My second year of camp, I got the pig pen award. They selected that title because many times when the committee saw me, I was covered in various substances. There was the time I let a girl who faced her fears and went way beyond them on a special trip back to the ropes course pour maple syrup on my head. There was the time that I was covered in yogurt. There were times where the wood paint might have ended up on my face. If you think that's bad, that's nothing on the things I DRANK. The kids would pour hot sauce, grape juice, salad dressing (and salad) and lots of other dinner items into a cup for me to drink. It was gross. And it was SO FUN.
I guess what I wanted to do was astound them. They all live in a world where often, they have little control when they are around adults. Adults must do horrible things to them for their own good. Almost kill them with chemo, amputate their legs, make them work after a stroke, infuse them with medicines. It's a scary, threatening world. I wanted to show them that adults could be fun.
And I just wanted them to laugh and have fun.
How this came up is that I was thinking about one of my all-time favorite teachers. Her name was Mrs. Hughes. I had her for 11th grade chemistry. She was fantastic in so many ways. Sense of humor, motivating, easy-going, sincere, and so much more. She made a tough year easier. At the end of the year, she let my friend Evan and me plan a "chemistry" field day. This involved "pin the nuclear reactor on 3-mile island" (a spin-off from pin the tail on the donkey) and games in the field.
In a move of utter coolness and wonderfulness, she also let us pull the emergency fire shower on her. It was astounding that an adult would let us do that. It cemented her status as someone who 'gets us' and someone willing to go the 'extra mile' for us. Eight years later, and I still remember that. I still remember the fun, and how unbelievable it was. She helped me understand a little deeper that all adults are not as threatening and boring as they appear. She made learning and that chem class fun.
That reminds me that I have been the beneficiary of some great enthusiasm, some great kid-leaders, some superb teachers who gave teaching their all, and some disciplining but goofy teachers.
Thinking about what Mrs. Hughes did just makes me want to be more of myself.
(Although walking around covered in food is a 'camp thing.' I'm not 'pig pen' in real life)
Okay, so this was at family camp. Heather and I were charged with bringing the ice cream toppings back to the kitchen. Madness just ensued on the way there. It was one of those "laugh so hard it KILLS" moments
Awaiting the promised COLD water. One child we had a harder time keeping in line (ODD, ADHD etc). But she responded when I promised to let her dump cold water on me the last day if she earned that priviledge as a result of good behavior. To be fair, I promised to let all the girls do that.
Maybe regretting that promise just a little here.
One day during rest time. I had eight 6-7 year olds and no co-staffers due to a camper emergency. How could I keep them all entertained indoors? Crayons in the hair works pretty well, it turns out.
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