Summer camp

     Being a camp counselor was rewarding and exhausting, and most days, the two were intertwined. I spent forty hours a week throughout my summer with a group of ten kids. I remember my first day. I was nervous, but excited at the same time. We started off with Opening Circle, where all groups were together and we sang songs. Then we broke off into our groups. I was so terrified that I couldn’t even remember the game I had planned. With a little help from another counselor, I quickly got back on my feet. We played Sharks and Minnows (which quickly became a favorite within my group). Then we made sand necklaces in art and then went to the pool and then had lunch. The rest of the afternoon we played sports and then did Group Devotion. We would sit in a circle, and they would take turns answering the following questions: What was one thing you loved today? What was one thing that you did not like today? What is one thing you’re looking forward to tomorrow? That quickly became one of my favorite parts of the day. Then came closing circle. After that, the kids had some free time. But of course, the first day could not go down without a hitch. One of the older boys fell at the gaga ball pit, cutting his head open. Surprisingly, this was not the most eventful part of my first week. 

    As the days continued to pass and I began to get to know my kids, I got into the swing of things. We even got to combine with another group for some kickball at the baseball field! It actually went south pretty quick. One of my kids threatened another, which was something I did not expect to encounter with seven to nine year olds. I could go on to list a number of bad things that went down this summer. Surprisingly, seven year olds have a lot of drama. The days when the drama encompassed them were definitely the most exhausting. 

BUT most of our days were filled with laughter and fun. The kids quickly became friends, and the kids who stayed with me throughout the summer became like family. I generally looked forward to each and every day I got to spend with them, which eventually led to me being a wreck on the last day. Earlier, I said that my favorite part of the day was group devotion. That was the part of the day where we just sat in a circle and talked. I was able to get feedback about what they liked and didn’t like. It’s how I got the quieter ones to speak up a bit and to voice their opinion. I feel like it just made everyone heard. We even created our own little silly traditions with it. Everyone was required to say their name, so when they would, someone would go “are you sure?” and another would go “are you positive?” We would also have some sort of talking object (it varied from talking balls to talking markers).

I think the best part about being a camp counselor is that you have the opportunity to just be a group of kids friend. You get to know them and play games with them. You don’t have to worry about teaching them or making sure they pass a test. Those teaching experiences come naturally, like sportsmanship and empathy for others. 

 

What I learned

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Being a part of camp is probably my favorite part so far of the four years that will make up my college experience. The surprising thing is that I almost didn’t get to take part in it! Back in March of 2021, my friend had told me about the opportunity to be a camp counselor with her. But, I was working at Walmart and felt as if it would not be right to quit when I had only been working there for just over a month. I couldn’t stop thinking about camp though. I have always loved working with kids and would choose to do that over cashiering any day. Turns out that working forty hour weeks and being a college student at the same time was very stressful. After some long talks with my dad and aunt, I decided to quit Walmart and apply for the camp counselor position. One of the big reasons why was because I realized this could count as my practicum experience. Not only would I be getting paid to do something I love, but it would also count as a class. Once I really thought about it, it was a no brainer. I knew I wanted my practicum to be working with kids because that is something I have always loved to do. 

I think the biggest thing I learned over this summer was patience. Before coming to camp, if you were to ask me if I was a patient person, I would probably say for the most part. And that answer really hasn’t changed much. The difference is that I learned that some kids require you to have more patience with them than others. I can’t post the pictures of my camp kids, but I can show you some of the conversations I documented with them (all names in scenarios are made up to protect the real kids).

 

Kid: *is crying*

Me: Buddy, what’s wrong? 

Kid: I miss my mommy *cries more*

Me: Well if you left early, you’d miss so many fun things we’re doing, like painting! 

Kid: *sniffles and slightly calms down for a moment* I just can’t take it anymore! *cries*

 

Kid: He just bit me!

Me: Friend come over here please

*kid 2 walks up* 

Me: Did you bite him? 

Kid 2: *nods* yes 

Other Counselor: Did you give him permission to bite you? 

 

Me: *is trying to coordinate kickball* 

Kid: *is angrily chasing kid 2*

Me: Mary leave her alone, you didn’t like when she did that to you-

Kid: She said she was going to stab me in the nose!

 

*at lunch with the kids*

Me: So how many siblings do ya’ll have?

Kid 1: I have three brothers and two sisters!
Kid 2: I have four brothers and one sister!
Kid 3: I am all alone

 

Me: Alright mountaineers, gather up! 

Kid: *looks around and sees that every kid in the group is black except her and another little girl*

Kid: *hooks arm with said little girl* “we’re the only white ones so that means we have to stick together!

 

Me: Are you guys ready for your relay race??

Kids: Yeah!
Kid 1: *has a black little boy get in front of her* Miss Olivia, I told Kyle he could get in front of me, that way it’s black vs black!” 

Me… “As in their shirts? Or their-”

Kid 1: “As in their skin color.” 

 

Me: “Katie I missed you last week!
Kid: I missed you too! *hugs me* my sister has bumps on her body, Mommy thinks it’s bed bugs

 

Me: Wow Lyla! You did a great job! Why’d you make a ring instead of a bracelet?

Kid: So me and Carl can get married!

Me: You’re seven and he’s twelve-

Kid: I don’t care, we’re getting married!

 

Me: Let’s go over some rules for this week, okay? That way-

Kid 1: I miss my dad 

Kid 2: I don’t have a dad

Kid 3: My dad doesn’t live with me

Kid 4: My doesn’t either!
Kid 5: Leah’s dad is in jail!
Leah: *smiling happily* don’t tell everybody! But yeah, my daddy’s in jail!

 

These are just the few examples I wrote down throughout the summer. And I can promise you I did not react perfectly to all of them. There were a few I had to walk away for a second so I wouldn’t laugh (you can probably guess which ones). Others I just stood there for a second thinking what was I supposed to do in this moment. Others I immediately reacted to and separated kids. Most of these memories, I can look back and laugh on, others not so much. A lot of these stories actually come from just a few of my kids, one of them in particular. This camper is the one who taught me the most. She pushed my buttons in every way she could almost every day. But she also made me laugh and we often had good conversations. Weeks she wasn’t there, I actually missed her. She was one of the kids that stayed throughout the summer and who I knew pretty well by the end. I hope that we both learned a lot from each other. She is the one who taught me that different kids require different amounts of patiences. She definitely needed a lot of it. But when that grace was received by her, it always ended well. I learned that kids will respond better to you sinking to their level and talking through their frustrations than when you just make them go and sit in a corner. No, they’re not adults, but their feelings are just as valid as mine. They want to be listened to just as much as I do. Because of learning this, I actually started every Monday with a group meeting where we decided our rules for the week and they helped decide the consequences as well. This allowed them to let me know what their idea of fair was and also took away any excuses for them to say they did not know the rules or consequences. 

    Everything that I learned over the summer can be applied to my future career as an elementary teacher. The conversations above are just a few examples of some of the personalities these kids had, and that was from only ten weeks. I know that I’ll deal with even more diverse kids and kids who have more behavior problems than the kids I had this summer. This is only the tip of the iceberg of what I’ll be doing. The behavior management and behavior skills that I learned throughout this summer will stick with me for my lifetime. I will definitely let kids help make the rules and try to use that. I will also definitely always try to talk things out with kids before punishing them. 

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Finding Media

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For me, the hardest part about doing a project for scholars was connecting it to media. During the check ins, I would always struggle with trying to figure out how to connect being a camp counselor to media. At one point, there seemed to be an opportunity to help out with the social media, but that never went anywhere. I had to realize what the definition of media truly was. Once I did that, I realized how big of a role media really played. Even thought the kids I had were young (most of them were seven or eight), they were consuming media every time they weren't with us at camp. They were singing and dancing to TikTok songs every day! That was one way media helped us connect. I had to look online at different medias that they were consuming. Another way that I used media was to plan my day with the kids. I was constantly reading different articles on how to keep control without being too strict and watching videos on different games to play. This part was actually pretty enjoyable because in a way, it felt like lesson planning! I think one thing I learned about media through my practicum is that you can connect to people through consuming the same media as they do, even if it means just paying attention to songs that are popular on TikTok. 

 

What're you looking for to tomorrow?
 

When searching for your practicum, I recommend you find something that you love. That has always been what I have looked forward to most in college: being able to do classes that truly interest me and that help prepare me for a career that I am truly in love with. Find what you love and search for the opportunity within it. Earlier, I talked about how at the end of every day, my ten kids and I would sit in a circle and do group devotion, asking them what their favorite part of the day was, their least favorite part (or something they’d like to change) and something they were looking forward to tomorrow. I think we should all go through life asking ourselves questions like this. If you think you’re going to struggle looking forward to the next day because of a career/practicum you’ve chosen, then maybe it’s not right for you. I can truly say I looked forward to each and every day, no matter how tired I was. Even though I have not begun to teach yet, I know that I will have something to look forward to every day. But, now that my practicum is over and we are back into school, sometimes it can be harder to look forward to something tomorrow. So I look forward to teaching. I look forward to helping kids. I look forward to a future that I know is just around the corner. I’ll still stay in the moment and do my best with my time at UMD. I even plan on trying to find a babysitting job of some sort on campus while I still have free time. I also plan on being a tutor for elementary students (all things that I can say I look forward to). But honestly, I look forward to teaching the most. I’m enjoying my time learning at UMD, but I can’t say that there is a day that I don’t look forward to next summer as a counselor or even to the day when I have my own classroom.