Blue Happy Living

Today is the first day of my favorite week of the year. Art camp is in full swing and I love it. It’s four days of art projects, paint slides, paint balloon fights and so much more messy art things. I love it when these kids arrive on the first day the giggles, excitement and smell of summer fun in the air!

One of the first projects we do every year is the box project. It is a great way to keep each child’s art separated and safe until the last day. You could do this at home to have a drying system for kids summer art work. Each kiddo that comes to camp gets a 12×12 box. It’s taped on one end and the other is left open with the flaps folded inside. This make the box stronger to hold up with time. We let each kiddo decorate one side of the box with their name and whatever design they want on it. It is so fun to watch what each personality puts on their box. After the box is finished we line them up around the outer walls of the room. This is where the box sits until the last day. Once we line them up we clip 2 clothing pins on the top of three  box sides. When they get finished with a project we pin the art work on the end side of the box with the clothing pins. So it hangs there on the inside of the box over night so it can dry. The next day the works go along and open the pins so the art work drops to the bottom of the box. No one’s art gets lost, misplaced or damaged. On Friday they will all be lined up on the sidewalk with boxes at their feet. When mom comes to pick up they have all their art treasures from art camp. Years ago we use to lay all the art work on tables to dry and then take 2 hours at the end of the week to sort and get it all back to them. It never failed someones art would turn up missing. That is a problem no more!

We are so ready for these kids to be here. All my workers are volunteers from Wylie Prep. These kids earn service hours for the up coming fall semester. It is a great way for them to give back to their community and learn to share their time helping these kids do art. I love my Sr’s so much most of them are coming back this year even though they graduated last Saturday. I’m so glad I get one more summer camp with them before they go off get jobs an lives. It will be a very special summer after all.

Texas weather might put a dent in our planned projects today but I’m well prepared. I have inside projects and outside projects planned no matter what we are gonna have art camp. Making a child smile is beyond being blessed. It gives you a feeling that nothing else or no one else can give you. I love to watch them work and see the smile on their faces as they create. I would love to post pictures of these kiddo’s faces but I’m not gonna for privacy.

I wanted to blog on this today because it is one of my favorite things in my so blessed world. Children are  a gift, so sweet, so special and what a blessing. I hope that your Tuesday is as wonderful as mine is. Go out and have a Blue Happy Day and do a little art!