Review: Road Trip USA! Camp by Sheryl Welles

My friend Sheryl Welles has just put her RoadTrip USA! camp lesson plans up for sale on her website!  She very kindly sent me a copy to review, and so I’m going to tell you all about it.  🙂

RoadTrip USA! is a 159-page pdf that contains detailed descriptions with photos of the games and activities Sheryl does for her camp.  Sheryl also includes detailed lists for the supplies you will need each day, as well as some advice about registration forms and setting tuition.

So, what is the camp like?  Each day, campers travel to a different part of the United States to listen to different styles of music, learn about composers, and reinforce basic musical concepts, like rhythm and note reading.  The five destinations are Washington D.C., New Orleans, the Wild West, New York City, and Hawaii.  The activities throughout the day are themed around that day’s destination.  I love the great variety of activities (indoors, outdoors, movement, listening, etc!) Sheryl uses for this camp, and your students will love it too!  If you haven’t seen Sheryl’s blog before, I highly recommend you check out some of her posts about her music camps.

Following the lesson plans, there is a lengthy section in the pdf called “Resources” that contains printables and/or directions for all the materials you will need for RoadTrip USA.  For example, there are terminology signs and rhythm cards for the games.  There are also cards for the Taxi Cab Race and directions for making the accompanying gameboard.

RoadTrip USA! is very comprehensive and will provide you with all the plans and ideas you need for holding a successful camp.  As with any camp, there is quite a bit of assembly required — so be prepared for that.  Fortunately, many of the items can be re-used not only for future years of camp, but also for everyday games with your students.

Regardless, this pdf will save you hours of planning and will result in a creative, fun camp for your students.  Sheryl has such a knack for knowing what kids will find “fun,” while making sure the activities are educational and worthwhile.

RoadTrip USA! is a pdf download that you can purchase for $39 — however, Sheryl is running an introductory sale right now until July 12, so you can get it now for just $30.  You can’t beat that!  Go check it out.  🙂