World Explorers Winter Break Camp 2021

From Salsa to Bhangra, from painting skyscrapers to learning Batik, from making tacos to singing, we had the World Explorers at our Winter Break Camp 2021!
Shehnaaz Dance Academy along with BuzyBugs made sure our students explored the world with us. During our 5-day camp, students travelled to 5 different countries- Mexico, Africa, USA, India and Spain and explored the cultural aspects, cuisines and geography of these countries along with learning about music and dance, specific to that region.

Ms. Apnavi from BuzyBugs was in charge of the Science Experiments, STEM based activities, Fireless cooking, Storytelling and games. Ms. Jayati from Cutting Chai Stories conducted our creative writing, public speaking and debating workshops. Ms. Shen, Mr. Ravi and Ms. Nidhi conducted the dance and music portion of the camp, teaching the basics of performance based art specific to the countries being explored. Our students were so excited to stamp their passports and travel the World adventure everyday.

Day 1- Mexico

First day of the camp is always very exciting! Students received their welcome packs with passports and they introduced themselves to their peers and teammates. The students got right to immigration, stamped their passports and familiarized themselves with the Flag of Mexico, Spanish numbers and read all about the country. They had fun crafting ‘Alpacas’ with wool. The highlight of the day was hands on Taco Making workshop. The students thoroughly enjoyed guessing all the ingredients in the tacos and assembling their tacos independently. Students also learnt the basics of the dance form Salsa- they learnt the 3 step and paired up with their friends to create the own version of partner dances to famous Mexican songs. They really enjoyed their time grooving to the music and dancing to the rhythmic music.

Day 2 - Kenya

On Day 2 we travelled to Kenya! We talked about Kenya's location on the world map, its capital and the Ruins of Gedi. Our students were very excited to learn Afro moves with Mr. Ravi and reproduced the choreography taught to them wonderfully. Our students created beautiful Batik masks with Ms. Apnavi. Our 4-6 year students created tribal masks and did an African bead activity. Stringing beads helps tremendously in developing hand eye coordination.

Our 4-6 year old students also worked on fun facts about Kenya and read the book "Giraffes can't dance". We discussed the moral of the story and discussed the importance of not passing judgement on those who are different from us. Our 7+ year olds had an extensive Public Speaking session with Ms. Jayati which included building a story and debating. They debated their hearts out on their favorite topics- Cake v/s Ice cream and Halloween v/s Christmas. Ms. Jayati of Cutting Chai Stories was beyond impressed with our student's debating skills. It was hilarious to hear some of their rebuttals and story lines.

Day 3- USA

On Day 3 we stayed in the USA at the World Explorers Camp but boy was it a fun day! Our 4-6 year olds indulged in a STEM activity using ice cream sticks and playdough to make buildings and construction sites. They also created the Manhattan Skyline with crayons and paper cutouts.  Our 7+ year old students discussed facts about the Statue of Liberty and played a USA Card game to identify the capitals of states and their nicknames. They also worked on replicating the Golden Gate Bridge using paper cutouts. It was amazing to see how they created the ripples in the water using blue construction paper. 

Ms. Nidhi worked on teaching basics of Jazz dance to both age groups- the jazz walk, some jazz poses, step touch, cross touch and The Chasse. Our students were fast learners and managed to pick up the moves quickly. They looked graceful in their efforts to grasp the nuances of Jazz.

Day 4 - India

Our trip to India was a super duper success! Our students discussed the Story of Diwali with their teachers- it's origin, characters and fun things to do on festival days. Ms. Apnavi and her team planned a beautiful story telling session via Puppet show in which they enacted the Ram Leela (Story of Lord Ram) and his return to Ayodhya on the day of Diwali.

Post the puppet show, we continued our travel around India with a Indian Classical music session with Ms. Nidhi. During this session, Ms. Nidhi taught the students, Indian Music notes (Swaras) as well as the Do Re Mi while having the kids sing along to the sounds of her keyboard. We decorated Diyas (earthen candles) during our Arts & Crafts session and ended our trip to India with some Bollywood dancing to celebrate the festival of Diwali.

Day 5- Spain

Our trip to Spain, on our final day of camp, was full of laughter, fun facts and science experiments. We started our morning by discussing the historical monument, La Sagrada Familia. We saw pictures of its breathtaking interior, we discussed Antonio Guadi and his architecture and also found out it has been under construction for a century. 

Next, we talked about the La Tomatina festival of Bunol in which a 30km stretch of the city is blocked off for people to throw raw tomatoes at each other. Ms. Natallia Basava of Cadencia dancers taught our students the basics of Flamenco dance. They absolutely loved the routine and picked up the choreography very quickly. 

Our Arts & Crafts activities revolved around Gaudi’s style of art. For the younger ones we conducted an activity of Mosaic art on paper. They loved making their mosaic fish. Our older students created their own lizard masterpiece. We ended Day 5 with a Science Experiment with Dancing Raisins. They kids absolutely loved seeing the bubbling of the Baking Soda with Vinegar and the raisins dancing in the solution. 

Our World Explorers Camp was the perfect blend of learning and activities. Our students were exposed to 5 different countries, 5 different cultures, 5 guest lecturers and several new concepts. Our World Explorers Camp received rave reviews from our student families and we hope to the create the same excitement and provide the same level of exposure to our students in our Spring 2022 Science Explorers Camp!