So...
What to write about today?
The PENNY CARNIVAL!!! (woooooo!)
This is a simple... simple... simple idea. Did I say simple?
Basically, your camp has a bunch of teens who are generally uninterested in doing anything. I'm not talking about the Counselors in Training, who are also uninterested, but somehow get away with it... No, I'm talking about that teen program that has always needed a little revamping.
Are you with me so far?
Anyway, these teens need empowerment wherever they can get it. Sure, they may be too young to be given huge responsibilities, or too immature to handle serious work... and, in reality, we have to remember that they are campers and should be given the same amount of activities as everyone else. But empowerment creates motivation.
Let me clarify.
I'm an angsty teen who doesn't want to do anything. At all. I have an iPod hidden in my backpack, a PSP in my pocket and my cell phone on vibrate. I want nothing more than to sit around and talk and avoid any authority figure that may change my current state.
Put me in charge, and all that changes.
If you don't believe me, have a Reading Day for your youngest campers. Take the teens and allow them to run the entire program. They'll love it and surprise you.
The main gist of my entry for today is giving the teens the grand responsibility of creating, designing and running the Penny Carnival. Will they succeed? Of course. Will they exceed expectations? You bet!
They setup everything. You give them a week to design the games - no more than 2 or 3 teens running each attraction - and let them decide where the pennies go. During lunch they put everything together and then *BOOM* release the campers! Hehe.
Of course you have to pay attention to the little things > there cannot be too many of one attraction; a strict level of appropriateness needs to be enforced (shooting games are out); the amount of "tickets" or prize certificates needs to be regulated; and etc.
In the end you'll see some of the most creative projects... and you'll see motivated teenagers - which can be as rare as a Bigfoot sighting.
I was inspired by a very positive comment... So I wrote a song!
"The Lion Song" (the words in the brackets are for the song leader to shout... they do not interrupt the beat!)
[Lion!]
Roar!
Uh uh uh
Roar!
Uh uh uh
Roar!
Uh uh uh
...
[Baby Lion!]
Meow!
Uh uh uh
Meow!
Uh uh uh
Meow!
Uh uh uh
...[Sea Lion!]
Glub!
Uh uh uh
Glub!
Uh uh uh
Glub!
Uh uh uh
...
[Dandelion!]
Sun!
Uh uh uh
Sun!
Uh uh uh
Sun!
Uh uh uh
...
[Detroit Lion!]
Block!
Uh uh uh
Pass!
Uh uh uh
Score!
Uh uh uh
...[Autonomic Ganglion!]
Sway!
Uh uh uh
Sway!
Uh uh uh
Sway!
Uh uh uh
...
[Coach Lion!]
Freeze!
Uh uh uh
Listen Up!
Uh uh uh
You're It!
Uh uh uh
...
One day, Bryan came to camp wearing a LiveStrong bracelet. I had never seen one, nor had many of the kids or staff. Somehow he had found out about the fund raiser directly when it started...
Anyway, during our morning announcements, he showed off his new bling, referring to it as the "New Hotness." Since the bit was pretty well received and seemed fairly harmless, I started talking to everyone about the New Hotness.
"Do you have the New Hotness?"
"Oh snap! Look at his hotness..."and so forth.
This started a ridiculously popular LiveStrong fad at my camp, just months before the rest of the world became enamored with the little yellow rubber bands.
Shortly after, Bryan started a New-New Hotness. He was working under the assumption that fads are short and need to be periodically replaced by something equally silly and simple. So Bryan convinced the campers to wear goggles on their heads all day. My competing Hotness, as I hated the strap digging into my ginormous head was to wear a winter hat during the summer.
Neither of these New-New Hotnesses were as successful as the LiveStrong bracelets, but they were quickly adapted and created positive murmurs throughout camp. The following years we integrated several other kinds of Hotness, all achieving some level of success.
This picture is NOT of the New Hotness, but it's still pretty darn funny. How else do you deal with campers constantly pestering you for the schedule?
My brother Fred sent me this photo of *myself* admiring the lovable weather coconut in all of it's glory...
From Board #1:
"Do Not Touch
* If it is moving, it must be windy
* If it is not moving, there is no wind
* If it is not there, it was stolen!!!
* If it is white, it is snowing
* If it is wet, it is raining
* If it is going "Tink, Tink, Tink", there must be hail
* If it is on fire, run!
* If you cannot see it, it is foggy
* If it was swallowed by the earth, there is an earthquake"
From Board #2:
"* If it is acting bored, there is no weather
* If it is casting a shadow, the sun is out
* If it is involuntarily bobbing up and down, there is a flood
* If there are steaming rocks raining down upon it, there is a volcanic eruption
* If it ends up in Oz, there was a tornado"
Of course, that was our first coconut which had limited meteorological abilities. With our expertise at choosing better weather predictors, that list will not only expand, but also be a more accurate!
Send me a pic of your Weather Coconut!
What is the purpose of this blog?
At first I wanted to keep a repository of new songs as I learned them - in an easily maintained place (as opposed to greenghoulie.com which is brutal and in definite need of an overhaul). Once I started writing stuff, I concluded that I could share some of the many camp secrets I've come across over the years...
Now I've decided to chronicle my own camp career in order for others to observe and absorb some of my knowledge.
This is why the last post was about Dr. Underpants (among others). Since I'm mostly posting from work, my access to camp pictures is limited (currently), but I will fix that in the coming weeks. Even though this is my hobby and at times I cannot work as hard on this as I desire, this is my love - CAMP is my love.
I need to get to a couple camps this summer for some singin'. If you would like a special guest (at a very low cost), I am more than willing to take a vacation day to entertain some campers. Whether it be 5 or 500, I have a couple tricks up my sleeve that will really excite and charge the kids and staff alike....
*Just let me know*
