Summer camp happiness

We just wrapped up a great week of summer camp for both boys.

Calvin is halfway through a two-week camp at the middle school, where he's taking self-defense, karate, and cooking. No photos yet from his camp, mostly because we keep devouring whatever he brought home from cooking. And his favorite trick learned from self-defense involves pinning my arm behind my back, making it difficult to photograph. But my favorite image is pulling up for pickup, and seeing him light up with a smile on his face and a plate with a treat he wants to share.

Finn just ended a week at Camp Galileo, learning about Australia and making some creative stuff, including this moray eel projectile toy:

and a bird of paradise:

Camp G is one of our favorites. Finn argued at first that there's no learning at summer camp, but after he explained to me about lift and sugar gliders, he conceded that he learns a fair amount at this camp — it just doesn't feel like school. I love that this camp celebrates creativity, mistakes, collaboration, and experimentation. Finn loves that it's awesome.

He goes back the week after next for a road trip-themed camp. And Calvin has matriculated to the camp's program for older kids: He'll spend a week learning to make Minecraft mods and another creating with a 3D printer.

We do a few camps each year, and there's always one or two where I cross my fingers and hope it won't be awful. That's never a problem with this camp — the boys always get caught up in the energetic spirit. Finn relayed stories and songs, explained concepts he learned each day, and was delighted his campmates selected his proposed team name: the Lime Green Zombies!

The camp's mascot is a rubber chicken. (I don't know why. It's a thing.) So Finn wanted to give the camp director a picture of a his chickens and some of their eggs as a thanks-and-see-you-soon gift. (He's costumed as Brazil's Hulk for dress-up day.)