Good afternoon from camp,
Sorry for not posting this morning, camp has been crazy busy today! Yesterday I got some amazing feedback from parents about the blog! I am so happy that people are reading it and asking their campers about all of the questions that I am suggesting. I really appreciate all of the positive comments :)
Yesterday we begun our day with a game called Stones. Similar to a Camp Wide Game that most of our campers are familiar with (Temple of Doom), on their team, campers had to get all of the bean bags into the hula hoop on the other side. They had to, however, get by all of their opponents who were trying to tag them! If they got tagged, they were to drop the bean bag, and try again! It was very exciting and campers did not stop moving.
After Stones, we moved into our social skills part of the day. We focused on 'having a conversation', and the components involved in this social skill. One of our head counsellor teams started the activity off with a 'snowball fight'. Campers wrote down on a piece of paper what they remembered from last week when we talked about conversation skills. Campers wrote down so many ideas... a beginning, middle, and end, conversation starters, eye contact, body posture etc. After writing down their idea, they crumpled their piece of paper and threw it across the group. When the snowball fight was complete, campers picked up another piece of paper and read it to the group. This is a great way for campers to reflect on past experiences, while also having fun! It was fantastic to see how much campers remembered from a whole week ago.
Once campers had finished the snowball fight, one head counsellor team predominantly focused on nonverbal communication skills while in a conversation. Campers worked on both recognizing and practicing using nonverbal cues. In a game called 'bus stop', campers had to try and pick up on the non verbal habit that the bus driver had. For example, if the bus driver kept waving, or used a 'come over' signal, campers would have to point that out. It was an extremely creative way for campers to practice these skills in a game setting. When your camper gets home tonight, make sure you ask them to show you 3 nonverbal cues that they know. In addition, ask them which nonverbal cues they use on a daily basis to interact with their peers in conversation.
After lunch yesterday we headed to Southland Leisure Centre for a swimming afternoon. Campers had the chance to go down all of the water slides, jump around in the wave pool, go on the water play structure, hang out in the hot tub, or jump off the rope swing. There was something for everyone!
We ended our day like we always do, with Steps in the Right Direction and a Zones check in. As pictured below, our check-ins, both in the morning and afternoon, are a great way for our campers to reflect on the previous day and check in with each other. This gives counsellors and campers a chance to communicate to each other in a smaller group setting. Counsellors also use this time to check in with how their camper's goals are progressing. For example, if a camper's goal is to make 5 friends by the end of the week, our counsellors will talk to them to ensure that they made some progress in achieving that goal (i.e. talking to someone new that day). When your camper gets home tonight, ask them which goals they have accomplished at camp, and what goals they are continuing to work on with us.
Just a reminder that tomorrow we are heading to Cobbs Adventure Park! Please make sure that your camper brings a hat, sunscreen, a water bottle, snacks and a lunch. It is supposed to be a hot one!
I am heading back to camp,
Tigger (Hayley Graham)
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