Setup & Facilitation Part 2: Wed & Thu

Sensory Explorers Activity Guide

Step-by-step setups, safety checks, and spoken dialogue scripts for 1-year-olds

Page 2 of 3

Wednesday Focus

Wet & Slippery Exploration

Activity 3.1

Mess-Free Squish Bags

Process Art

Materials

• • Double-zip heavy bags
• • Red & yellow paint
• • Duct tape

Setup: Squeeze paint inside bags, seal, and tape borders flat to a low table.

What to Say (Step-by-Step)

1. • Introduce: "Push the bag! It feels squishy, wet, and cold!"
2. • Guide: "Use your palm... push, push! Yellow and red are mixing together!"
3. • Praise: "Look at that! You squished them into a brand new orange color!"

Activity 3.2

Water Scooping & Squeezing

Small Motor

Materials

• • Low, wide plastic tubs
• • Soft bathroom sponges
• • Squeeze cups & bowls

Setup: Pour 1" warm water in tubs. Spread towels below to catch drips.

What to Say (Step-by-Step)

1. • Introduce: "Splish splash! The water is warm! Let's get our hands wet!"
2. • Guide: "Dunk your sponge... now squeeze it over the cup! Squeeze hard!"
3. • Praise: "Whoosh! Squeeze! Water drip, drop, drip! You filled the cup!"

Thursday Focus

Bumpy & Ridged Exploration

Activity 4.1

Bumpy Bubble Wrap Walk

Large Motor

Materials

• • Large-bubble wrap
• • Painter's floor tape

Setup: Tape a 5-6 foot wrap runway flat to hard classroom floor.

What to Say (Step-by-Step)

1. • Introduce: "Take off your socks! Feel the wrap with bare feet. Bumpy!"
2. • Guide: "Walk slowly... Step! Stomp! Crawl! Can you make a pop?"
3. • Praise: "Listen! Pop, pop, pop! Such funny sounds on tickly toes!"

Setup & Facilitation Part 3: Fri & Checklists

Sensory Explorers Activity Guide

Step-by-step setups, safety checks, and spoken dialogue scripts for 1-year-olds

Page 3 of 3

Friday Focus

Mixed Texture & Grand Finale

Activity 5.1

The Great Texture Crawlway

Large Motor

Materials

• • Heavy foam floor tiles
• • Burlap, velvet & fleece panels
• • Duct tape

Setup: Link 4 big tiles. Tape panels securely down: Tile 1 (fleece), Tile 2 (sandpaper), Tile 3 (corrugated board).

What to Say (Step-by-Step)

1. • Introduce: "Let's go on a crawl journey! Come crawl along our path to me!"
2. • Guide: "First is soft fleece... now feel this one... scratchy burlap! Rough!"
3. • Praise: "Yay! You crawled all the way through! Give me a big high-five!"

Safety Protocol Checklist

• No Choking Hazards: Any accessory (e.g., beads, corks, balls) must be wider than 1.25 inches (choke tube test).
• Safe Materials: All liquid and paints must be certified AP non-toxic and hypo-allergenic.
• Constant Supervision: 1:4 maximum caregiver ratio is critical. Never turn your back on a toddler playing with water or dough.
• Sanitization: Disinfect all shared plastic and wooden textures between individual groups.

Milestones to Observe

• Tactile Preferences: Does the child pull away from rough/sticky surfaces, or are they drawn to them? (Self-regulation)
• Pincer Grasp: Are they able to pull a fine feather or a thin pipe cleaner using their thumb and forefinger? (Fine Motor)
• Joint Attention: Does the toddler make eye contact and smile when they encounter a strange sound (bubble wrap) or feeling? (Social-Emotional)

Provider Observation Notes

Drop heavy tennis balls vs empty hollow ping-pong floats.

Circle Time & Story Connections

• Theme Song: "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, baby jump!" (with active movements)
• Featured Book 1: "Froggy Plays Soccer" by Jonathan London (encourages kicking)
• Featured Book 2: "Baby Loves Sports" by Holiday House (bright, high-contrast actions)

Caregiver Tips & Developmental Focus

• Encourage Efforts: Exaggerate physical actions during play: "Kick! Wow, soccer ball go!" "Throw high!"
• Positive Pacing: 1-year-olds exhaust quickly. Blend active sports times with brief water or rest breaks.
• Safety Check: Avoid hard or heavy balls. Beach balls, foam sponge balls, and balloon-stuffed covers are optimal.

Active Setup Part 2: Wed & Thu

Tiny Athletes Activity Guide

Step-by-step setups, safety checks, and spoken dialogue scripts for 1-year-olds

Page 2 of 3

Wednesday Focus

Balance & Climb (Core Balance)

Activity 3.1

Flat Foam Balance Walk

Active Sports

Materials

• • Low foam blocks (2" high)
• • Bright painter's tape

Setup: Lay flat blue tape lines or low dense foam rails across tumble mats.

What to Say (Step-by-Step)

1. • Introduce: "Hold my hands. Let's walk the blue line! Nice and slow."
2. • Guide: "One step... two steps! Keep your toes right on the blue path!"
3. • Praise: "You did it! Balance, balance, step! Look at you walking, hooray!"

Activity 3.2

Weight Comparison Bottles

Early Physics

Materials

• • Clear juice bottles
• • Sand/Water (heavy)
• • Cotton balls (light)

Setup: Glue half the bottle lids shut with sand inside, and half with cotton balls inside.

What to Say (Step-by-Step)

1. • Introduce: "Let's lift these bottles! Pull up with your hands! Lift, lift!"
2. • Guide: "Ooh! This sand is heavy! It takes strong muscles. This cotton is light!"
3. • Praise: "You lifted the heavy bottle! Show me your strong muscles, squeeze!"

Thursday Focus

Stretch & Bend (Flexibility)

Activity 4.1

Parachute Soft Ball Shake

Active Sports

Materials

• • Lightweight bedsheet
• • Light foam sponge balls

Setup: Sit toddlers in a circle, holding the borders of the sheet together.

What to Say (Step-by-Step)

1. • Introduce: "Hold the edges of our big sheet. Ready... set... let's hold tight!"
2. • Guide: "We shake up high... reach to sky! Now shake low to our toes!"
3. • Praise: "Look at the foam balls jump up! Squeal, giggle! Up they go!"

Active Setup Part 3: Fri & Checklists

Tiny Athletes Activity Guide

Step-by-step setups, safety checks, and spoken dialogue scripts for 1-year-olds

Page 3 of 3

Friday Focus

Active Team Games & Relays

Activity 5.1

Tunnel Crawl Ball Fetch

Active Sports

Materials

• • Pop-up fabric tunnel
• • Padded crawling mat
• • Multi-color ball pit balls

Setup: Stretch tunnel flat on mat. Place a bucket of balls at one end.

What to Say (Step-by-Step)

1. • Introduce: "Look at this giant tunnel! I am at the other end. Peek-a-boo!"
2. • Guide: "Crawl to me! Bring the yellow ball! Crawl, crawl, crawl inside!"
3. • Praise: "Hooray, you popped out! Drop the ball inside our target bucket! PLOP!"

Active Safety Protocol

• No Hard Items: Verify that absolutely no hard plastic, wooden, or rubber balls are used in high-active play zones.
• Padded Landing Zones: Double-pad any climbing and balance block areas. Tumble mats must be at least 1" thick.
• Sanitize High-Use Gear: Wipe and clean foam tunnels and plastic beach balls after every session.
• Barefoot Advantage: Encourage barefoot play inside to stimulate ankle nerve endings and enhance gripping/traction.

Motor Skills to Track

• Bilateral Coordination: Can the toddler hold a box lid with both hands and tip it to roll a ball? (Symmetric play)
• Balance Stability: How many independent steps can the child take along the flat foam balance beam?
• Spatial Orientation: Do they crawl confidently through the dark space of a tunnel, following a voice cue?

Active Motor Observation Notes

Crawl under sprinklers, leap water balloon targets.

2:45 - 3:15 PM Pop Songbook

Ice Pop Break & Counselor Guitar Camp Songs

Cooling off under canvas shade with flavored ice treats, singing summer camp classics.

3:15 - 4:00 PM Camp Rally

Wacky Team Challenges, Daily Clean-Up & Cabin Dismissal

Counselors host rapid mini-challenges (e.g. frozen shirt races). Campers clear the field of balloons, buddy checks, checkout.

Camp Songs & Chants

• • Cabin Shout: "Wacky Water! Splash! Splish! We are making a major fish!"
• • Rhythm Chant: "Everywhere we go, people want to know, who we are, so we say: We are the Water Splashers!"

Counselor Safety Rules

• • Buddy Check: Blow whistle every 15 mins. Kids must grasp their buddy's hand and raise it high.
• • Dehydration Alert: Require 1 cup of fresh water for every active game block.
• • Sun Protection: Apply broad-spectrum SPF 30+ at 9:00 AM, 12:30 PM, and 3:00 PM.

CRAFT 2.1: Wednesday

Custom Sponge Splash Water Bombs

Fine Motor

Materials

• • Multi-color household sponges
• • Rubber bands or hair ties
• • Scissors
• • Water buckets

Setup: Cut household sponges lengthwise into 3 thin strips. Lay 9 strips (varying colors) in a stack of 3x3.

Counselor Challenge Dialogue

1. • Introduce: "Let's make reusable water balloons that never run out! Sponge Splashers!"
2. • Guide: "Wrap your rubber band extremely tight right around the center of your stack! Fluff out the sponge fingers to form a ball!"
3. • Review: "Throw it in the water. See how much water it drinks up! SQUEEZE it! Ready for splash battle?"

CRAFT 2.2: Thursday

Raised Salt & Watercolor Art

Chemical Art

Materials

• • Cardstock sheets
• • Liquid squeeze school glue
• • Table salt shaker shaker
• • Liquid watercolor & brush

Setup: Squeeze glue in wave/fish patterns on cardstock. Generously shake salt over the wet glue. Shake off excess salt.

Counselor Challenge Dialogue

1. • Introduce: "Let's explore how water travels through salt crystals. Raised ocean paintings!"
2. • Guide: "Touch a wet brush of color to the salt line. Don't brush it, just tap! See how the color shoots down the line?"
3. • Review: "Why does the salt suck up the water? It's absorption! It's capillary action in action!"

WACKY ACTIVE Part 3: Friday & Checklists

Water Camp Activity Guide

Step-by-step counselor guides, chemical lists, and facilitation dialogue models

Page 3 of 3

Large Motor active Block

Wacky Wet Team Challenges

ACTIVE: Friday

Over-Head Leaky Bucket Brigade

Team Sport

Materials

• • Plastic cups (with 3 nail holes)
• • 2 giant water source buckets
• • 2 empty target bottles

Setup: Line up each cabin team in a straight single-file row. Put water source bucket at front, and empty target container at back.

Counselor Facilitation Dialogue

1. • Introduce: "Line up! It's the Leaky Bucket Brigade! You cannot look backward!"
2. • Guide: "Scoop water in your cup, lift it straight over your head, and pour backward into your buddy's cup behind you! Get ready to get wet!"
3. • Praise: "Fabulous pour! Go go go, fill that back bottle! Splash on!"

Wet Camp Safety Code

• The Golden Rule: No pushing, shoving, or spraying faces directly during active squirt/sponge games.
• Heat Safety Index: Wet active games must pause if temperature indexes exceed 92°F. Shift to air-conditioned shelter.
• Buddy Calls: Triple-whistle indicates instant buddy huddle. Count faces and match with team checklists.

Team Building Targets

• Inclusive Spirit: Do older campers coordinate and pass to younger/shyer cabin members? (Peer leadership)
• Conflict Resolution: How do teams manage accidental splashing or sliding collisions? (Self-regulation)
• Encouraging Phrases: Do campers cheer on their mates during water rocket launches?

Counselor Field Notes