NOT SURPRISED, A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED, BUT CERTAINLY NOT DISCOURAGED…

It’s currently winter break here, so I decided to plan a three-day environmental/art camp, this past week, in which I had over 25 kids sign up to attend. I knew I’d be lucky if just half showed up.

NIGHT BEFORE ‘DAY ONE’ OF CAMP: I was up until 1:00 a.m. researching and preparing materials for the camp. Mind you, I’m not an environmental educator…but was fortunate to have some input and direction from an environmental volunteer. Have to be grateful for other volunteers…

DAY ONE: 10 kids show up (YAY!) in which we talked about trash, recycling and reducing. We sorted out garbage, discussed the four methods of garbage disposal in Paraguay (burn, bury, garbage or recycle,) the pros and cons of each, played games, made recycled paper from used paper, ate snacks and played a game of jeopardy as a means for ‘check-for-learning.’

The kids were very participatory and seemed to have had a good time. I was feeling pretty darn good about day one’s turnout, so repeated preparation until 1:00 a.m., as I had the night before, along with making popcorn the old-fashion way (oil in a pan, kernels, close attention & shaking). Fun, fun!

DAY TWO: NO SHOWS… It rained…already knew (although was hoping, otherwise) the kids probably wouldn’t show up, even though the camp was being held, INDOORS, in my house. Sadly, parents don’t even send their kids to school when it rains. I was planning on showing videos and discussing the importance of trees. I was also going to have the kids make maracas out of aluminum cans. Darn!

DAY THREE: NO SHOWS… This was a nice day, no rain, but perhaps the kids figured…why bother.

Although I was not surprised by the no-shows and was a little disappointed, I certainly was not discouraged. I look at this as a perfect reason to talk to kids about commitments and it gave me experience on preparing for a camp. And, even though it was just one successful day, it was a lot of fun and educational, not only for the kids, but for me.

“Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny. They learn what to do and what to avoid.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe