Family Camp: Days 4, 5 & 6

I can't believe it.. camp season is over! We cleaned the camper cabins and grounds all this week and it's done. I think I am in shock. I went into a packing/movie coma all day today and I still can't shake the fact I don't have to wake up for breakfast in the dining hall tomorrow. So... it's a little bittersweet.
On that note, I realize I have been slacking with this blog! I plan to remedy that... Now.

Thursday at camp was busy as ever. Myself and my coworkers were working double-time to finish our chores and duties so we could go out to dinner with the boss. I had to come up with some activities for the kids to work on because for whatever reason they were just WIRED from start to finish that day. I think it was because Thursday night was skit night.. Anyway!

The first project we worked on was a folded paper wallet. The importance of CLEAR directions came flying into my FACE with this project. I was working from a set of directions that I have used before, but the kids were younger and more apt to distractions. I had to pull them back to the lesson more than a few times and take deep, deep breaths ahha. We all got through it okay, but I had to do a lot of hands-on steps with the kids (aka, I can't do it!). It amazed me how much learned helplessness the kids showed with this project... I found that I needed to repeat steps and, again, go through everything step-by-step with the kids to complete each part of the project. We also learned some folding tricks to make crisp and even lines. I will re-explore this project next year.. or whenever I have time to go through my lessons and fix them up. I was having the kids put a clear vinyl coating on the outside side of the wallet to protect it, but that made it hard to fold and etc etc etc... it was rough. We got through it! But it was a tough process.

no, he really was happy he made a wallet

the big excitement with this one is that it looks like a CAT

 The second project was leather wrap bracelets. I want to do this with EVERY camp, but I am not made of money... so.. I limit it to the groups I know will listen and respect the materials. These guys did a good job and throughout the day the older kids made some interesting bracelets and necklaces as well. The rest of the day the campers worked on weaving, string art, and more drawing. They also were putting together props for their skits.. I didn't get any pictures because I was busy working on my own crafts and of course CLEANING. Cézanne made a few guest appearances when there was a lull in activity (or the kids hassled me to the point of madness). He was a big hit at camp this week. The kids really liked learning about him and showing him off to their family.

cool necklace

one hard-working pirate!

Friday:
OH I almost forgot to mention.. I did a craft with ALL the family campers on Thursday afternoon.. and on Friday we decorated them. Remember when I was talking about the salt dough craft.... welll that became a reality on Wednesday afternoon! I had to coordinate the craft in the dining hall and it worked out very well - with a few minor hiccups. For example.. I had the dough all mixed up to the right consistency and everything.. but it was really really sticky. So we had to use more flour to keep it from molding to hands and tables. I also improvised a baking paper sheet as the rolling area.. and when the dough wouldn't come off that I just cut around it. THINK ON YOUR FEET, CRAFT LADY!

lots of different designs

I didn't want to make a gigantic mess on the last day of camp so I opted to let the campers (and their parents/grandparents) spray paint instead. I made a makeshift spray booth out of cardboard and styrofoam and let them at it. The campers came in throughout the day to work on their ornaments and again each one was different. It was fun watching the little kids spray theirs; they all did a really good job, too.

The older campers worked on their weaving projects, more drawing, and string art projects.

So um.. this isn't appropriate. But they worked very hard on it all week.

Some of the kids made signs and props for their skits.

here's the sign that was transferred with a needle and hammer!

he used his shirt as a template to trace everything and then painted the colors

I liked having the one-on-one time to work out problems and check for understanding, but I know I won't always have that advantage in a classroom. I will need to come up with ways to check for understanding with large groups.. I need to do that more! I sometimes get so caught up in what I am doing/saying that I don't make sure the kids are on the same page. Having a passion for teaching is a gift and a curse in that way... but I have not felt out of place once this summer. I had to overcome my thoughts about art vs. crafts before I could get anything done. I didn't feel like I had to plan as much... at first. But then I realized that when I wasn't taking the time to organize and plan, the kids weren't as engaged or became confused more easily. I can connect this to my art education lesson plans as well. If the teacher is only putting a small amount of effort into the plan, the kids will reciprocate with that same amount of effort when they do the activity! It's all about being enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Kids want to do crafts with a craft person that WANTS to do the activity; not someone who wants to idly sit by and wait for them to figure it out.

I feel like this week of camp, while they kids didn't have a lot of schedules or designated activities, was one of my more organized weeks for crafts. Most of the campers were older and more independent so I had more time to work one-on-one with the younger campers on more complex projects. I did not do all the same projects with campers which made it much easier for me to plan and reorganize after crafting with different age groups. I also got to talk with one of the parents who had organized crafts previously and picked her brain for craft ideas. Apparently, Family Camp had been completely run by the family campers in years past (they did their own dishes, cleaned the cabins and bathrooms, organized crafts, etc.). Now it is run more like a family reunion with the staff present for those chores... but I was happy to be able to craft with the kids!
I learned a lot from working with them. The different age groups throughout the day were a good way to experience k-12 teaching.. It also made me miss working with the kids at NTW school! Each hour of the day was a new challenge for me and I was much quicker to realize what was and was not working with each camper...

The one issue I am having with camp right now is that I am still TIRED OUT. I'm gonna put off the full reflection until I am better rested. I also want to go through my binder of activities and organize that a bit more...

Until then,
Ms. K - signing off.