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Remember how fun it is to learn something new?  Remember when you were a kid and you thought that erupting volcano that you made with baking soda and peroxide was the most amazing thing in the whole world?  Remember experimenting with objects to see which would float and which would sink?  Do you remember how exciting all of this was? Do you remember being totally transfixed by these experiments?  I do, and this week I’m getting the chance to re-live all this wonder with my campers.

I am by no means a science minded person.  I am 100% right-brained and math and science are absolute mysteries to me.  But give me the opportunity to teach 3 year-olds science and I get so excited I can’t contain myself.

We started the week making our own fireworks with water, oil, and food coloring.  I think I may have been more amazed than the kids were, but man were they hypnotized!

Often times, I think we underestimate how much their little minds can absorb.  From birth to 5, children’s brain are like little sponges and they can soak in more knowledge and information than we often realize.  I cringe if someone says, “Oh they’re 3, they don’t understand.”  Really?  We had a Beach Party week and I taught the kids about hermit crabs and how when they get too big for their shells, they move into a bigger one.  One of my 3 year old campers recited the process perfectly when asked about it the next day.  Little sponges.

This week has proven especially hard in choosing activities simply because there are endless cool projects that I want to do!  Every day during circle time we’ll do a new experiment in place of our usual songs or games.  Hands on things are some of the best ways to teach.  I tutored for a program based on the theory that kids learn better when they’re up and moving and using their bodies and minds.  So this week instead of sitting and singing during circle, we’ve been experimenting.  We made our own bouncy balls while learning a simple lesson about polymers, and even made our own cloud in a jar!  By letting the kids have their hands in all of this, they’re able to touch, feel, see, smell, and even hear what’s happening.  When all of their senses are engaged like this, they can’t help but become completely immersed in what we’re learning about!

Even though science was by far my worst subject in school, I really do enjoy teaching it!  But I’ve also got some amazing students!  Next week we’re looking forward to Monster Camp!!!

The post Weird Science Week appeared first on Little Beans.

I’m kicking it into high gear planning mode.  Shopping lists have been made, songs have been practiced, poems memorized, camp shirts arrived, and whooo buddy am I excited!

Ok, it’s nervousness mixed with excitement.  I get super excited and overly ambitious about these weekly camp themes and my imagination takes over.  To keep track of all these adorable activities, I joined Pinterest.  It is the most productive tool of procrastination I have ever utilized.  I wonder what it’d been like if Pinterest had been around when my mother instilled this love of crafting and planning in me years ago.

My mother is the queen of planning children’s events and activities.  My entire childhood, she was always doing some cute art project with me and my sister.  When I was 9 and my sister was 6, she helped us make our own carnival in the backyard.  We built our own games, made tickets, and even had prizes; just the three of us.  She was the master organizer of all school parties, girl scout camping trips, birthdays, field trips, organized an entire fundraising campaign to build a new playground at my elementary school and spearheaded a committee called P.R.A.I.S.E (Parents Really Are Important Sources of Education.)

Being the little sponge that I was, I subsequently inherited these skills from my versatile Mamma.  When I was in 3rd grade, I formed my own band.  I designed costumes, wrote songs, and thought I was the bomb.  In middle and high school, I was the friend in my social circle who organized gift exchanges, cookouts, camping trips, lunches…you get the idea.

And now, I am faced with the most challenging and fun planning project yet.  I search for ideas for circle time and am faced with hundreds of options, each cuter and more complex than the last.  I am inundated with disgustingly adorable art projects.  I want to figure out a way to build a pirate ship as well as a milk jug igloo.  My inner monologue has not stopped yammering away about crafts, songs, carpet squares, and scheduling for about 6 months now.  I don’t know if I want to strap myself into a straight jacket or run through the streets declaring that Little Beans Summer Camp is going to be the BEST CAMP EVER!

When this happens, I call my Mom.  Her super planning powers switch on and in 20 minutes she’s talked me out of building an entire underwater ecosystem and opting for a hand print tablecloth.

I thank my Mom, for not only keeping me sane throughout this process, but for also teaching me everything I know.  Thanks to her, in essence, I am planning the BEST CAMP EVER!

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A brief bio of me.  My name is Vanessa and I am the Event Coordinator here at Little Beans.  I’ve been here since the day we opened, first as the Music and Movement teacher, then as a playspace cleaner, event coordinator, birthday party ambassador, ice cream scooper, balloon twister, face painter, and now head counselor for camp.  Whew!
I’m going to be honest; when Shannon (one of the owners) said we were doing summer camp, I got more than a little nervous.  I’ve been both a camper and counselor many times but the thought of starting this thing from scratch was daunting.  Then I started thinking of all the fun that I had at camp, the crafts, the friends, the amazing fun times that I had both as a camper and a counselor.  I started to get excited and with excitement came ideas.
Our first camp session is only 4 weeks away and my ambitious ideas are taking shape.  We’re doing weekly themes for our campers and I think this has been my favorite planning project yet.  Here’s what we’ve got in store for June campers:

June 4-8: Shake, Rattle, and Roll
We’re going to rock the LBC(Little Beans Cafe) this week!  Kid-friendly rock music will be key;  I’m thinking lots of tunes from The Boogers, maybe a little Aerosmith, Chuck Berry…we’ll see where our campers feel the groove.  Not to mention we’ll be building our own instruments and possibly having an impromptu jam session amidst all this musical fun!

June 11-15:  The Week of DAD!
Don’t worry Mommies, we’ll have a week for you too, but with Father’s Day right around the corner, we figured it’d be a great time to celebrate all of our amazing Daddies!  We want to know what all of our Daddies do when they’re not playing up a storm at Little Beans!  Where does he work, what does he do for fun, what is your little camper’s favorite thing to do with Dad?  I’m torn between a bunch of different art projects for this week.  Stay tuned for updates.

Totally camp unrelated, but I also have to mention that we’re having a Daddy Daughter Tea the Friday before Father’s Day!  So cute it hurts.

June 18-22:  Look What I Can do (My Amazing Body)
“Look what I can do” is a phrase that I never tire of hearing from little kids.  This week in camp we’re going to learn all about our bodies and what they can really do!  A little morning yoga on the deck maybe, LOTS of imagining that our bodies are different things, and we’ll be making life size cut-outs of all our campers that they get to dress and decorate themselves.

June 25-29:  BEACH PARTY!!
We’re partying beach style all week!  We’ll be learning some Beach Boys songs, cooling our feet in the pool, and rocking the dog days of summer!  If I’m feeling really ambitious, maybe we’ll learn to hula dance!

Yup, I’m excited about camp.”

The post Welcome to Little Beans Summer Camp appeared first on Little Beans.

After a first round of classes, we’ve decided to pull out our very favorite for a 4-week Spring session (in perfect time for something fun between the end of the school year and the start of camps).

Starting on June 1st and running 4-weeks we will be offering the following classes:

Mondays -2:00-5:00pm: Manicure Monday’s
Register Here: http://littlebeanscafe.com/event-registration/?regevent_action=register&event_id=26

Tuesdays- 11:00am: Kids Spanish
Register here: http://littlebeanscafe.com/event-registration/?regevent_action=register&event_id=31

Wednesdays- 4:15pm: Kids Yoga (walkers and up)
Check out this video of the class in action. This gives you a good idea of what a class at Little Beans is like. This class is awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KIweP12S1w
Register here: http://littlebeanscafe.com/event-registration/?regevent_action=register&event_id=11

Thursdays- 4:00pm: Music and Movement (all ages)
Register here: http://littlebeanscafe.com/event-registration/?regevent_action=register&event_id=30

Fridays- 10:00am: Mommy-Time Yoga
Register here: http://littlebeanscafe.com/event-registration/?regevent_action=register&event_id=33

Saturdays- 11:00: Theatre, Imagination and Play class
Register here: http://littlebeanscafe.com/event-registration/?regevent_action=register&event_id=34

We hope you will all sign up. For descriptions and pricing for each class, or if you have any questions on the classes or any of the events at Little Beans you can visit us at www.littlebeanscafe.com or call 773-251-1025.

Thanks so much for everything that past few months. We have had an absolute blast and are so lucky to have so many amazing families visit Little Beans. We hope you’ll continue to visit us and help us grow as a long term community destination for parents and kids in Chicago.

We have some awesome changes coming, so make sure to follow us on facebook and twitter for updates. We may need to be closed for a few days for some upgrades to the space: A quick hint…… it involves sun, decking, ice cream, more space and fun. Oops, I may have just given it away:).

The post Little Beans Updates and June Classes appeared first on Little Beans.

Below are some links:

Sun Times

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/3264571-417/jan-beans-cafe-kids-space.html

Time Out

http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/kids/91307/little-beans-cafe-opens

Daily Candy:

http://www.dailycandy.com/kids/chicago/article/95560/Little-Beans-Cafe-Lincoln-Park-Play-Space

Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-play-0127-little-beans-20110127,0,3543513.story

More Press can be seen here!

http://nspt4kids.com/therapy/5-top-chicago-and-north-shore-gyms-for-children-after-they-graduate-from-physical-therapy/

Elizabeth Street:

http://www.elizabethstreet.com/poi/little-beans

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The post Little Beans will be closed on Friday, January 28th until 2:00 for a private media party appeared first on Little Beans.

The post LITTLE BEANS NOW OPEN appeared first on Little Beans.

The post Turns out our opening date is out of our control appeared first on Little Beans.

Included in this post are a few photos of the playspace, cafe and parents lounge. We’ve been working really hard to make this place the coolest family destination in the city and we hope you agree!

For more info go to our facebook page and become a fan. I will continue to post updates here and on Facebook.

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