The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Summer camp is an absolute blast!  I’m going to figure out how to post pictures on here because I’ve got a ton and I feel like I have a much better understanding of other’s people’s Summers of Service because they post pictures.  Expect some pics.

I apologize in advance that this blog may be a little more negative than usual, but continue to keep in mind that I am still loving camp and these kids are sooo much fun and soooo cute.

Things are starting to change a little as everyone (kids and staff) get more comfortable.  The kids seem to be testing their limits a little bit more, especially those in my group, the Blue Barricudas.  Since they’re the youngest, I understand why they can be more difficult with listening and paying attention, but some are just proving to be troublesome children.  Trevon and James, in particular, are very content with disobeying counselor directions and will often run as far from where we want them to be as possible.  It’s manageable, but strenuous work to keep up with them and keep them safe.  On the older side, the kids in the Red Jaguar group are at a pre-teen age where they want to be independent and show how cool it is to not listen.  The oldest camper, Raymond, was announced to be a Counselor-in-Training on the first day, but has since lost that opportunity as he often disobeys and does not set a good example for the other children.

There have also been a few issues on the staff side.  One full-time staff member named Porsha has been clearly not pulling her weight around camp and has been causing some discourse amongst the employees.  She even left during a camp day to go take a nap instead of running an activity!  And although many of the staff complained to our supervisor about her lack of engagement, she never seemed to receive much repercussion.  However, at the end of this week, she was fired from the staff.  Although we all felt bad for her, it was a nice change as it unified the counselors again.  Another part-time staff member named Maurice was also let go this week, and it does make us a little worried about being understaffed, but we have Summer Youth Employment Workers and regular volunteers as well to help ease the loss.

On a lighter note, this week’s theme at camp was “International Week”!  To celebrate this, Thursday and Friday arts and crafts activities were dedicated to making a piñata filled with five bags of candy!  The kids loved making it and it was probably their favorite activity from the whole week!

Also, before I forget, Sarah and I stayed behind from going up to the camp on Wednesday of this week to work on a Boys and Girls Club Survival Guide of useful information for next year’s Summer Service Scholars.  It was sad to lose a day at the camp, but it was a nice change of pace.  Only 2 weeks left!