Hochstein’s weeklong Arts in Action Summer Camps take young children on a journey filled with music, art, and movement.
Designed for children ages 5-10, each camp session is based on a specific theme that unlocks a child’s imagination, and each week concludes with a performance that brings all of the learned elements together.
This summer, the three sessions covered topics ranging from dinosaurs and paleontology (A Prehistoric Performance); the instruments, songs, and dances of jazz (Jazzed About Jazz); and food and cooking (Music in the Kitchen).
In addition to learning new songs and dances for the group performance at the end of the week and creating thematically related crafts and stage props, campers enjoyed visits by some special guests.
During Week 1, Hochstein Associate Dean Nancy Johnston brought in two of her hedgehogs, Silver and Tiny, to visit with the students. She said that the hedgehog was indeed around during the time of the dinosaur. They like to eat peanut butter and hard-boiled eggs, don’t see very well, and they don’t like loud noises, so the campers had to use soft voices. Also during the week, the campers pretended to be paleontologists during their art class and dug up “dinosaur bones.”
Week 2 focused on the theme of jazz and campers learned songs such as “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” “What a Wonderful World,” and “I Got Rhythm” – along with movements, sign language, and rhythms to go along with those songs. They also had a special treat – camp director Hannah Gieseke brought her bagpipes and demonstrated how to play them, playing the Hochstein song and “Baby Shark” for the students.
During Week 3, campers had a visit from Ramon “Sunshine” Perez, who is both a chef and a drummer. Since the theme of the week was Music in the Kitchen, he taught them how to prepare fruit salad (which they also got to sample). Then he led a drum circle showing rhythms on the djembe, gourd, and other percussion instruments.
In addition to the three weeks of Arts in Action camps, there was also a four-day camp for children ages 3-4 who aren’t quite ready for camp on their own. During the Songs of the Sea Mini-Camp, children (with a grown-up) had a splashing good time learning all about the sea and its creatures through music, instrument play, and movement. Led by Barb Bonisteel, the camp included dancing like seaweed (with ribbons), making waves with a parachute, and visits from harpist Grace Wong and violinist Marcos Kreutzer.