Little Cubbies

My two daughters always help me to brainstorm weekly themes for Camp Anderson. One of the themes they were most excited about this year was Unicorn Week. There are a ton of ideas and activities that tie into this theme, so planning it was a breeze. We decided to make it the first theme for this summer, and the kids all had a blast!

The teacher in me likes to incorporate a read aloud into each day of camp. We typically start our day by reading a book that relates to the weekly theme. This year we’ve handed over the responsibility of the read alouds to my oldest niece and my older daughter. They love reading to the younger kids, and it helps to keep their reading skills sharp over the summer. Here are some of our favorites from this week:

• How to Catch a Unicorn by Adam Wallace
• Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• You Don’t Want a Unicorn by Ame Dyckman

After reading a book, we do a craft and/or activity that pertains to the theme. If you’re like me and still not venturing out to stores during the pandemic, have no fear. I purchased all of the craft materials online this year. Thank goodness for Oriental Trading and Amazon! Here are some of our favorite activities from Unicorn Week:

• Plush Lacing Craft – The kids loved doing this, and the plush crafts came out really cute! The oldest girls (ages 8 and 9) were able to do this with only a little adult assistance. The middle two (ages 5 and 6) needed a little more help, and the 3 year old needed one-on-one help for the entire project. My one year old just had fun splashing around in the water table while we did this project.:)

• Unicorn Sticker Faces, Color Your Own Unicorn Key Chains & Unicorn Suncatchers – These projects were quick, easy, fun and appealed to all ages! You’ll need markers to color the key chains and suncatcher paint for the suncatchers. I also bought little suction cups with hooks to hang the completed suncatchers on our windows.

• Unicorn Latch Hook Kit – This project took my sister and I back to our childhood! It was a huge hit with the two oldest girls, but definitely challenging for the younger ones.

• Play Dough with Unicorn Cookie Cutters – Play dough is fun for all ages! Pair play dough with unicorn and rainbow-shaped cookie cutters for some easy Unicorn Week fun! This is great for a rainy day activity. It’s also good to put out for the younger kids while the older children are working on a more challenging project, like the latch hooks.
• Unicorn Cupcake Decorating – The kids had so much fun decorating their own unicorn cupcakes! We used Pillsbury Unicorn Funfetti frosting from Target and finished them off with rainbow twisty lollipop “unicorn horns”.

• Printable Unicorn Coloring Books – These inexpensive, printable coloring books from Teachers Pay Teachers are adorable. Coloring these books was the perfect activity for the end of a camp day. The girls sat in the shade and colored while chatting with each other.
• Unicorn Writing Prompt – You can’t take the teacher out of me, even during the summer! This writing prompt “craftivity” is easy to differentiate for various ages and ability levels, and it’s a fun way to incorporate writing practice to help avoid the summer slide.

• Unicorn Pinata – We finished off the week with a unicorn pinata that my mom got from Target. Pinatas are always a hit with our kids…pun intended!:) It was the perfect way to end a great week!

I hope you and your little unicorn lovers find these ideas helpful! Next up…Rainbow Week!