Cordata kids go camping in the classroom!

The last days of a school year are filled with great joy and excitement for the summer ahead.

Strong bonds of friendship and fun-filled activities often accompany the last few days in a classroom.

This was indeed the case for the Promise Kindergarten classroom of teacher Kennedy Garrison at Cordata Elementary School. In the last days of school, her students went on an adventure of nature and outside fun all within the four walls of her room. Her kids had a Camping Day replete with fireflies, tents, a faux campfire, and marshmallows!

According to Ms. Garrison, her students spent the day in camp, telling stories and singing songs around the campfire string of lights. The camping atmosphere was enhanced with innovative fireflies made out of water bottles, pipe cleaners and construction paper.

They also learned what one needs to go camping out in nature to protect oneself from the elements: sleeping bags, warm clothes, food, and flashlights. The kids set up two tents together, practicing and collaborating on how to use the equipment often associated with outdoor camping. Putting up the tents and additional forts throughout the classroom transformed the classroom into an imaginative space, encouraging a magical day.

Aside from the magic, the Camping Day fostered social and emotional learning and togetherness. Garrison believes that the favorite part for her students was “the campfire and the chance to gather around it as a class family.”

“Camping and being outdoors brings me so much joy outside of school,” Garrison continued, “and I loved I was able to bring that joy to my classroom.”

This is Garrison’s third year as a teacher in the early childhood program of Bellingham Public Schools.