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Young campers learn its cool to be curious
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The 6 to 10 year olds of Camp Curiosity learn about art through drawing, painting, and music. Camp members Kylie Medvec (left), Ava Hedrich, camp coordinator Dana Winters, and Christopher Thomas sang bible songs together during a June 24 music class.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The Davis YMCA's Camp Curiosity offers their campers new experiences with a focus on art and science. During a June 24 art session, counselor Christian Schwartz (left) helped camper A.J. Stallsmith (right) learn some notes on his guitar.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .During "Watch Our Waste" week, the Curiosity Campers created a rooster out of recycled cardboard and old T-shirt scraps. The counselors and kids of Camp Curiosity gathered with their rooster (back), which they hope to display at the Canfield Fair's art show.
By SARAH FOOR
This summer, the students at the Davis YMCA’s Camp Curiosity have been balancing their time between getting their hearts pumping and getting their minds buzzing with ideas.
Camp Curiosity encourages its campers to engage in the world around them through art, science, and physical activity. The 6 to 10-year-old campers spend their days exploring each subject in large and small groups.
Curiosity coordinator Dana Winters works to balance camp lessons with plenty of fun.
“We’re always striving to teach the YMCA core values of caring, honesty, respect, responsibility and faith. But the camp is also about making lots of new friends and to try a lot of completely new experiences. Our greatest goal is to offer the campers a chance to grow within the YMCA,” Winters said.
Each week, Curiosity explores a different theme, including recycling, dancing, entomology, and even a camp triathlon. Within each theme, the campers always enjoy ample swim time, “Devotion in Motion” fitness classes, and speakers that share perspective on each week’s theme.
Kaitlynn Bitzer managed all art activities for the camp, which runs from June 13 to Aug. 19.
“We have a big summer of artistic expression planned we’ll be decorating frisbees and making our own sun catchers. For ‘Watch Our Waste’ week, we created a papier-m ¢ch rooster and that we’ve covered with old T-shirts. We hope to include our rooster in the Canfield Fair this summer,” Bitzer explained of her art projects.
Winters hopes the camp inspires her students to truly change their perspectives.
“By the end of this summer, I want the kids to see the world differently. After Curiosity, I hope they’re inspired to turn anything into art, to get their bodies moving and to be excited to explore and observe the world around them.”