Hey All -
Here's a very loose version of some games I want to write up in the coming months. I have another 10 all cued up and will be trying to get to 100 by... hm... February. Bryan will be testing these in Harlem (yikes!) so I hope some are winners. These vary from *new* to *modifications* to *old but still fun*. Enjoy!
1. You Spin Me Round
This is a Freeze Tag variation. To unfreeze a player, another player must run around them twice. Simple, right?
2. Square Affair
Think of a criss-cross version of Sharks and Minnows. Create a square and separate two equal teams to stand on adjacent sides of the square. This means that if they run to the other boundary, they will be running perpendicular to one another - right?
The idea is (and this gets chaotic) that on the count of "Go!" players must run to the other side without being tagged by the other team. Tags mean switching teams. The goal is to get everyone onto the same team... Interesting...
3. Something Good Quiz & Physical Challenge
I used to run this game show all the time! Two small teams compete and every question is different, sometimes they are physical challenges, sometimes simple spelling questions (you get the idea). Anyway, once a team member has volunteered and participated in a challenge or question, they may not be used again until the next round. This is fun... you'll frustrate a lot of over enthusiastic brainiacs (like me).
4. Disappear
I will have to write more about this later... It's the game "Points," but instead of minimizing contact with the ground, players must make another player (and then 2, 3, 4...) disappear from the POV of the facilitator. It is a great opportunity to think outside the box. More later.
5. The Boat Addon to CTF
Play Capture the Flag with a neutral area in the center. Players may only cross that area if they are holding a small trashball. Once leaving, regardless of side, they must drop the ball.
6. Chain Challenges
Take a simple challenge and add a timer. This one is where there is a lava pit with some ball in the center. Players must chain together to get the balls out safely. In this scenario, multiple chains would be the fastest way to achieve a good time. Vary the shape and size of the pit for different difficulties!
7. Field Frogger
This is great - I will have the full rules soon. There are Placers, Pickers and Frogs. The Placers put down carpet squares for the Frogs to jump onto. The Pickers pick up the unoccupied squares. The Frogs have to make it to the other side. It's a load of fun (in my head).
8. Tower Defense
There is a path for a team to walk down. The other team has to place themselves along the path with 3 or so trashballs each. Once the round begins, the walking team needs to get at least one player to the end of the path without being hit.
9. Bottlecaps & Frisbees
Put a Frisbee in the center of a large circle. Players must land bottlecaps or quarters inside. Easy, right?
10. 3D Bowling
Play team versus team bowling with blocks instead of pins. The team has a short time to create a structure for the other team to knock down. The structure has to be a certain height to qualify!
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
12.16.2009
12.10.2009
Thoughts on Working with Kids (2 of Many)
Campers Are Not Your Friends
Repeat that a couple times out loud.
Again, please...
There are social boundaries that must be maintained if you want to be a successful staff member. Regardless of how close in age you are to the older campers, you are paid to be there and they are paying to be there. You are the staff and they are the customer.
This line is a huge advantage to you! Campers, regardless of age, are coming from a school environment where there is a firm structure in place that separates staff from student. You can use that convention to create a stable and disciplined camp area that will keep surprises low and productivity high. Or you can break that convention and have to do a great deal more work to keep the same results.
Staff members fall into this trap for a number of reasons. One is because there are campers who are in their late teens. One is because there are campers who share similar interests to the staff members. The most common and dangerous, however, is because some staff members confuse being liked with being successful.
What are the fundamental goals of any camp? Safety is always at the top of the list - including physical and emotional. Education is around number two, or else they would not spend so much time and talent developing activities. Somewhere around three we can say customer happiness - including campers and parents.
Safety is always going to be number one. Keeping a camper safe means having to, every now and again, stop them from putting themselves into a dangerous situation. Remember, they are the customer. They are paying you to make sure they do not need to worry about being safe. That's your job. This means that every instant of every day you must be evaluating the risk factors that are taking place and using that information as the base of your decisions.
Ok. Simply, you must always be looking out for your campers. This comes in conflict with friendship because in order to remove risk sometimes you have to tell them to stop. Sometimes you have to spoil the fun. Sometimes you have to be the disciplinarian.
Your friends decide it would be funny to have Mentos and drink Diet Coke. You stand and watch as they do this, laughing especially hard when they vomit all over the place. Funny, right?
When this happened at my camp, the first question from the parents was, "Where was a staff member?" You see, you could have tried to stop your friends - and perhaps they would have listened. More likely, they would brush you off because they are responsible for their personal well being and you are not. At camp, however, you are directly responsible for the well being of campers and allowing something like this to happen is not acceptable.
"But I want the campers to think I'm cool."
Guess what? You are cool. You will not be employed long, though, if you fail to produce positive results.
Sure, being the cool staff member does not mean that you are unsuccessful. But making that your focus is a great way to sabotage your ability to make good choices.
Again, staff members sometimes need to be able to disagree with the will of the campers. Campers want to do something unsafe and someone needs to redirect them.
...and...
"Why do you need to impress a bunch of people who are younger than you in the first place?"
You are not running for Prom royalty. You are not going to get a special prize for popularity. But sometimes staff members start day one like they are afraid of being voted off of the island!
The campers need to respect your authority. Otherwise, they will put you in situations that compromise your safety. They will tell you things that are vastly inappropriate. They will make you choose between being fair and being a friend - and they will exploit your favors. They will chop away at the boundaries that you provided and take as much as they can get.
They will make it very difficult for you.
The campers do not need to fear you. They do not need to hate you. They do not need to like you. While you are at camp, you represent safety and authority, respect and professionalism. Do not sacrifice your chance at success by confusing your role with that of a camper.
11.30.2009
What's in Your Rainy Day Bag?
Rainy Day Bag (beta):
BOARD GAMES:
Sorry
Blockus
CARD GAMES:
Apples to Apples
4 regular card decks
Trivial Pursuit for Kids
WORKSHEETS:
Coloring Sheets (my favorite are the geometric ones like this - http://www.coloringcastle.com/geometric_coloring_pages.html)
Word Finder
Rebus Sheets
CRAFTS:
Construction Paper
Crayons
Markers
Chalk
Scissors
Glue Sticks
Craft Sticks
TOYS:
Legos
This is off the top of my head... What do you keep in there?
BOARD GAMES:
Sorry
Blockus
CARD GAMES:
Apples to Apples
4 regular card decks
Trivial Pursuit for Kids
WORKSHEETS:
Coloring Sheets (my favorite are the geometric ones like this - http://www.coloringcastle.com/geometric_coloring_pages.html)
Word Finder
Rebus Sheets
CRAFTS:
Construction Paper
Crayons
Markers
Chalk
Scissors
Glue Sticks
Craft Sticks
TOYS:
Legos
This is off the top of my head... What do you keep in there?
11.13.2009
Question about Fictional Characters...
Hey All -
Here's a question for the educational community: Is there research that refers to the "voice" of the educational materials?
Who writes our textbooks? When I was growing up, the majority were written like encyclopedias - no characterization or personality. Would that help?
Imagine learning about history from several different fictional characters who lived at the time. There would be a small level of editorial leeway (wow, that's how it's spelled?) given, but for the most part the information would be shared from a viewpoint that the students could relate to... such as a colonial soldier during the Revolutionary War or a kid living in England at the time (or both!)
...just thinking out loud.
Here's a question for the educational community: Is there research that refers to the "voice" of the educational materials?
Who writes our textbooks? When I was growing up, the majority were written like encyclopedias - no characterization or personality. Would that help?
Imagine learning about history from several different fictional characters who lived at the time. There would be a small level of editorial leeway (wow, that's how it's spelled?) given, but for the most part the information would be shared from a viewpoint that the students could relate to... such as a colonial soldier during the Revolutionary War or a kid living in England at the time (or both!)
...just thinking out loud.
10.22.2008
Positivity... and negativity.
I believe that every camp has a place or person that is supposed to instill fear in children.
We had "the barn."
In school, there was "the office."
Threats were thrown in advance, "Do you want to go to the barn?" "If you keep this up, you're going to the office!"
Normally it worked. when I was younger, the threat of the office was intense - it left a bad feeling in my stomach. I even got nervous about the office when I was there for good purposes. The office was a bad place.
Of course, there were other children - some fairly friendly ones, in fact - who were not phased by the office... who had been to the office several times without turning white or wetting themselves.
When I was an instructor at camp, I noticed the same two kids always in the barn. Sure, there was a series of children that changed based on the threat... and then many more who cried and pouted in the barn, never to return again. Two campers, however, made the barn their home.
A couple of years later, I was in charge... and in a position that I could change camp in any way that I liked. I was able to rewrite the rules from the beginning and completely rethink how things were done... and I thought about my barn boys.
What is the purpose of the barn? Is it to modify the behavior of campers who make bad decisions through punishment? If the barn is a successful mode of punishment, then why are the same two campers spending more time there than arts & crafts?
I posed these questions to my directors... and suggested eliminating the barn entirely.
But now what...?
Kid disturbs class -> Class is disrupted -> Kid needs to be removed to restore order
That's the normal order of things. How, then, can this be remedied?
We established a new title at camp, a type of floating director called the "Care Worker." Dr. Bob was hired (the second year... when we got it right) as a 26 year School Psychologist with the instructions of keeping kids from disrupting while keeping them out of the barn... while freeing up my directors to manage the staff and do paperwork.
Bob used anticipation and positive redirection to change the landscape of camp discipline. He made reporting sheets for the counselors to fill out during the day and send home at night for campers who were "at risk." Bob's success came from a simple scoring method that allowed campers who had a certain number of smiley faces over a given time to participate in extra activity time. Most chose fishing, but others went for swimming... or anything. No matter what, Bob would arrange it with the counselor and give that camper a whole period of one on one attention while doing their favorite camp thing...
And it worked.
I have more to write about this after learning about other methodology, but I know one thing for certain: the barn didn't work. We scared campers into following the rules and every so often, we lost... and I think we can do better than ignore the problem.
We had "the barn."
In school, there was "the office."
Threats were thrown in advance, "Do you want to go to the barn?" "If you keep this up, you're going to the office!"
Normally it worked. when I was younger, the threat of the office was intense - it left a bad feeling in my stomach. I even got nervous about the office when I was there for good purposes. The office was a bad place.
Of course, there were other children - some fairly friendly ones, in fact - who were not phased by the office... who had been to the office several times without turning white or wetting themselves.
When I was an instructor at camp, I noticed the same two kids always in the barn. Sure, there was a series of children that changed based on the threat... and then many more who cried and pouted in the barn, never to return again. Two campers, however, made the barn their home.
A couple of years later, I was in charge... and in a position that I could change camp in any way that I liked. I was able to rewrite the rules from the beginning and completely rethink how things were done... and I thought about my barn boys.
What is the purpose of the barn? Is it to modify the behavior of campers who make bad decisions through punishment? If the barn is a successful mode of punishment, then why are the same two campers spending more time there than arts & crafts?
I posed these questions to my directors... and suggested eliminating the barn entirely.
But now what...?
Kid disturbs class -> Class is disrupted -> Kid needs to be removed to restore order
That's the normal order of things. How, then, can this be remedied?
We established a new title at camp, a type of floating director called the "Care Worker." Dr. Bob was hired (the second year... when we got it right) as a 26 year School Psychologist with the instructions of keeping kids from disrupting while keeping them out of the barn... while freeing up my directors to manage the staff and do paperwork.
Bob used anticipation and positive redirection to change the landscape of camp discipline. He made reporting sheets for the counselors to fill out during the day and send home at night for campers who were "at risk." Bob's success came from a simple scoring method that allowed campers who had a certain number of smiley faces over a given time to participate in extra activity time. Most chose fishing, but others went for swimming... or anything. No matter what, Bob would arrange it with the counselor and give that camper a whole period of one on one attention while doing their favorite camp thing...
And it worked.
I have more to write about this after learning about other methodology, but I know one thing for certain: the barn didn't work. We scared campers into following the rules and every so often, we lost... and I think we can do better than ignore the problem.
10.09.2008
Ah! Too Many Videos!
Ok, ok...
I promise I will stop posting the videos here. They have been occupying my life, so they ended up being shot over to Blogger when posted. Anyway, I have great news (as noted before) --- I am designing an activity curriculum for a camp company that serves approximately 15,000 campers a year!
Exciting, huh?
All of the work I do will be documented thoroughly and my own, in case I want to take it to other places or turn it into a book... what do you think? Book or consultant?
I promise I will stop posting the videos here. They have been occupying my life, so they ended up being shot over to Blogger when posted. Anyway, I have great news (as noted before) --- I am designing an activity curriculum for a camp company that serves approximately 15,000 campers a year!
Exciting, huh?
All of the work I do will be documented thoroughly and my own, in case I want to take it to other places or turn it into a book... what do you think? Book or consultant?
9.29.2008
User Update :-)
I get some great feedback here at the blog and through email... here's an update from Wendy, who wanted a better quote than what I previously gave her (oops!):
Janna gave me some great feedback on Kids Site 2: The Web Page:
I really think Janna hit the nail on the head with our goal for this site - show kids how fun camp can be... I hope we can spread that message through our random silliness!
Coach Lion left me this great comment:
I'll keep that in mind.
We're trying to add new features all the time, so it will be "right" by the time it's actually discovered! That also keeps me vigilant about updating this blog with new activities and ideas. BY THE WAY!!!!!!
I have big news~!~ Bryan and I were hired to design the entire activity curriculum for a (very) large camp company (I think around 10,000 campers). Hooray!
I enjoyed looking at your site. I work with children with special needs and they really seem to enjoy the action filled "camp" songs such as the ones featured on your site. I especially like the video portion of your website so I can see how the song movements go, especially when it's a song that I've never sung before. Keep up the good work!That makes me feel really good! I got an awesome email from Jen who included:
My name is Jen and I'm a wildmannered humanitarian worker plying my passionPretty awesome...
for education on the border between Burma and Thailand. I'm writing because
I recently found your videos on YouTube and wanted to let you know how much
I appreciated them.
Janna gave me some great feedback on Kids Site 2: The Web Page:
My nephew has enjoyed seeing the videos and trying out some of the songs. He even practiced the 2nd magic trick for about 45mins. My hope is that he will be able to watch y'all more and want to go to a sleep away camp finally this summer!In response, Janna, I am going to have regular segments produced by females - tell your cousin not to worry! I believe the first one will be up this Friday, barring any technical problems!
Will you be having special guest females? My 9yr old cousin watched two of the videos and proclaimed it was only for boys. Granted you get that attitude in real life at camp as well.
I really am thrilled for my nephew to finally see it can be fun!
I really think Janna hit the nail on the head with our goal for this site - show kids how fun camp can be... I hope we can spread that message through our random silliness!
Coach Lion left me this great comment:
I've only peeped a few days worth of KidsSite2, but it looks like you're off to a strong start. The pace is quick, but not overwhelmingly so. I wonder if there's any way to superimpose the words to the songs (like when you "follow the bouncing ball", or karaeoke) at the bottom of the screen so kids can learn the songs and sing along. Makes for more work, but it might make it more interactive (and a good learning/reading tool, as well).Yes, the pace is fast... The songs are... well, fast as well. I've been trying to figure out the best way to handle the songs. I've been working on the karaoke ball for a while, but it's not the best solution with this video resolution (the text it too hard to read). Instead, we'll include the lyrics as text beside the video and encourage the kids to learn them by practicing along with our other song-only ones.
Keep up the good work!
I'll keep that in mind.
We're trying to add new features all the time, so it will be "right" by the time it's actually discovered! That also keeps me vigilant about updating this blog with new activities and ideas. BY THE WAY!!!!!!
I have big news~!~ Bryan and I were hired to design the entire activity curriculum for a (very) large camp company (I think around 10,000 campers). Hooray!
Quick Tech Rant
I am a loyal Google user. I am. I admit it... In fact, I'm really looking forward to getting an Android phone (Google's iPhone competition). One can find me using many of the free G services on any given day... Search, email, calendar, word processing, blog, chat, analytics - and many others.
Video, though, has proven to be a big problem. I used Google Video for almost 3 years now and it has progressively gotten worse - yes worse. The idea of hosting any amount of videos of any length is great (because YouTube has a space / time limit), but from now on I'm using BlipTV. I fear that Google sometimes spreads itself thin and stops supporting products after traffic goes down... and Google Video is a prime example of that.
Anyway, Kid's Site 2: the Web Page is up with the newest video... with nice quality and a much richer set of options. If you check out the BlipTV version of the site, you can subscribe to the newest videos - cool, huh? All free - so you can use that for your class or camp... Privacy settings come with a small subscription fee... What do you use?
Video, though, has proven to be a big problem. I used Google Video for almost 3 years now and it has progressively gotten worse - yes worse. The idea of hosting any amount of videos of any length is great (because YouTube has a space / time limit), but from now on I'm using BlipTV. I fear that Google sometimes spreads itself thin and stops supporting products after traffic goes down... and Google Video is a prime example of that.
Anyway, Kid's Site 2: the Web Page is up with the newest video... with nice quality and a much richer set of options. If you check out the BlipTV version of the site, you can subscribe to the newest videos - cool, huh? All free - so you can use that for your class or camp... Privacy settings come with a small subscription fee... What do you use?
9.19.2008
NEW PRO SITE UP!
Hey All -
My design firm just launched a new site: www.miza.com about a baby mountain gorilla... and the unfortunate plight of mountain gorillas in general. Let me know what you think!
Also, remember to check out www.kidssite2.com!
My design firm just launched a new site: www.miza.com about a baby mountain gorilla... and the unfortunate plight of mountain gorillas in general. Let me know what you think!
Also, remember to check out www.kidssite2.com!
9.16.2008
ACTIVITY: Trash Balls
On our Friday episode of Kid's Site 2: The Web Page (yes, I'm a shill) we talk about making trash balls. This is an incredible activity for teachers and parents alike because:
First you roll some used newspaper into a ball - make it 2 or 3 sheets.
Then wrap a couple plastic bags (from the store) around the newspaper.
Finally, take a couple strips of packing tape or masking tape and (loosely) wrap everything together.
There you have it - a Trash Ball!
And what can you play with Trash Balls? We personally enjoy the game of Ultimate Dodgeball - it's a real tricky one.
(oh, this is great!)
ULTIMATE DODGEBALL
Requirements:
The best place to play this is on a tennis court with the net as a divider. If not, half a gym is sufficient. Split the group into two even teams. There are no outside borders beyond the center divider, so additional cones, etc, are not necessary.
Gameplay:
The *goal* of this game is to get everyone on the same side... If you are hit with the Trash Ball, switch sides; If someone catches your Trash Ball, switch sides; If you catch a Trash Ball, the thrower changes sides.
WAIT A MINUTE, PETE!?! Doesn't that mean one side could just give up and the game would be over?
Yes. Will that happen? No!
I've played this with kids and adults... and no matter how much I emphasized the GOAL when explaining the rules, they all heard the same thing - throw the Trash Balls at the other team.
This game has excellent discussion points at the end - especially if you let it run for a while.
Did you understand the goal of the game?
Why didn't you just give up so everyone would be on the same side?
(and then approach the hold-outs... the guys that wouldn't say die no matter how few were left on their side)
What was your thinking when you were alone against the larger group?
& etc.
My favorite moment in this game was with a large group of parents who, though completely understanding the goal, turned the game into a ridiculously competitive romp... and subsequently an enthusiastic and intriguing debrief.
- Trash Balls are 100% recycled material
- Trash Balls can easily be replaced
- Trash Balls are easy to make... and easy to make many of them...
- Trash Balls do not hurt (generally)
- Trash Balls can be played with safely indoors (mostly)
First you roll some used newspaper into a ball - make it 2 or 3 sheets.
Then wrap a couple plastic bags (from the store) around the newspaper.
Finally, take a couple strips of packing tape or masking tape and (loosely) wrap everything together.
There you have it - a Trash Ball!
And what can you play with Trash Balls? We personally enjoy the game of Ultimate Dodgeball - it's a real tricky one.
(oh, this is great!)
ULTIMATE DODGEBALL
Requirements:
- A group of 10 to... hm... 1,000,000?
- At least 5 - 10 Trash Balls per person
- A tennis court or gymnasium
The best place to play this is on a tennis court with the net as a divider. If not, half a gym is sufficient. Split the group into two even teams. There are no outside borders beyond the center divider, so additional cones, etc, are not necessary.
Gameplay:
The *goal* of this game is to get everyone on the same side... If you are hit with the Trash Ball, switch sides; If someone catches your Trash Ball, switch sides; If you catch a Trash Ball, the thrower changes sides.
WAIT A MINUTE, PETE!?! Doesn't that mean one side could just give up and the game would be over?
Yes. Will that happen? No!
I've played this with kids and adults... and no matter how much I emphasized the GOAL when explaining the rules, they all heard the same thing - throw the Trash Balls at the other team.
This game has excellent discussion points at the end - especially if you let it run for a while.
Did you understand the goal of the game?
Why didn't you just give up so everyone would be on the same side?
(and then approach the hold-outs... the guys that wouldn't say die no matter how few were left on their side)
What was your thinking when you were alone against the larger group?
& etc.
My favorite moment in this game was with a large group of parents who, though completely understanding the goal, turned the game into a ridiculously competitive romp... and subsequently an enthusiastic and intriguing debrief.
I know it's not the greatest...
...but we're at least trying!
Kid's Site 2: The Webpage is not being created by the best actors on the planet... in fact, it's probably obvious that we'd rather be outside than in front of a camera. And we *do* both have day jobs so until we streamline the long and tedious editing process, we're going to be limited in our ability to spend time creating quality content.
We're trying because of the numerous emails and comments we get about our songs. Granted, creating a web-show is a much greater undertaking than an afternoon of singing camp songs, but Bryan and I feel that we have a lot to share... and this is how we chose to share.
Constructive criticism is valued the most...
Here are a couple of examples why:
from Jen in Burma / Thailand
ANYWAY... we will continue to try until we run out of material or no one finds our content valuable... which will hopefully be a long time.
Kid's Site 2: The Webpage is not being created by the best actors on the planet... in fact, it's probably obvious that we'd rather be outside than in front of a camera. And we *do* both have day jobs so until we streamline the long and tedious editing process, we're going to be limited in our ability to spend time creating quality content.
We're trying because of the numerous emails and comments we get about our songs. Granted, creating a web-show is a much greater undertaking than an afternoon of singing camp songs, but Bryan and I feel that we have a lot to share... and this is how we chose to share.
Constructive criticism is valued the most...
Here are a couple of examples why:
from Jen in Burma / Thailand
...anyways thanks for the great ideas, andfrom Jean, a Music Teacher
the entertaining videos. I love your trio - you are good children's
entertainers and your campers are lucky to have you.
You've done a really great favor to a lot of teachers by including video and sorting the songs into types.from Wendy, a librarian
I enjoyed looking at your site.
ANYWAY... we will continue to try until we run out of material or no one finds our content valuable... which will hopefully be a long time.
9.15.2008
...so this is why I've been busy...
Let's see...
I ran a 1/2 marathon
I proposed (at camp... good pics to follow) - she said YES!
I moved to a new place
I started a new page (kidssite2.com)
I worked on another great kid's site*** (to launch soon)
I went to a bunch of Mets games...
oh... yeah...
I worked at an iD camp for a week (although they wanted much more!)
I'm falling back into a regular routine, so I should be able to actually be around :-)
and, of course, there will be daily updates to Kid's Site 2: The Webpage!
I ran a 1/2 marathon
I proposed (at camp... good pics to follow) - she said YES!
I moved to a new place
I started a new page (kidssite2.com)
I worked on another great kid's site*** (to launch soon)
I went to a bunch of Mets games...
oh... yeah...
I worked at an iD camp for a week (although they wanted much more!)
I'm falling back into a regular routine, so I should be able to actually be around :-)
and, of course, there will be daily updates to Kid's Site 2: The Webpage!
NEW SITE ANNOUNCEMENT...!
Hey All...
I'm launching a new website exclusively for kids... and by "launching" I mean, it's launched.
I'll be editing it and adding content as I go (remember, I have a full-time gig and full-time fiance!), but I'm sure your younger ones will be satisfied :-)
ANNOUNCING...
KIDS SITE 2: The Webpage
www.kidssite2.com
Bryan and I have been hard at work developing content for our new project, an online camp for kids called "Kid's Site 2: The Webpage."
The page contains new videos every weekday with lots of activities, songs and general silliness that we've picked up throughout our camp careers. There are NO ADVERTISEMENTS on the page... and there will (hopefully) never be ads. We created a simple interface allowing for maximum access to all of our content.
Our target is 8 - 10 year olds, although that is a moving target and may change as we continue developing the community.
The goal of our project is to share cool and interesting content for kids in a safe, non-commercial environment. That being said, we would love to make up for the web fees and development time through donations or B&P swag... but that will be added through the "Parents" section.
Anyway, please recognize that we're just starting and have a long way to go before perfection... I am not going all out to market this *yet* because we want to seed the site with a week or two of content. Any feedback can be posted here or directly emailed to me at vigeant@gmail.com <>
I'm launching a new website exclusively for kids... and by "launching" I mean, it's launched.
I'll be editing it and adding content as I go (remember, I have a full-time gig and full-time fiance!), but I'm sure your younger ones will be satisfied :-)
ANNOUNCING...
KIDS SITE 2: The Webpage
www.kidssite2.com
Bryan and I have been hard at work developing content for our new project, an online camp for kids called "Kid's Site 2: The Webpage."
The page contains new videos every weekday with lots of activities, songs and general silliness that we've picked up throughout our camp careers. There are NO ADVERTISEMENTS on the page... and there will (hopefully) never be ads. We created a simple interface allowing for maximum access to all of our content.
Our target is 8 - 10 year olds, although that is a moving target and may change as we continue developing the community.
The goal of our project is to share cool and interesting content for kids in a safe, non-commercial environment. That being said, we would love to make up for the web fees and development time through donations or B&P swag... but that will be added through the "Parents" section.
Anyway, please recognize that we're just starting and have a long way to go before perfection... I am not going all out to market this *yet* because we want to seed the site with a week or two of content. Any feedback can be posted here or directly emailed to me at vigeant@gmail.com <>
6.30.2008
Several times...
Way... way behind on updating. I know.
I've been very busy between work and other projects, such as moving. Luckily, I had the opportunity to start working on a new site for kids... I don't want to spoil it yet, but I imagine a launch in the next month or so.
In addition, I have a handful of new camp songs (as always) just waiting to be recorded and posted... I've been getting a lot of positive praise on YouTube which is encouraging.
Some day soon, though, I am going to have to rant about YouTube... rather about the teenagers and tweens that choose to write negative comments. I'm not overwhelmed with negative words, but there are enough to startle anyone who works with kids. There's something about the perceived anonymity that the Internet offers that entices young people to spew what I would consider hate language.
I'll cover that topic soon. I'm just reminding everyone that I'm still around :-)
I've been very busy between work and other projects, such as moving. Luckily, I had the opportunity to start working on a new site for kids... I don't want to spoil it yet, but I imagine a launch in the next month or so.
In addition, I have a handful of new camp songs (as always) just waiting to be recorded and posted... I've been getting a lot of positive praise on YouTube which is encouraging.
Some day soon, though, I am going to have to rant about YouTube... rather about the teenagers and tweens that choose to write negative comments. I'm not overwhelmed with negative words, but there are enough to startle anyone who works with kids. There's something about the perceived anonymity that the Internet offers that entices young people to spew what I would consider hate language.
I'll cover that topic soon. I'm just reminding everyone that I'm still around :-)
5.19.2008
The Economy of Beads (Part 2)
Although I am a fan of the *free* qualities of Blogger, the application that I am using to post this information, sometimes it can be a pain - as it DELETED a portion of my bead post!?!
Until I got some positive praise that pointed out the error, I didn't notice that my entire rare through ultra-rare piece got cut. If you saved the original text, I will love you forever, but otherwise I'll just have to remember what I wrote :-)
Level-1 Beads are those that everyone in the institution can get once. They can be a bulk reward for behaving well or cleaning up trash between periods. I would always have some sort of trash day where every group was awarded a special bead if they had more than X bags of garbage (of course, this got corrupted by crafty kids / counselors who would actually TAKE trash out of the garbage receptacles to fill their own bags).
Here's an example of how to breakdown the bead distribution:
If each camper / participant has 20 beads at the end of the week / session, 10 - 15 of those should be common; 3 - 5 should be Level-1; and the rest should be Level 2+ (you do the math).
The PERCEPTION with Level-2+ beads is that the camper / participant thinks they have something wholly unique that no one else has, or perhaps only a small handful of people have. These beads are not hard to purchase, they can be found at the craft store in variety packs, but the real challenge is the distribution...
Only a few administrative people should be in charge of giving out anything Level-2+. Here's why:
You give Counselor A and Counselor B 10 Level-2+ beads each and tell them to give them out evenly throughout the week. By the end of the week, you find out that Counselor A gave them all out on day 1 and Counselor B has yet to give any out... BLAH!
Level-2+ beads, which I like to call Ultra-Rare or Super-Rare or Super-Ultra-Rare depending on the amount I've seen in my adventures, should be given out for the big things, like one camper helping another finish a project or a camper hitting the bulls-eye with all three arrows. Never indicate *exactly* what they are given out for because that takes away from the good deed... It's all right to motivate them to clean up garbage, but continuously putting on a show for administration in order to get an Ultra-Rare bead is... well... not genuine.
Don't forget the Pomp & Circumstance!!!
I would always wear my bead strand (as well as Bryan) which I had "since I was a camper." Mine was very long and filled with beads of every sort. Some of the beads I had were never even seen by campers at all, meaning that there was a constant circle of campers hoping to catch a glimpse at something Super-Ultra-Super-Duper-Rare. Once a week or once a session, during announcements, I would take a bead off of my very own strand and award it to a camper or counselor in front of everyone. ***That was so key... It not only meant supreme pride within the camper, but her tribe would boast, "Jenny is in OUR tribe!"
/more to come.
Until I got some positive praise that pointed out the error, I didn't notice that my entire rare through ultra-rare piece got cut. If you saved the original text, I will love you forever, but otherwise I'll just have to remember what I wrote :-)
Level-1 Beads are those that everyone in the institution can get once. They can be a bulk reward for behaving well or cleaning up trash between periods. I would always have some sort of trash day where every group was awarded a special bead if they had more than X bags of garbage (of course, this got corrupted by crafty kids / counselors who would actually TAKE trash out of the garbage receptacles to fill their own bags).
Here's an example of how to breakdown the bead distribution:
If each camper / participant has 20 beads at the end of the week / session, 10 - 15 of those should be common; 3 - 5 should be Level-1; and the rest should be Level 2+ (you do the math).
The PERCEPTION with Level-2+ beads is that the camper / participant thinks they have something wholly unique that no one else has, or perhaps only a small handful of people have. These beads are not hard to purchase, they can be found at the craft store in variety packs, but the real challenge is the distribution...
Only a few administrative people should be in charge of giving out anything Level-2+. Here's why:
You give Counselor A and Counselor B 10 Level-2+ beads each and tell them to give them out evenly throughout the week. By the end of the week, you find out that Counselor A gave them all out on day 1 and Counselor B has yet to give any out... BLAH!
Level-2+ beads, which I like to call Ultra-Rare or Super-Rare or Super-Ultra-Rare depending on the amount I've seen in my adventures, should be given out for the big things, like one camper helping another finish a project or a camper hitting the bulls-eye with all three arrows. Never indicate *exactly* what they are given out for because that takes away from the good deed... It's all right to motivate them to clean up garbage, but continuously putting on a show for administration in order to get an Ultra-Rare bead is... well... not genuine.
Don't forget the Pomp & Circumstance!!!
I would always wear my bead strand (as well as Bryan) which I had "since I was a camper." Mine was very long and filled with beads of every sort. Some of the beads I had were never even seen by campers at all, meaning that there was a constant circle of campers hoping to catch a glimpse at something Super-Ultra-Super-Duper-Rare. Once a week or once a session, during announcements, I would take a bead off of my very own strand and award it to a camper or counselor in front of everyone. ***That was so key... It not only meant supreme pride within the camper, but her tribe would boast, "Jenny is in OUR tribe!"
/more to come.
5.14.2008
Making Beads Work in Every Situation...
I love working with beads... they are quite the motivator with kids, they are generally cheap and they can be displayed in many different ways. In order to use beads, though, whether at camp or functions such as Field Day, a system needs to be established...
The Economy of Beads
So you want to use beads at your camp / school / after school / Field Day / whatever. Great! Why would anyone need beads?
- They are a great way to chronicle a kid's journey through your program.
- They are a cheap and easy reward.
- They are a positive motivation.
- They can be traded.
- They can be displayed easily (AKA Camp Bling).
- They are a take-away that *could* last forever (as long as the child is concerned).
- They are unique.
The key to any reward structure such as beads is aligning all of the rules about distribution with those that control the beads.
For instance, have you ever had a raffle ticket program that broke down because of an unbalanced structure? I remember watching kids flock to a certain handful of Penny Carnival events and avoid others - not because the content of the game, but because they know where they can get the most tickets. Sometimes, if older campers were giving out tickets, the value would fluctuate even more, because they could overwhelm the system with too many or too few - both situations that would break down the appeal of the reward.
What is the most common child phrase? "That's not fair!"
Are they focused on being treated fairly? Yes! And that's never more apparent when one child gets 200 tickets and the other one only gets 5. REALLY. We're not here to favor one skill over another, we're here to make sure each child leaves with positive memories that they take with them throughout life...
In other words: we want each child to come out on top, like they won... like they have something special that no one else has!
Wow, that's a really tough trick, isn't it? Not entirely. Perception is the key to making a reward stucture that works with everyone.
Here are the basics when working with beads:
DISPLAY
First of all, you need to have a good way of displaying the beads. Imagine that at the end of the day / week / session each camper should have 20 beads. If that's the case, what is the best way for them to show off what they have for everyone else. We had the campers make totems, from which the beads hung. At the end of the day, we collected the totems because in many cases (ALL CASES) no one would remember to bring them back. Also, this prevents the sort of corruption that *could* possibly happen at home (I'll talk about corruption later).
Things to thing about when displaying the beads:
Everyone wants to customize their totem / object...
Boys may want to choose something different than girls. Boys will resist anything that looks like jewelry.
Putting beads at the end of a long string seems like a good idea, but can easily turn into a weapon... and just as easily lose ALL the beads when a careless kid swings them around.
Beads decorate backpacks really well and don't seem to both boys (because they see it as a badge of honor).
Approach the Arts & Crafts / Art person at camp / school and ask them to come up with a good solution.
Remember, every time a kid receives a bead, they will want to add it to their bling!!!
VALUE
All of the beads have value. The value depends on how many other kids have that same bead. Let's say that at the end of the experience, a child has 20 beads. 10 - 15 of the beads can be common, every day beads... the rest should be varying levels of rarity. Each kid should think they have a bead that no one else has.
Value is achieved by the language the beads are described with, how the beads are distributed, what the beads are distributed for and how many beads are distributed.
I broke it down like this:
Colored pony beads are the most common and probably the cheapest. These would be given for attendance - both for coming in that day for camp / etc and for attending an activity. The colors should reflect the area...
For instance, the Nature beads were green. That specialist just had access to Nature beads and they gave them to every camper who came to the area. Since attendance was mandatory, this made the beads a breadcrumb trail of the camper's day.
The colors should be given out to the activity heads and then whatever main solid colors are left are for general attendance. This is valuable because now the kids have bulk and everyone has *something*.
As far as the kids are concerned, everyone in their group will have the same exact number of these of the same color (theoretically). We refer to these as "Attendance Beads" but they really are "Common Beads." They are not given out for any other reason. Once a bead type is given out for *one* reason to a large enough group, that reward has to be consistent.
Rare beads are where beads can be a big motivator. I suggest buying bulk beads off of eBay to try to get some really unique items. Otherwise, go through your local craft depot and pick up as many random assortments as possible.
Before you begin the event / season, the beads need to be sorted out. The rare beads are really determined based on the number you (as the event runner) has and the number of kids. If you can give one bead to all of the kids *once*, then that bead is a level-1 rare. Terminology, such as "Level-1" can be applied to rare beads in front of kids so they feel there is legitimacy behind the assessment.
"Level-1" beads are perfect for clean-ups or anything that you want everyone to do. "If each group can fill 3 bags of garbage, everyone at camp gets a rare bead!
[This is where Blogger cut out some information!]
CORRUPTION
Whenever setting up something of value, corruption (AKA cheating) must be considered. Keeping the totems at camp until the kids leave means that *if* they have beads at home, they can't be added... This generally doesn't happen because of peer pressure. The more the kids want the beads, the more they will show them off to others. If everyone knows what everyone has, adding unearned beads is difficult and too risky for most children.
Trading beads or stealing beads is also a consideration. Do you want to allow trading? Yes and no. I wouldn't encourage general trading of beads just because a child may start trading other items (sandwiches, Pokemon cards, video games) matching the perceived value of the beads. Trading can occur with administration (HONESTY beads) or between campers during a trade-specific activity that doesn't involve common beads.
Some campers will trade an ultra-rare for another ultra-rare based on aesthetics and I think that is fine as long as it's not disruptive.
---
I suppose I could write a book about this, if I get into enough detail! I hope that I gave some relevant ideas that help and I am totally willing to share more specific information as needed - or give location-specific advice. Let me know in the comments or email (vigeant@gmail.com).
Hope your Summer planning is going well!!!
4.24.2008
A quick note about camp...
I have plans... many, many plans.
This summer, I convinced Bryan to work at iD Tech Camps as an AD and my younger brother Ben is going to be an instructor at iD in Chicago.
This makes me jealous - because frankly, I miss the camp scene. The good news is that all of that will change soon... Bryan is moving to NYC and we have some projects ready to roll out...
Before then, though, I'm producing a Big Urban Game in NYC early this summer - stay tuned!
This summer, I convinced Bryan to work at iD Tech Camps as an AD and my younger brother Ben is going to be an instructor at iD in Chicago.
This makes me jealous - because frankly, I miss the camp scene. The good news is that all of that will change soon... Bryan is moving to NYC and we have some projects ready to roll out...
Before then, though, I'm producing a Big Urban Game in NYC early this summer - stay tuned!
1.29.2008
Tonsils Finally Out
You would think that two weeks ago when they removed my tonsils that I would be writing more, not less... Alas, instead of taking that time to do something productive, I mainly slept and internally moaned about the ridiculous pain that plagued me when I awoke.
But now the swelling is down and the gross white patches have all but gone away... my voice is back to normal and perhaps more clear than ever (which can't be a bad thing).
[now for something completely different]
Do not ignore that a major election is about to take place. We have been inundated recently with bogus news stories about celebrities gone wild, when the fate of our nation - and perhaps the world to some extent - is resting on who will be the next president.
I was one of the many jaded from the past two elections and I am absolutely tired of sighing because of poor thought out decisions made by our current administration. Countless teachers have told me that "No Child Left Behind" is a flop... Young American men and women die every day in current war efforts that were based on a series of lies - yet we are *spared* from seeing the body bags and coffins returning from the Middle East because our government will not allow the media to photograph them.
When I was younger, there was another Gulf War that dominated the news. My older brother collected trading cards about the soldiers while I learned about Patriot and scud missiles in school. Are kids still doing this, or instead are they learning about what brand of underwear Britney Spears is wearing (or not wearing) this week?
OK, enough rant.
I do have a point. Sometimes we get lost focusing on a single issue, without understanding that full implications of our vote. Please do your research and pick the *BEST* person for the job - that's all I ask.
Personally, I am voting for Barack Obama. I'll let you figure out why :-)
But now the swelling is down and the gross white patches have all but gone away... my voice is back to normal and perhaps more clear than ever (which can't be a bad thing).
[now for something completely different]
Do not ignore that a major election is about to take place. We have been inundated recently with bogus news stories about celebrities gone wild, when the fate of our nation - and perhaps the world to some extent - is resting on who will be the next president.
I was one of the many jaded from the past two elections and I am absolutely tired of sighing because of poor thought out decisions made by our current administration. Countless teachers have told me that "No Child Left Behind" is a flop... Young American men and women die every day in current war efforts that were based on a series of lies - yet we are *spared* from seeing the body bags and coffins returning from the Middle East because our government will not allow the media to photograph them.
When I was younger, there was another Gulf War that dominated the news. My older brother collected trading cards about the soldiers while I learned about Patriot and scud missiles in school. Are kids still doing this, or instead are they learning about what brand of underwear Britney Spears is wearing (or not wearing) this week?
OK, enough rant.
I do have a point. Sometimes we get lost focusing on a single issue, without understanding that full implications of our vote. Please do your research and pick the *BEST* person for the job - that's all I ask.
Personally, I am voting for Barack Obama. I'll let you figure out why :-)
12.14.2007
STEAL THIS IDEA... It's easy :-)
Whether you're in the camp industry or the child care industry (or some wonderful amalgamation of both), keeping your customers is always a priority (and subsequently getting their younger siblings). Of course you ran a wonderful summer program and they were all screaming for more at the end of the day, but how will your registration fare in four months when our fickle young friends forget all of the wonderful memories of last year?
The solution is simple, cost-effective and beautiful - a calendar.
I know it's not the most novel idea, but sending out (or selling at a small printing fee) a calendar has never been easier or more basic a scheme to revive your campers' interests.
First, you take all of those photos from last summer (and surely there are hundreds because you own a digital camera...) *--BREAK--*
IF YOU WORK WITH KIDS, YOU NEED TO OWN A DIGITAL CAMERA... there's no excuse anymore. I can write a handy dandy buying guide for you, but essentially they have gotten cheap enough that you can literally beg on the street and buy the camera with quarters...
SO AGAIN, YOU NEED A DIGITAL CAMERA.
Why digital? Because you have 500 - 1000 kids a summer (or more) and you don't want to be limited by the cost of film. My first summer working at camp, I took about 2 dozen shots with a very limited digital camera. The following year, I took about 200... and then 500... and since then, probably around 1,000 or so shots. I want to capture a good picture of each of my staff doing a great job... each camper having a good time...
ANYWAY, distribution of these pictures is essentially $0, as long as you're free to share them with the world (as most camps have a publicity waver in the contract). If not, there are a few more measures to take, but still the idea is solid.
Once you have a digital camera, you ditch the software that comes with it (because most of the time it's fairly confusing and riddled with ads), and opt for either iPhoto (on a Mac) or Google's Picasa on anything else. Both programs are very similar (in my opinion) and Picasa is FREE (I'm not sure about iPhoto).
From Picasa, you can edit all of your photos so they look fantastic (with a great red-eye tool that works perfectly about 75% of the time) and do all sorts of other fun stuff easily - including automatically posting them online to be shared with the world (free also).
*** BACK TO THE CALENDAR IDEA
Both Picasa and iPhoto allow you to send the photos of your choice to an online photo-printing service (such as oFoto). If you are using another program to edit your pictures or are completely content with what you've taken, you can upload directly to oFoto or even Target.com or Walmart.com.
SOOOOOO... oFoto, iPhoto and others (of which there is a comprehensive list towards the bottom) allow for some really great printing options, one of which is for a calendar.
NOW, I would suggest shopping around. There are probably some vendors that you already deal with (think t-shirts) that may give you a great deal on calendar printing...
Essential Features:
Full Color Photographs - try for 1 per month instead of a collage... large pretty pictures look nicer than a bunch poorly stitched together.
DATES OF IMPORTANCE - make sure you are able to add your own dates to this calendar (or intercept them before they are sent out and MANUALLY add the dates). Your customers need to be hit with those registration deadlines again AND AGAIN!!!
Fun - the photos shouldn't be boring group shots or serene trees... They should show FUN (whatever that means to your camp). Don't be afraid to hide some characters (if you have any) in the background, either ;-)
The solution is simple, cost-effective and beautiful - a calendar.
I know it's not the most novel idea, but sending out (or selling at a small printing fee) a calendar has never been easier or more basic a scheme to revive your campers' interests.
First, you take all of those photos from last summer (and surely there are hundreds because you own a digital camera...) *--BREAK--*
IF YOU WORK WITH KIDS, YOU NEED TO OWN A DIGITAL CAMERA... there's no excuse anymore. I can write a handy dandy buying guide for you, but essentially they have gotten cheap enough that you can literally beg on the street and buy the camera with quarters...
SO AGAIN, YOU NEED A DIGITAL CAMERA.
Why digital? Because you have 500 - 1000 kids a summer (or more) and you don't want to be limited by the cost of film. My first summer working at camp, I took about 2 dozen shots with a very limited digital camera. The following year, I took about 200... and then 500... and since then, probably around 1,000 or so shots. I want to capture a good picture of each of my staff doing a great job... each camper having a good time...
ANYWAY, distribution of these pictures is essentially $0, as long as you're free to share them with the world (as most camps have a publicity waver in the contract). If not, there are a few more measures to take, but still the idea is solid.
Once you have a digital camera, you ditch the software that comes with it (because most of the time it's fairly confusing and riddled with ads), and opt for either iPhoto (on a Mac) or Google's Picasa on anything else. Both programs are very similar (in my opinion) and Picasa is FREE (I'm not sure about iPhoto).
From Picasa, you can edit all of your photos so they look fantastic (with a great red-eye tool that works perfectly about 75% of the time) and do all sorts of other fun stuff easily - including automatically posting them online to be shared with the world (free also).
*** BACK TO THE CALENDAR IDEA
Both Picasa and iPhoto allow you to send the photos of your choice to an online photo-printing service (such as oFoto). If you are using another program to edit your pictures or are completely content with what you've taken, you can upload directly to oFoto or even Target.com or Walmart.com.
SOOOOOO... oFoto, iPhoto and others (of which there is a comprehensive list towards the bottom) allow for some really great printing options, one of which is for a calendar.
NOW, I would suggest shopping around. There are probably some vendors that you already deal with (think t-shirts) that may give you a great deal on calendar printing...
Essential Features:
Full Color Photographs - try for 1 per month instead of a collage... large pretty pictures look nicer than a bunch poorly stitched together.
DATES OF IMPORTANCE - make sure you are able to add your own dates to this calendar (or intercept them before they are sent out and MANUALLY add the dates). Your customers need to be hit with those registration deadlines again AND AGAIN!!!
Fun - the photos shouldn't be boring group shots or serene trees... They should show FUN (whatever that means to your camp). Don't be afraid to hide some characters (if you have any) in the background, either ;-)
12.05.2007
Acting like children.
I do not want to preach... nor do I want to get drawn into any long arguments...
BUT...
If you read this blog, you probably have read about the tragic loss of a teenage girl on the news over the past month or so. Her name was Megan and after a severe bout of depression mixed with some cyber-harassment, she hung herself. The worst part of the story (if it could get worse) is that the cyber-bullying was from the mother of another teenage girl posing as an *interested* teenage boy.
There is another Blogger location where that particular mother attempts to defend herself (I believe it's titled "meganhaditcoming")... but I believe her logic is seriously flawed and it relates to the child-care industry.
You see, teenagers can be cruel and emotionally illogical. Between cliques and romances and pressures to fit in while standing out, the plight of a young adult IS REALLY HARD (just remember your awkward years). Sometimes this means that friends can turn to enemies at the drop of a hat... and apparently this was the case with Megan.
Seeing no other way to save her emotionally fragile and innocent daughter, this mother decided to attack the problem in the exact way that a 13 year-old would. Her blog entry and subsequent comments defends her actions over and over again as the ONLY possible option for saving her daughter... that she was being a "good parent."
Haven't you heard this logic before? Didn't you ever have a staff member who made a horrible decision and couldn't possibly see how they went wrong?
Two things happened:
1. The mother fought negativity with negativity.
Camp people know that this doesn't work... our worst behaved campers thrive on the extra attention they get, regardless of what flavor it comes in. Incentive programs go much farther than constant time-outs. If you haven't learned this yet, then keep a log of every time-out. You may be surprised by the repeats... year after year.
2. The mother didn't act like an adult.
Adults don't go onto MySpace and fake out 13 year-olds... wait... RATIONAL adults don't. It sounds ridiculous now to think of a 30+ woman pretending to be a 16 year-old boy online... and to have her act as if it's normal behavior. No. It's not. NOT AT ALL. If I see a 3 year-old on the playground take a swing at my nephew, I don't automatically run over and hit them back. That's ridiculous, right?
OK. I have a point:
Teenagers, or the bulk of our employees, sometimes have the same troubles as this mother. I've seen some male counselors (and actually experienced this as a camper myself) throwing back insults to some loud-mouthed 8 year-olds...
First of all, don't jokingly insult your campers... second of all, don't act like an 8 year-old.
RIGHT?
This problem is easy to identify with the younger campers / counselors, but in teen programs the line blurs even more. A good deal of teen counselors have a problem distinguishing when to be an adult and when to be "cool." I have the answer: ALWAYS BE AN ADULT AND DON'T CARE ABOUT BEING COOL. I know that sounds pretty lame, but the *coolest* counselors do their job and do it well... even the most angry and callous teens can tell.
Don't get me wrong - a lazy, slang-yelling, no-rules kinda person is adored by the teens... but who wants that on their staff? Not me.
Anyway, I only hope that people can learn from this and maybe this mother will realize the folly of her ways... at least I can tell of this tragic event during trainings to illustrate the importance of acting like an adult.
BUT...
If you read this blog, you probably have read about the tragic loss of a teenage girl on the news over the past month or so. Her name was Megan and after a severe bout of depression mixed with some cyber-harassment, she hung herself. The worst part of the story (if it could get worse) is that the cyber-bullying was from the mother of another teenage girl posing as an *interested* teenage boy.
There is another Blogger location where that particular mother attempts to defend herself (I believe it's titled "meganhaditcoming")... but I believe her logic is seriously flawed and it relates to the child-care industry.
You see, teenagers can be cruel and emotionally illogical. Between cliques and romances and pressures to fit in while standing out, the plight of a young adult IS REALLY HARD (just remember your awkward years). Sometimes this means that friends can turn to enemies at the drop of a hat... and apparently this was the case with Megan.
Seeing no other way to save her emotionally fragile and innocent daughter, this mother decided to attack the problem in the exact way that a 13 year-old would. Her blog entry and subsequent comments defends her actions over and over again as the ONLY possible option for saving her daughter... that she was being a "good parent."
Haven't you heard this logic before? Didn't you ever have a staff member who made a horrible decision and couldn't possibly see how they went wrong?
Two things happened:
1. The mother fought negativity with negativity.
Camp people know that this doesn't work... our worst behaved campers thrive on the extra attention they get, regardless of what flavor it comes in. Incentive programs go much farther than constant time-outs. If you haven't learned this yet, then keep a log of every time-out. You may be surprised by the repeats... year after year.
2. The mother didn't act like an adult.
Adults don't go onto MySpace and fake out 13 year-olds... wait... RATIONAL adults don't. It sounds ridiculous now to think of a 30+ woman pretending to be a 16 year-old boy online... and to have her act as if it's normal behavior. No. It's not. NOT AT ALL. If I see a 3 year-old on the playground take a swing at my nephew, I don't automatically run over and hit them back. That's ridiculous, right?
OK. I have a point:
Teenagers, or the bulk of our employees, sometimes have the same troubles as this mother. I've seen some male counselors (and actually experienced this as a camper myself) throwing back insults to some loud-mouthed 8 year-olds...
First of all, don't jokingly insult your campers... second of all, don't act like an 8 year-old.
RIGHT?
This problem is easy to identify with the younger campers / counselors, but in teen programs the line blurs even more. A good deal of teen counselors have a problem distinguishing when to be an adult and when to be "cool." I have the answer: ALWAYS BE AN ADULT AND DON'T CARE ABOUT BEING COOL. I know that sounds pretty lame, but the *coolest* counselors do their job and do it well... even the most angry and callous teens can tell.
Don't get me wrong - a lazy, slang-yelling, no-rules kinda person is adored by the teens... but who wants that on their staff? Not me.
Anyway, I only hope that people can learn from this and maybe this mother will realize the folly of her ways... at least I can tell of this tragic event during trainings to illustrate the importance of acting like an adult.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)