Hello readers!
Sorry about the lull in activity on here. I took last week off from work to help out on my aunt and uncle's farm in Wisconsin. I was driving the hay truck and hauling and learning how to drive stick! Lots of work and quite the learning curve, but it was nice to see the family and learn a new skill all the same! And of course I came back to camp to greet the Junior High Campers on Sunday. I have since been known affectionately as "(Crazy)Craft Lady". I did the orientation for the group and they were all pretty excited to get to Rockland after that!
My uncle also sent me back with the table loom to finish setting up.
I am hoping to have it up and running before Elementary Camp.. but it's a lengthy process and I can't rush it the way I do other projects. We will see what happens!
As stated before, Junior High Camp started Sunday and has not STOPPED since! This is a high energy group of counselors and 7-9th grade campers. It's pretty impressive... they are go go go all the time and I usually don't sit down except for at meals.
My days with this camp consist of mostly crafts with dishwashing and planning in between. Crafts start bright and early at 9:30am and last until the lunch warning bell (12:15). Three groups come in at separate times throughout the crafts hours. After lunch I have been working in the Canteen and then heading back to Rockland from 2:30pm - 5:15. They can choose to work in Rockland during their recreation hour or go swimming.
It's been a long and busy week, but I love it to bits :) This is a really fun group of campers and I am learning a LOT from them as we work together on projects and.. clean up times.
Day 1:
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| Holy toaster oven, Batman! |
Option 1: Shrinky dink designs
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| I thought this was really well made.. |
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| Lots of different designs (and Captain America shields) |
Kids REALLY liked these when they figured out how to do them. It's all about clear directions and making sure they are listening! Some of them messed up their projects by not paying attention to instructions and it was hectic but... they eventually figured out they did not know everything haha. The kids made all sorts of different images and key chains. I wanted to restrict this project to one day, because a. I have only one toaster oven, and b. the sheer AMOUNT of shrinky dinks after they got started was crazy. I got them all cooked eventually but yikes!
Option 2: woven pouches/projects
I had about a third of each group that were interested in the weaving project. The best part was when they were teaching each other when I was occupied either working with another group for a different project or doing something else! It was very gratifying to observe my effective teaching through the campers :) Some of them even came up with new ideas for weaving projects! One girl was working beads into her weft threads today (Wednesday).
[woven pouch pictures]
Option 3: free time to draw or write/decorate for banquet or the dance
This should be a staple with each camp, I think. I always offer paper to the students so they can draw if they don't want to do the projects. This is a tricky situation, though. It's very easy for the campers to get off-task and become kind of clique-y when they are sitting in their groups. I have a stack of papers about 2 inches high COVERED in drawings and campers writing their names in creative lettering, etc.. I remember doing the same thing when I was a camper :) maybe I should offer more drawing-centered projects?
But then art educator anxiety comes into play: not all kids think they can draw! A lot of kids are very self-conscious about their abilities and will NOT draw even when given the option as free time.
Option 4: bead sun catchers (same ones I did with the senior high campers). This group of campers had different ideas for designs and they actually utilized the scrapbook brads and decorations in their designs as well. As you can see.. this project was very popular
Day 2:
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| Haha. Hahahah |
Option 1: Leather wrap bracelets
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| This project really keeps em busy for craft time! So many choices for beads and colors.. |
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| Showing off the bracelets! |
The counselor I helped out during Senior High Camp sent me a goodie box this week FULL of leather cord, beads, bead animal kits, and other things :) It was really nice of her to think of us at camp and the box allowed me to do the leather cord bracelet again!
Option 2: Weaving project
Again, this was a popular choice for activity. There were more people interested in it on day 2 once they saw their fellow campers working on theirs.
Option 3: Gods Eye
One of the new campers asked me if he could use some of my yarn to work on a Gods Eye. After that a bunch of other campers wanted to make them, so I had my work cut out for me! It was fun seeing the kids wandering around outside the cabin to find sticks that were 'perfect' for their projects. It soon became a competition to see who could make the biggest ones! |
| Nice. |
Option 4: Drawing
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| couple of characters, here! |
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| they're obviously working hard! |
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| Craft lady game face |
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| Work Work Work |
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| Holding it alllll together.. |
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| I like this picture :) |
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| Cubbies are getting full |
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| it's all about YARN |
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| One of the counselors was taking these pictures and I really like this one!! |
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| well then. |
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| here comes trouble |
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| full cabin! |
Today I let the campers hold Cézanne. They love him! I made sure to give the little reptile friend enough space and time between camper interactions so he could recover. I'm just glad he likes people so much! He has been out almost every day at least once with this group of campers and then I let him rest during meal times and at night (obviously). He's a trooper, and it's kind of like I am a science major/ teacher hah.
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| He kind of freaked out a little bit after the first few minutes holding Cézanne..but all was good. |
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| Pretty sure she would steal him away from me if she could :) |
Oh, I almost forgot! I opened up a document where the kids could post their thoughts about their experiences in Rockland. I haven't read them yet but I'll post them in Friday's update :) I really have enjoyed working with this group so far.
Ms. K
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