I want to go to summer camp!

I have to say that I'm super stoked about the summer camp lineup I have planned for Liv this summer. She's bouncing around a lot, but also getting exposure in both the Arts and STEM in addition to swingsets and foursquare.

One camp that was new to us this summer is Camp Invention held at the WE School of Innovation. And I have to say, I'm thoroughly impressed by what my kiddo is coming home talking about. I'm also a fan of the daily newsletter, Camp Invention Daily, that gets sent home summarizing the day's activities and offering ideas for extending the learning that occured at camp to home.

Each day Liv gets to become a pet vet where she diagnoses and treats her robo dog, learn about architecture by "dream[ing] and design[ing] [her] own futuristic smart home, use her Optibot™ to "go on an exploration adventure fueled by aerial, aquatic and land transportation technology" and employ "prototyping to solve real world issues" (https://inventnow-web.ungerboeck.com/programsearch/moreinfo.aspx?event=20225).

Yesterday when I asked what was going on with her dog, she told me that they had to observe the color of the dog's pee and analyze blood samples (orbeez) to determine what was wrong. She said her dog could be suffering from a bladder infection, diabetes, or dehydration (which in her words was the best case scenario). I mean - really?! I'm impressed!

Apparently there was also talk about "wallpaper that matches your mood" and "socks that pause your show if you fall asleep" (Camp Invention Daily).

She then launched into telling me that her group got the 'green go ahead' because their crash test dummy landed softly and safely on a landing pad after parachuting.

All this and somehow the children still found time to create "a rugged seafloor track for [their] Optibots to navigate" complete with "[c]oral reefs, sunken ships, and hydrothermal vents" (Camp Invention Daily) (not to mention build some pretty impressive cup towers whie waiting for the day to officially start.)

The mission of the camp is to provide a "safe and fun space where your child can create, test, try, fail, discover, and explore...." (Camp Invention Daily). As the mom of a "perfectionist" kid, I'm so appreciative that the camp makes it a point to promote the value of failure and the important part it plays in creation.