School Age Summer Camp Training 2016!

Every year when we prep for the summertime, VHFLC staff who choose to be camp counselors attend several trainings designed to equip them with all the tools necessary to create a successful and enriching environment for VHFLC campers.

This might mean learning a variety of group activities and games tailored toward helping campers develop their individual interests and interpersonal skills; it could involve exploring curriculum ideas for the art, science, and fortitude components of our camps; brushing up on safety protocol for a camp atmosphere that's generally more variable and bustling than our before/aftercare programs; or learning tactics for curbing bullying and exclusion between campers.

At our summer camp training this past week, staff assembled at our St. Luke church preschool site (also previously a site for Challenge Camp), to spend some time learning from one another's experiences and from workshops presented by our regional supervisors and executive director, Brenda. On the agenda for this particular training (the second summer training out of three), was a lesson about cultivating positive camp culture, camp games (dice and outdoor), pool time/water play, and lanyards & wheel weaving.

Practicing Positive Camp Culture 
For this portion of the training, RS Sophie Hilton discussed fostering a camp environment that promotes respect among students, while diminishing bullying and alienation. She began by passing out Michael Brandwein worksheets for teachers to peruse, and then prompted them to think about the ways in which they've responded to difficult behavior in their own classrooms. 

Among techniques suggested by teachers were attentive positive reinforcement when children (who are known to act out) are not acting out, and pointing out how commendable their mature response is to the situation that could otherwise provoke them.

Redirection was also mentioned as a great way of preventing certain conflicts from escalating, or by separating a child from the group (if they are in a position, for example, where the attention of other children is contributing to the problem). If the situation has already escalated and the child is engaged in a full-on outburst, some teachers suggested giving the child a delineated amount of space/time away from everyone else (of course, while remaining in sight) and also communicating to the child that he/she is being given space while they cool off. 

As part of our camp effort to promote emotional transparency, Sophie also mentioned that it's entirely acceptable for a teacher to say to his/her campers "I'm feeling frustrated right now. I've said what I've needed to say, and I need to take some space for a few minutes" if children are being especially stubborn or unresponsive to reason. By demonstrating to a child that you yourself treat emotional upset by communicating clearly and by taking space to collect your thoughts, it increases the likelihood that they will in turn learn to adopt these strategies themselves.  

 
Empathetic practices can be useful in just about any scenario, but are especially helpful when children feel hurt or confused by their peers. For instance, to a child whose friends want to take a break from playing with him, a teacher could say, "Have people ever wanted to play with you, while you just wanted to have space?"

Take a look at the following comments/scenarios where a child is either putting someone down, or being put down. VHFLC staff were asked to individually imagine what some appropriate responses could be, and then discussed the answers as a group.

Example Answers: 
1. I do my best to react to every put-down. If I only react every once in a while, campers won't believe me. Whenever I hear a put-down, I stop talking, playing, teaching –- everything. Stopping is what says I'm serious. I move toward them and I look them in the eye, not to scare, but to show them this is important.

2. "That's a put-down. That is not allowed. Everyone is respected here. I'll help you remember." (This last line helps reduce unnecessary shame/embarrassment on part of the offender).

3. "We need to think about how our words affect others. For us, it takes only a moment to say something disrespectful or mean, but to the person we're putting down, the words could ruin their entire day, or even make them feel bad about coming to camp. Everyone is welcome here and deserves to feel safe and happy. That's why hurtful words are not allowed."

4. "If you don't like what he/she said, say, 'I disagree.' That's how you tell people what you think. Now we can talk about why you feel that way. It's ok to disagree with what someone said. We just can't make fun of the person who said it."

5. "If you're mad at her/him/me, that's ok, but you can't put them down. Just say, 'I'm mad,' or 'I don't like what you're doing.' That's how you let us know what you're feeling. That's respectful."
 
6. "That's not something we joke about. When people feel hurt, we don't find that funny. At school or at an airport, you can't joke about weapons. Here we don't joke about putting people down. It's not allowed."

7. "Can I tell you a secret? Sometimes even our friends don't tell us the truth about that. It really hurts them a lot, but they just don't know how to say it."

8. "Please say you're sorry. Putting people down is a mistake." (If they don't say sorry) We can fix our mistakes. Sometimes it's hard to say. Take some time. If you can say it later, that's what a respectful person says. You can do it." (And then check on them later to see if the child is ready to try again.)

9. "When we say some things out loud (or do things like this), it can hurt people's feelings. We don't have to say everything we think out loud. If you have a problem with someone, I would like to hear. I'll listen. When you say/do that, what message does that send? (What does that say about you?) What do you want people to believe about you?"

10. "I'm sorry that was said, that must feel bad. I know that can hurt, I have felt that way before." And, "I would like to hear how you're feeling about this. It helps to put things in words."

Following this, staff were prompted to try acting out these situations together. It was a great exercise for helping to solidify our automatic approaches to put-downs that can take a wide variety of forms.

 
Water Play
This portion of the training was led by RS Ann and Sub Coordinator Kara, while RS Steve simultaneously led a section on outdoor games, Sophie taught a workshop on dice games to play with campers, and Brenda led a fun (and at times tricky!) workshop on lanyards and weaving (see our feisty weavers above). 

With campers taking a trip to the pool every week, Ann and Kara wanted to make sure that summer staff were prepared not only to get wet, but also to be explorative and creative with their pool time so as to encourage children to have the best experience possible.

Ann got her group of teachers warmed up by shot-putting a water-soaked sponge ball that ultimately found its way to Rieke teacher Amanda. Ann and Kara then went on to explain all of the magical and unique games that can be played with pool noodles, hoses, sprinklers, and either a set of sponges or balls made from strips of sponge twisted together and then tied tightly with dental floss. The next half hour proved to be an informative test of everyone's water-dodging agility, as sponge balls were emphatically batted and hurled for water bomb tag (see descriptions of games below), water bomb toss, and even a rousing game of soaked-sponge baseball...

Check out instructions for the aforementioned games, sponge balls and also some beautiful ice cube/watercolor art below:

After the workshops were completed, everyone broke into their camp site teams to become better acquainted with each other, and to talk about field trip protocol -- how we would navigate the bus system with campers and how we would make sure to apply (non-aerosol!) sun block on campers 2-3 times a day when spending time outside. Three times a week, campers will also get to choose from projects within three camp "Maker" categories: create, stem, and fortitude. A week following this St. Luke training (today!) all of the teachers who volunteered to be "Makers" assembled at the main office to look through supplies and to plan out their colorful curriculum and selected themes.

Allergy Protocol
To wrap up our training day, staff took a refresher on allergy protocol, with longtime VHFLC teacher Ryan helping to explain the signs of anaphylaxis and to demonstrate proper use of an epi pen.

Teachers then practiced using a (fake!) epi pen on each other, and proceeded to study packets that Ann passed out about bee stings, insect bites, and food allergies that camp teachers would need to keep a particular eye out for. It was reiterated that teachers should always know which children have which allergies, to carry safety supplies with them at all times, and to prohibit snack sharing (since kids do not always know what they're allergic to, or what is in their food).

It was also suggested that campers/staff try to avoid wearing very bright colors or flower prints, since this can attract bees, and also to be sure to stand still if a bee seems especially interested... since running away can seem like an invitation to them!

So, with our Portland camps and adventure-based Challenge Camp just a week and a half away -- and with our Beaverton Camp starting the week after -- us staff at VHFLC are getting SUPER excited to kick off an awesome, active summer based on diverse themes, bonding, and self development. Camp teachers, feel free to take pictures of your photo-approved campers to submit to our summer blog entries! And parents, be sure to check back in to see all the fun things are camps are getting up to :D 

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