. I guess they are categorized as “Asian” instead of “American” in the demographics slide. I think the song ended up sounding pretty good for a group of non-professionals! Even though they were unsure about participating at first, it ended up being a fun experience for them.
k’s Fifth Grade Promotion
Last week k had her fifth grade promotion ceremony on the morning of the last day of school. D and I attended, along with my parents. n was in class, but he participated in the “clap-out” at the end.
The ceremony was held in the lunch table area. I did not think there would be enough room, but it was ok. I think a few people had to stand in the back. It was an overcast morning, and we were under the shade, so it was nice.
The principal handed out certificates and awards and some of the students gave speeches of their elementary school “memoirs”. I did not expect to be teary, but when k’s teacher sang an emotional version of Elton John’s “Your Song” as a tribute to his students and his parents, it was on.
That night we had a little dinner party at our house to celebrate.
I had fun making a playlist on Spotify for our gathering. It is amazing how much music provides an emotional connection to my past. Maybe k feel will feel the same way about these songs (at least some of them, anyway!)
Scouting Recognitions
This past weekend we celebrated both k and n in their scouting endeavors. k received the Bronze Award with her troop. They sewed pillowcases and donated them to a hospital for their project.
We did not realize people would arrive so early, and we ended up in the very back row. k did a nice job reading a short blurb about their project. It was a large crowd!
k’s troop has nine girls, but only four could make it to the ceremony. She will be moving on to Cadettes next year.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjlCCZmFNfN/?taken-by=derek.cal
n bridged from Wolves to Webelos for Cub Scouts. The dads build this bridge every year for the boys to cross. For the past couple of years the ceremony has been at Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center in Irvine Regional Park.
After the boys cross the bridge, they put on their new neckerchief, slide, and hat.
So proud of both of our scouts and so appreciative for their leaders! Looking forward to many more adventures.
Playdate Idea in Irvine: Adventure Playground
In the summer of 2016, I started a little blog series reviewing local parks. One park that we did not have a chance to visit was Irvine Adventure Playground. Yesterday we invited one of k’s friends and one of n’s friends to join us in checking it out.
This is a public park run by the city of Irvine. Admission is free, but there are employees manning the front desk and you list the names and a phone number for you and your guests.
The posted code of conduct.
The playground structure was unique enough to be fun for these 8-11 year olds.
The boys started to build a house, but they did not get very far.
Overheard: “I feel like a construction worker!”
The concrete slide was a hit with everyone!
Pretending to do the luge.
Bringing a piece of cardboard came in handy once again!
There are also water pumps* and a muddy ditch, but thankfully our group was not too interested in that part! It would be a good idea to bring towels and to wear old clothes if you think your kids would be the type to dive right in! *Water pumps are closed for maintenance every Monday.
Adventure Playground
1 Beech Tree Lane
Irvine, CA 92612
Phone: 949-724-6818
March-October
10 a.m.-6 p.m. (daily)
November-February
10 a.m.-Dusk (daily)
Holiday Closures (all day):
Easter Sunday
Thanksgiving
Christmas Day
New Year’s Day
Early Closures (closing at 3 p.m.):
Independence Day
New Year’s Eve
Bridging from Juniors to Cadettes in San Francisco
The following is a guest post written by k. This is the trip she raised money for by selling hundreds of boxes of Girl Scout cookies!
From the weekend April 27th to April 29th, I went to San Francisco with my Girl Scout troop to bridge, which means to move from one level to the next. A lot of other Juniors crossed the Golden Gate bridge to move on to Cadettes as well.
Around 9:00 am, the whole troop flew up to San Francisco. I sat next to two of my friends on the plane and had fun talking and eating snacks the whole way.
After we dropped off our bags at the hotel, we got on the boat to take us to Alcatraz. It was cold and windy, mainly because we were on the third deck. We were all excited to see the prison, especially since most of us have not been there before.
Everyone in my troop at Alcatraz Island.
We did an audio tour of Alcatraz that explained many things about the prison in great detail. It was really interesting and had a lot of sound effects that made it really dramatic. I had fun walking into the cells and seeing what the prisoners life was like when they were living there.
We also did Junior Ranger books and earned a badge that is supposed to smell like a campfire.
There were a lot of seals on one dock in Pier 39, and one of the girls in my Girl Scout troop got really excited when she saw them because she really loves seals.
After getting dinner at Boudin, we decided to walk around the city to look around the shops and see interesting places in the city including Fisherman’s Wharf.
The next day, we had a to wait forever in order to get on the bridge. This was because there were around 7,000 Girl Scouts waiting to cross the bridge. 10 and 11 year old girls were taking over the city!
Crossing the Golden Gate bridge.
This was our rest stop. It was about 2/3 of the way through.
When we finally made it across the bridge and got to Crissy field, we had a Panera box lunch after a lot of walking.
Later, our troop had the chance to go on a cable car. It was very crowded, but it was especially fun because we got to hang on the outside of the car. It was also exciting because San Francisco has very steep streets which made the car go a lot faster.
After that, we went to Fior da Italia. It was a great Italian restaurant and very fancy. I ordered Fettuccine Alfredo, and it was so good.
This was the last breakfast at the hotel.
We saw the most crooked street in the world. I cannot imagine living in a house on this street.
The Ghirardelli shop was our last stop. There was so much chocolate in the store! We got an ice cream sundae to split between the troop and it was very sweet and had a lot of chocolate components. Overall, it was a great weekend.
Fifth Grade Mother Daughter Tea + Father-Daughter Dance
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k is in fifth grade now. I cannot believe it is her last year of elementary school. She is also five feet tall now. How did this happen?
A couple of weeks ago her school hosted a Mother-Daughter tea to talk about those “changes” that are happening, or will be happening in the near future. I was on the committee to help plan the tea. Honestly, I did not too much since our head chairperson really took the lead (which was much appreciated!) I think the event turned out really nice. The theme was cherry blossoms. Here is part of the invitation:
We had the parents submit a baby photo of their daughter and then they took a picture of the girls at school. Then they displayed the photos back to back in an Ikea frame as part of the favors.
We also had the moms write a letter to their daughter that was included in their goody bags. We showed an introductory video put out by P&G, and a mom who was a nurse did an excellent presentation that was light-hearted but still informative. There was also some Q & A time.
A lot of the girls actually do not like pink anymore, but I thought the pink-cherry blossom combo was cute.
We kept the food simple. Tea sandwiches, salad, and chicken nuggets, made by one of the parents who is a caterer. Cupcakes for dessert. We had iced tea and lemonade in plastic tea cups.
The nurse recommended this American Girl book, The Care and Keeping of You. I went over this book with k about a year and a half ago, and I think it is really good too. I am glad that we were able to talk about it before going to the tea. I think everything might have been a bit too shocking if we had not talked about it beforehand. We have not gone through The Care Keeping of You 2 yet, though!
American Girl also has a similar book for boys, Guy Stuff. I think I will let D handle that one with n!
The very next night our school also had its first ever Father-Daughter dance.
I was not part of the planning committee for that one, but I am grateful that it happened for k’s last year at the school. Seriously, where is life’s “pause” button?
k is 11!
This year our winter break started relatively late, so k actually had to attend school on her birthday. We do friend birthday parties every other year, so this year was a small family dinner celebration. k requested Panda Express takeout, and my mom made Spam musubi and chap chae. Unfortunately, my mom was not feeling well that day so she was not able to make it.
n photobombing the mini cupcakes.
Mini mango mochi with sorbet.
I am excited for k’s new adventures for 2018, including Outdoor Science Camp with her classmates, bridging with her Girl Scout Troop in San Francisco, and possibly two different week-long camps with church friends in the summer. It is really difficult for me to believe that we will have a middle schooler this year!