I apologize for the lack of updates on this blog - internet at camp is extremely slow and unreliable. Now I am on my week off at the cottage, and I've finally gotten a chance to sit down, look over my past six weeks, and write down my highlights. So here they are!
Session 1:
During Session 1, I was a leader in the Pilgrims section (the youngest girls, ages 11). I was solo leading, and I had three girls, and we got along smashingly! We only had one week together, but it was full of accomplishments! One of my girls came to camp for the first time, and tried SO many new foods that she had never tried before, and she even liked some of them! Another girl's goal was to try to do a flip off the high diving board, and she did! I was really sorry to see them go!
Session 2:
Session 2, I stepped a bit outside my comfort zone when I was asked by one of the Inclusion Coordinators to be a Job Coach in the Work Program. For those of you who don't know, Work Program is an opportunity for young adults with exceptionalities who have grown out of the camper age-range to do odd jobs around site and build work experience for when they are on their own. As a job coach, we each had a one-to-one Work Program participant (there were three job coaches and three participants sharing one chalet), who we would go around with to different jobs and just encourage to become independent. My participant and I did jobs such as recycling, cleaning the dining hall, and housekeeping (cleaning bathrooms, sanitizing). My absolute favourite part of this was seeing the look of pride and joy on her face when she persevered and accomplished something that she had found really difficult.
While we weren't working (which was most of the day), we could either join in with the regular planned program, or we could do whatever we wanted! Most of the time, the girls wanted to go on the trampoline. So we would jump on the trampoline, sing Justin Bieber and ABBA at the top of our lungs, or just lie there laughing, and we just had an amazing time!
Honestly, those two weeks were some of the happiest weeks of my life. I experienced so much joy from those girls that I just wanted to pass on to everyone around me!
Session 3:
Session 3 was a bit more challenging than the other sessions. I was moved up to Pioneers (the oldest girls, ages 14-17). The dynamics in the chalet were a bit different from the other sessions, because I had 4 campers and two of them had been friends before, and the other two came on their own. Thankfully, that didn't restrict their friendships with each other. I got a greater appreciation for parents and big sisters of teenagers as I used every ounce of my patience, creativity, and peacemaking skills to help these four teens get along. There were many accomplishments: girls learned to pray out loud, one girl (with a lovely voice) performed with the singing class at the end of the session, and we won the cleanest chalet award!
Here's a few more pictures from the sessions.
 |
| one of the many creatures spotted on the shores of Lake Clearwater |
 |
| beautiful view at sunset from Lodge Point |
 |
| a tiki torch used at the Luau we held for Program |
As much as I've enjoyed a break from camp, I cannot wait until I get to go back tomorrow for the next three weeks! Camp is my second home, and I love every bit of it, whether it be easy or challenging.
