Fond du Lac County 4-H wrapped up the summer finishing off with four summer day camps in August.  Art Camp, Cloverbud Day Camp: Teddy Bear Adventure, Cardboard Camp: Zoology, and LEGO camps were the last of the 4-H Summer Camps. The camps were well attended and the youth all shared things that they learned from attending camp. 

The final Cloverbud Day Camp of the series was an Teddy Bear Adventure Theme reached 18 youth. Youth brought their favorite bear/ stuffed animal to camp and did all sorts of fun activities throughout the day! The kids started the day off sharing all about their stuffed animals! After that, the youth went outside and did a scavenger hunt and sang camp songs with their animals. Youth also made necklaces for their animals and matching ones for themselves! The youth then went outside and played bear tag and wah master. When they came back inside they made handprint bears. We had a special guest come in, the 2024 Fond du Lac County Fairest of the Fair, Makayla Stommel! She read the youth a story, handed out awards for the animals, and gave out the camper of the week award. Some of the bear awards were biggest, smallest, cuddliest, most loved and more! The camp’s goals were that youth would learn something new, be engaging, increase their interest in the topics, and for youth to feel a sense of belonging. Evaluation for this camp is still being collected. 

A multi-day summer day camp with an Art Theme reached 20 youth. Youth expressed an interest in learning and exploring art skills and the arts and crafts project. 4-H Summer Intern and the 4-H Educator led different art activities teaching basic art skills. Art- Rageous 2-D, Super Sculptures 3-D, and Creative Cultural Arts were the themes of each day of art camp. The first day of camp was Art-Rageous 2-D. The youth started off the day with some name games and making their very own sketchbooks. There were 3 different print making techniques youth learned and practiced. Canvas painting with acrylic paint youth created their own design. Youth did perler beads, oil pastels, and chalk pastels. The second day of camp was Super Sculptures which was all things 3-D! The youth started the day with a mini activity followed by sculpting clay pots! Next a guest speaker, 4-H youth leader Hannah, demonstrated how to make pipe cleaner flowers. Youth learned how to make a rose and a tulip. CD animals were created followed by 3-D paper sculptures. Youth tried their hands at soap carving and ended the painting pinecones to create a flower bouquet. The final day of camp was Creative Cultural Arts, where youth created different crafts and projects from different cultures. The youth started the day with aboriginal dot painting coming from Australia. The youth then made their very own pinatas out of cereal boxes! Braided bracelet making along with lanyard making was popular with the youth. Youth then made paper moccasins where they put designs on the shoes that best described them. The final activity of the day was dreamcatcher making. The camp’s goals were that youth would learn something new, be engaging, increase their interest in the topics, and for youth to feel a sense of belonging. Evaluations were completed by participants.  According to the completed surveys, 100% of the youth Strongly Agreed with the statements “During camp my child made a new friend and/or felt welcomed in the space.” and “The activities taught us something new.” Campers were asked what they learned during camp. Here is what was shared: “She learned about oil pastels. She has always had them in art kits but never knew what they were so she didn’t use them. Now they’re everywhere.” “I learned how to make lanyard bracelets.” “I learned that art is fun in many ways. I learned to turn mistakes into masterpieces.” “How to make pipe clear flowers” and “What I can make with pipe cleaners.”  These youth practiced life skills and learned art techniques.

The last two camps to finish off the summer were Cardboard: Zoology and LEGO Camp.  These were  three-day camps where youth were creative with Cardboard to create animals and their habitats and learn LEGO building techniques while making new friends. Due to camps being at the end of August, the results from the evaluations are still be collected. Some youth shared they can’t wait until summer for camp!