2024 Week 4 Newsletter

Pdouble

We had another wonderful week with hard working campers. We stayed positive and strived for growth every day. Every period of our activities had its beautiful moments.

Basketball

Running, jumping,

each step bringing strength and vitality.

Dribbling, shooting,

each shot building a resilient spirit.

Teamwork and cooperation,

fostering cherished friendships.

Our greatest wish is for children to achieve balanced physical and mental development.

Chinese Language Arts

Day 1: Basic Water Facts

We explored various facts about water, including its distribution on Earth, the locations where it is found, and specific details about Minnesota's water bodies. We also discussed the properties of water. Students engaged in hands-on activities, observing water visually and sampling different types of water, noting their smell, color, and taste. They were fascinated by the unique characteristics of water.

Day 2: The Water Cycle

Students explored the various forms of water and compared the differences and similarities between water on Earth and in space. They participated in a hands-on activity to model the water cycle and discussed its impacts. Additionally, students shared their ideas on the uses of water in daily life, industry, agriculture, and maritime transportation.

Day 3: The Water Turbine

Students constructed a water turbine and gained a practical understanding of its mechanism and functions. We also discussed the importance of water conservation, exploring effective strategies for saving water in our daily lives.

Day 4: The Hydraulic Lift Platform

Building on our Day 3 lessons, we further explored the benefits of water and its applications across various fields. Students studied the mechanism of the hydraulic lift platform, discussing its functions and the convenience it provides in different scenarios.

Day 5: The Hydraulic Turbine Generator

On the final day of the week, students constructed a hydraulic turbine generator and explored how the potential energy in elevated water is converted into rotational mechanical energy. They also discussed the hazards of floods and tsunamis, learning strategies for disaster prevention and escape.

English Language Arts

Group A

This week we began class by reading 3 books of their choice. After that, we did creative activities, such as coloring sheets with words on them, and writing worksheets, practicing spelling and pronunciation of words.

Group B

We focused on decoding the paragraphs by sounding out the words and doing short answer responses. These students improved a lot in a week.

Group C

While working on the reading skills, we did reading comprehension packets. After answering all of the questions, we discussed the questions if they had misunderstandings and help them out if needed. In this way, kids improve their reading fluency and learn reading strategies. After doing four to five pages, they go and find a book to read.

Group D

During class this week, we worked on improving reading comprehension by reading as a group. We learned about very interesting topics like aliens and Navajo code talkers, while reading different formats of text. On Friday, we spent the day coloring as a fun end to the week!

Group E

Each day, we read a short book about an interesting topic. We also worked on reading comprehension by completing packets related to the short book. These included puzzles with new words to learn, drawing about what they read, and questions that tested their understanding.

Group F

We emphasized on vocabulary learning by doing word puzzles and writing words definitions according to different contexts. We also made a point to practice writing the main idea and how to find details/evidence within the text to support the main idea.

Group G

　　Everyday, we did a different activity. On Monday, we hosted a spelling bee. Then, Tuesday was story writing with given prompts. On Wednesday was creating the best and most detailed “How-to” book. Thursday we did the hardest activity, and tried deciphering Shakespearean text. Friday was writing a persuasive essay. This group of kids is very advanced.

Choir

Music Theory

In this week's vocal lesson, students reviewed and practiced hand signs for scales, using them to help find and master basic pitch accuracy. They also learned how to perform foundational breath exercises, which are very helpful for sustaining long notes in songs. During vocal warm up, students practiced extending their vocal range through sustained notes and interval jumps.

Rhythm

The most popular part of this week was rhythm practice. Unlike usual, this week included not just rhythm recitation, but also learning folk-style hand gestures and dancing to rhythmic exercises. In the song-learning part, the children learned the theme song of the summer camp and also two songs with beautiful melodies: "Fireflies" and "Daylily”.

Songs

• 我是一条小青龙（I am a Little Blue Dragon.)
• 萱草花 (Hemerocallis Filva)
• 虫儿飞（Fireflies Fly）
• 听我说 （Listen What I Say)

Dance

On Monday, it was raining. We stayed in the classroom to learned a KongFu panda dance based on KFP movie. The kids all loved learning the dance moves for Panda, Tiger, Crane, Viper and Monkey and had a lot of fun.

Chinese Red Ribbon Dance

The Chinese Ribbon Dance is a traditional dance that has been performed for more than a 1000 years. Ms. Huss taught the ribbon dance movement by using the vivid words: rainbow, waterfall, dragon, boat, snake, number eight, watermelon.

Sounds of Summer Maze Swimming Pools Volunteers

These high school volunteers changed lives, including their own. They played with kids, tutored young students to become good readers and be good at math. They are making an impact, and finding joy, purpose and connection.