A Note from the Camp Director |
|
Dear Camp Families,
Welcome to our first newsletter of Camp Levine 2022. We are so excited to be reunited with returning friends and making new ones! Campers are already filling the halls with artwork and songs inspired by Music from the Movies. I am grateful to our fantastic teachers, staff, apprentices, campers and parents for helping us Rock the Red Carpet this first week of camp.
It’s a pleasure to have you join us, and I hope every camper has already discovered new musical and artistic interests and talents. We are looking forward to continuing our musical adventure next week. Have a safe and relaxing long weekend!
Happy Friday,
Mary Cat Gill
Director of Camp Levine
Camp is underway! Kids are dancing, singing, skipping, playing instruments, making popcorn art, and practicing proper enunciation for Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. It’s great to see campers having fun with their Teen Apprentices and learning with their teachers. I’ve loved watching the TAs get involved with the kids. Big thanks to our Site Coordinator Sarah for all her help behind the scenes with our Teen Apprentices and the ins/outs of camp technicalities. And if I haven’t mentioned before, we have an amazing faculty! They are some of the best and brightest and they love your kids. It’s been a great camp with great fun.
Jonathan Hamilton
Site Director
|
|
Here are a few reminders to help continue our adventure down the red carpet:
Independence Day: Camp Levine will be closed this Monday, July 4th. We hope you have a happy and safe celebration.
Instruments: Campers in rising 3rd grade and up bring their focus instruments to and from camp daily. Feel free to encourage your camper to practice and show you what they’ve learned!
Lunches/Backpacks: Your child should only be bringing their lunch, snack, mask, and water bottle to camp. Space is at a premium, so it is tough to accommodate large backpacks, particularly with older campers are traveling with instrument cases. Pre/K changes of clothes and rest mats can stay at camp.
Late drop off: If you arrive after 9:45am, please walk your child to the camp office so we can sign them in and escort them to their class. It is the best way for us to keep every child accounted for.
Absences/Early Pick-Up: If you are running late to drop-off, need to pick up early, or if your child will be absent, please e-mail camp@levinemusic.org. Notice enables us to have every camper accounted for.
|
|
Stars (Pre-K/K group)- This week has been great! We started out by making trophies out of styrofoam and paint, and we also draw during arts and crafts time. Outside, we play with bubble wands, chalk, and soccer! We also enjoy playing with the parachute inside and getting mid-day visits from the violin, piano, percussion, and guitar teachers!
-Ms. Victoria, Summer, and Sophie
|
|
In Music +, we are going to start learning some parts on xylophones to harmonize with “itsy bitsy spider.” We also learned a greeting song in Spanish to learn each others’ names. Soon, we will start learning “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on the xylophones. In art, we have made several crafts, including puppets made out of paper bags. In sports and games, we learned how to play kickball. In drama, we played a game called “where the wind blows.” In dance, we played freeze dance, and in vocal/choral, we started learning “Everything is Awesome” from the Lego Movie.
-Caitlin, Brianna, Marek, and Noe
|
|
The Grammys and Oscars have been making a lot of progress in choir and learning their focus instruments (either violin, guitar, percussion, or piano), started playing on different types of xylophones in Music +, and made turtles out of yarn in art class, they are all so creative! They love playing games in drama, doing freeze dance in dance class, and having fun at the outdoor sports and games station.
-Sal and Ellie
|
|
Violin Sampler + Focus Group- We are working on bow exercises and pluck & swing exercises for the left arm. Kids are doing great with holding the violin and bow! We have learned Pepperoni Pizza and Cheese Pizza. (rhythmic pattern exercises) Also, we are able to play on the E and A string.
Guitar Focus + Sampler Group- The Focus Guitar students have a great start on learning how to play the guitar. They mastered playing simple melodies with their thumb, fretting left notes, and even started strumming some simple chords. They should be practicing every day after camp. Looking forward to working with them on “Puff, the Magic Dragon” as our camp piece. It was wonderful introducing Pre/K and sampler to the guitar. They were a great audience while listening to the performance and enjoyed trying out the guitar as well.
Percussion Focus + Sampler Group- The percussion Focus kids are doing very well. They're beginning to learn basic drum rudiments so they can express themselves. They also hopped on the drum set and played a Rock beat with a fill at the end. Jonathan, the site director and I are really impressed!
Piano Focus- Campers are having a lot of fun learning about piano at Camp Levine. They have been exploring with their eyes the inside of the instrument. They are letting their fingers do the walking on the white keys and playing the groups of two and three black keys. Don’t be surprised if you hear Hot Cross Buns on your piano at home!
Art- Campers have been showing their creativity in so many ways in art! They’ve made some fun movie themed popcorn art as well as creative movie character paper plate art and more! I can’t wait to see what other creative projects they will make!
|
|
Drama- Our focus this week is game playing and improv. Specifically, our focus has been on team bonding and finding what we have in common. Improv games help the group become comfortable in the new environment, develop confidence, creativity, and bonding, develop speaking and listening skills, and promotes inclusivity and tolerance as well as empathy. Games played include Zipzapzop, Popcorn, Name memorization, and Traffic Light. Older campers are also being introduced to improvisational scene work.
Dance- Campers showed their dance skills and learned fun dance games! They’ve started learning some dances they will perform at the end of camp. They are all really “awesome”!
|
|
The Parent Portal may look a little bare now, but it will continue to be updated as camp progresses. Please take some time to explore and learn more about your child’s musical adventure! This includes the parent handbook, car line maps, teacher bios, contact info, health form links, camp photos, and more. The portal will be regularly updated during the camp session.
Password: camplevine2022!
|
|
Next Steps at Levine Music |
|
Looking for more Levine programs after camp? We have several more Levine summer experiences for campers ages 8-13 at our NW DC campus from August 8 – 19.
-
Budding actors will love Levine Music Theatre’s LMT Experience! This is a two-week day camp where campers will explore dance, music, and acting in an ensemble setting and create a final showcase. Please contact swilliams@levinemusic.org for information.
-
Levine Music offers private lessons, group classes, ensembles, music theatre, and more. I hope you explore the wide and wonderful options at Levine for children and adults year round.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
