Showing posts with label Activity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Activity. Show all posts

Saturday, 19 July 2014

Page 17: All Children, Except One, Grow Up

6PM: Dinner Time
*Mindy edges her script across the table to me "Help me run lines?" so between tactical mouthfuls of mash potato I'm John, Michael, Tootles, Nibs and the parents.
One of my kids is playing Wendy in the camp's version of Peter Pan and for the first time I understand why my sister used to be nervous about seeing me in shows (What if she forgets a line onstage? It's in 2 hours! I can't whisper it back to her then...)

8PM: Staging Time

8:05PM
The tannoy invites freshman to begin seating in the hall. I'm sitting in the cabin 150 metres away. Damn. WHERE ARE MY PINK SHOES! DAMN! NO! I DON'T CARE ABOUT DOING THE LACES UP TWO OF MY KIDS ARE IN A SHOW TONIGHT AND I'M LATE! I'M LATE! OH GOD. I'M A TERRIBLE COUNSELOR! AWW! DAMN! RUN!

Peter Pan is one of my all time favourite stories. I've read the book and original play, done creative writing for an AS around it and seen the show (RSC'13). That's just in the last year.
I was that kid who left the window open thinking Peter Pan might come in (he didn't. Insects did). And jumped off furniture hoping to fly (you can guess how that one ended).

It's a story that grows up with you.

C S Lewis:“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

It was also a pretty topical story for who and where I am right now (Wendy is a young English girl, preparing for adulthood who, wanting adventure leaves her home to escape responsibilities and the idea of a conventional job and domestic life. She flies to a new land where she becomes a mother figure to a bunch of spirited children and grows up).
You don't need an education in literature to see the allegory I'm making here.

The show goes well and ends perfectly with kids standing in a far from straight line bowing mexican-wave style (getting kids to bow together is harder than trying to baptize a cat).

9:45 An Hour Past The Kid's Bedtime
I carry *Livvy across the bridge. She's that tired. It's my night off but the only time I have to do the bedtime routine with my cabin (usually at this time I'm hosting camp outs).
"Girls, find your pajamas!"
"Girls, you need to brush your teeth!"
Somewhere between nine and nineteen I must have grown up because now instead of leaving the window open, I'm the one closing it and wishing the children goodnight.

Friday, 18 July 2014

Page 16: "Job Perks"

It's an 18 hour day for 8 weeks with 5 days off. But I'm sure it's actually the best job for me, right now, anywhere in the world.

I'm reminded of this on a regular basis. For example, I'm writing this after being in the Outback, building a metre high fire to burn rubbish on and having a cheeky s'more. Does rubbish disposal and office snacks get any better? (No.)
I'm lucky to be here, and it's the people that make it so great!

Our night off plans were modest- go to the mall and watch a movie. But the minivans were all booked out when we turned up. Damn. Which meant we were spending our night off in camp. Damn.
Then, we actually thought about the sitch- being 'stuck' at a summer camp with your friends and a free night really isn't a bad thing...

Especially not when one of your friends is a qualified lifeguard who offers to take the group water boarding on the empty lake :)

Thanks RyRy!
Or when you get permission from your supervisor to take your friends on a camp out ("Go for it. The Outback is your crib Georgia").

So I made a glow stick trail through the forest and lit all the tekes (forest lanterns) bfore going back for the group and walking them across in the darkness.

S'mores. Hammocks. Starry sky. No curfew and NOT A CHILD IN SIGHT.

Perfection.

Left to Right: Ryan, Sean, Me, Louise, Dominique (Momma D)
These are the hilarious and sensitive people I've had the luck to find in NY who also happen to be supremely gorgeous, intelligent, creative and athletic individuals <3

I'm so LUCKED OUT!

Friday, 4 July 2014

Page 12: A Standard Day At Camp

*Not that any day at Camp could ever be considered standard...


 AFTER A CAMP OUT        
                  
7AM:       Wake Up and then wake campers up!  
      
7.30AM: Walk campers from Outback back to
                base camp; just over half a mile through
                the woods, past the stables and over the
                baseball field

7.50AM: Cheeky shower then run to flag              
               (hair dripping) for announcements  
             
8.15AM: Breakfast: Pancakes? Hash Browns? Tater Tots? French Toast? Cinnamon Porridge?
               Eat with staff :)

-Adventure meeting- Apply bugspray- Go to Wifi room-

9.30-12  SLEEP                   
                                             
12.20 Lunch: Sit with my Cabin. Dance on the chairs to 'The Wiggle Song'

1.30     Head to Outback for prep; collect
            firewood, arrange archery boards,
            practice archery ect...

2.00-5.00 Outback Sessions: Supervise Go-Karts, teach fire building or archery, fix hammocks

5.00-6.00 Snack'N'Go: Is that the popsicle cart? YESITISOHMYGAWDBETTERRUNNOW.
                Twilight: Supervise free play

5.50  Flag Lowering

6.00  Dinner: Cook for Campout Kids!

7.00> Collect food, s'more kit ect and prep for               
            camp out (make fire/ put glow sticks in
            trees/ load bus/ collect kids and walk them
            to Outback)

* Make s'mores, campfire games, songs and
flashlight tag and then send kids to bed. Hang on
hammocks while flames turn to embers and then
stare at some stars and head to bed.




                              
NO CAMP OUT


7.50AM: Wake Up to Camp Director on the tannoy "Good Morning Camp Echo, Echo, Echo
it's time to get Up Up Up, not Down Down Down! On today's schedule..."

8AM: Flag Raising A crazy man called Dave runs around a flagpole shouting announcements about trips, sports scores and laundry and leads chants. The pledge is said and flag raised.

8.15AM: Breakfast: Pancakes? Hash Browns? Tater Tots? French Toast? Cinnamon Porridge?
                Eat with staff :)


      -Adventure meeting- Apply bugspray- Go to Wifi room-
9.30-12: Hang out with Cabin or help with adventure/archery classes


12.20: Lunch: Sit with my Cabin. Dance on the chairs to 'The Wiggle Song'
2.00-5.00: Outback Sessions: Supervise Go-Karts, teach fire building or archery, fix hammocks
5.00-6.00: Snack'N'Go: Is that the popsicle cart? YESITISOHMYGAWDBETTERRUNNOW.

Twilight: Supervise free play

5.50: Flag Lowering

6.00: Dinner: Sit with Cabin

8.00: Evening Activity!
9.00: Milk'N'Cookies!

9.15: Circle Time with Cabin!

Monday, 30 June 2014

Page 10: It's A Long Way To Long Island

The last time I woke up at 3.30am was accidental due to my inability to work my own alarm clock and my iPod screamed-

 "CAUS' YOU'RE A GOOD GURRRRRRL!
YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT!"

Through the pillow at me. In my delirious sleep-deprived state I thought somehow Robin Thicke had broken into my bedroom and got into my bed.
It remains one of the most terrifying moments of my life.

I haven't been keen to see 3.30am since.

However, I signed up to take the bus to Long Island and meet the campers and travel with them back to camp.

I arrived at 4.50am at Brandon's office, blanket in hand. 4.50am. If I have to get out of bed before the sun does I'm bringing at least part of the bed with me...

"Bright eyed and Bushy tailed...they said"

I woke up when I felt the car taking turns, we must've left the highway and the road felt different. Toby twitched his head to the right then at me then to the right again, I thought this sudden erratic tick was simply a sign of the madness early mornings inflict on their bearers, but nah. I turned right and there- right there parallel to the water on the bridge connecting to Long Island was New York City.

Nice.

The kids arrived, signed them in, boarded the coach, played top trumps with the boys at the back of the coach, had my hair braided by a 4th grader, confiscated candy (Yep. Took candy from a kid. Camp regulations. Sorry) then re-arrived to the cheering sports field waving glittery welcome banners.

Although I'm now tired as one of the back-of-the-bus kids asked me at Baseball "Hey Georgia! Are you gonna pick us up at Long Island again next year! That was fun!" which is the sweetest thing.


Dunkin' Donuts Conversation


Toby: (seeing the keys on the lanlard): Golf Cart?

Me: I drove it the other day!

Toby: You drove it? Where?

Me: From Camp to Outback and back! And I didn't stall it once!

Toby: It's an automatic golf cart. You can't stall it.

Me: ...

Wednesday, 25 June 2014

Page 8: Being In 3rd Grade And Being 8 Is Hard, Being In 3rd Grade And Being 19 Is Harder

                                                                                                                                                    22/06/14

Today was mock camp day which meant we got to go to classes that our assigned age groups will do. My timetable looked like; Woodwork, Cheer leading, Pool, Basketball, Lake.
Although I'm staying in a staff cabin this summer, rather than living with the kids as 97% of counselors do (only me, because I have a night-based job, the media team who have an insanely busy job and the baking girls who have night work are in staff cabins) I still got to have a *Freshmen day as that's the age group I'll be spending my free time with.

*Freshmen are the youngest group on camp, 3rd-4th graders (age 8-9)

So I made a simple photo frame with guidance from an Arts Counselor, did my swim test


(not before holding hands with my "Buddy", safely entering the water and later, at the lake, wearing a life jacket...).

Perfectly demonstrated by this gif, when a lifeguard shouts "BUDDY!" you grab your Buddies hand


Going to Uni and teaching in Thailand last year made me very independent. I've had a lot of freedom. To suddenley have to ask permission before going anywhere and following a timetable on a minutely basis did come as a shock.


To be honest, I think it gave me a much needed re-cap in empathy. I know exactly how a 4th grader spends their day. Today wasn't about me or what I like (Basketball is soooooo not me...) it was about TEAM and doing stuff you hate!

We got taught a concept today- 'Roses and Thorns'. Before bedtime in a Freshmen cabin you gather the kids in a circle , go around  and each say something positive and negative about your day. It's used to establish routine, recognize achievements and address concerns.

So I'll end Page 8 that way-

ROSE: When Becky, Louise and Dominique saved some 'Monkey Bread' for me (they teach baking classes and somehow managed to hold back half a tray so our bunk could try it!)

THORN: Freshmen team losing the fire building contest on Echo beach in staff events tonight. Building fires is what I got hired for! We came last!



Thursday, 19 June 2014

Page 6: Good Morning America!

I'm here! I've been here a week now actually, but the staff computers only got here today. Which means I can stop bugging the office staff to lend me their work laptops so I can quickly send home one sentence "I'm alive" emails to my Nan and actually blog.

So much to tell y'all!



The sitch: I'm living with 9 others in a cabin. It's communal living so think Uni meets sleepover club meets army camp rolled into one.

And the food is all-american (obviously). Waffle sticks for breakfast! Grilled cheese for lunch! All good now, until I go home super-sized :O And the assorted neon kool-aid which I've avoided with commintment. Ew.

Day to day there's not much to write about. We're getting camp ready for campers, so it's been raking leaves, putting up teepees, clearing the forest, making footpaths and oh, raking! ALL THE RAKING.
It's a 9-5 job. My arms and core. Ache.
I can't tell you how stupid it feels to pick weeds in a forest...it's a forest!

I've mentioned previously I'm teaching adventure. Basically there's a big clearing in the forest where we've set up an army camp and will have sleep-outs with the older kids. It's about half a mile into the woods away from camp. Dense and buggy. The trees are tall...about 8-10 Georgia's high. There's salamanders and chipmunks!


In Walmart

Tucker: Have you had kettle corn?
Me: What?
Aretha: She's never had kettle corn!
Me: It looks like popcorn?
Tucker: No! No! No!
*Tucker ushers a bag towards me , I try a piece and they look on expectantly*
Me: Er, that is popcorn?
Tucker: But popcorn is salty, this stuff is sweet
Me: Back home we get sweet popcorn...
Aretha: It's called kettle corn!
Me: Oh, not in England!
Aretha: Wierd!


Word: "HYPHY": Cool-Crazy but in a good way
         ie: "That jumper is hyphy!"

Thursday, 5 June 2014

Page 5: The Eagle Flies Soon

I woke up this morning and realised I can count the number of days before I fly to America on the fingers of both hands. And for a reason I can’t entirely articulate, that's a big deal.
Since having my Visa processed and sending across my medical records and staff T-Shirt size (the final required documents, considering initial applications, references, CRBs, insurances, personal statements, flights, research, phone interviews, follow up queries, Skype interviews, embassy appointments and legal paperwork things like UCAS seem like a very short application process) I'm technically all set to go.

 
Meanwhile, on the official staff group I like to stick around to ask all the important questions

Anyone who knows me well will know that although I’m easily amused I get bored ridiculously quickly. So, I’ve found this ACTIVITY BOOK (ACTIVITY BOOK!!!) which is AMERICAN THEMED and although I guess it will only keep me occupied for about an hour, I’m honestly thrilled with it. Hey, I even bought me a pack of colours to take on the plane! (DON’T JUDGE ME! I’ll just tell any curious passengers I’m a Geography student ;) ).


Don't get jealous, but there's a 'colour in the Whitehouse' page and everything!
Wait- WHAT COLOUR SHOULD I COLOUR THE WHITEHOUSE?

In preparation for living with 12 teenage girls (the campers are 7-15 but I haven’t been assigned my bunk group yet) I’ve also taken notes from books about child development and adolescent behaviour these past few days (my Dad’s an actual counsellor, in the British definition of the word, so I found these on the bookshelf).
$ Theories of Childhood: Redleaf Press
$ Life Strategies for Teens: Jay McGraw
$ The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls: Rachel Simmons

^ I argued that having been a teenage girl through middle and high school I could already write a book about the various passive aggressive strategies girls use to abuse and exclude each other. I’m also word-perfect on Mean Girls’ screenplay so I thought I had this subject area ticked.
While reading those books I realised I’ve forgotten quite a lot of what it’s like to be a tween so I’m re-reading my old journals.
 
       Oh yeah, I also decorated a new journal for the next ten weeks!

I'm not sure what the blogging situation will be like at camp. It's an 'unplugged' camp which means no electronics for campers or counsellors but in our free time we can use the staff computers. If I don't manage to write much, I'll update y'all when I get back.

7 days! I'll like to be in America!