Here is some great news -
Bryan and I will be presenting at the National ACA Conference in February of 2010. That's pretty... um... incredible and exciting!
We have also been rehired to continue building a stellar Activity Curriculum for iD Tech Camps, the largest tech camp group in America (and I believe the world... which, also means our solar system to anyone's immediate knowledge). They have over 60 separate camp locations around the United States and serve several thousand campers between the ages of 7 and 18 years old.
And we have some product that is currently in what I like to call "Beta" mode. One is a book containing our favorite games, written in such a way that even the most timid facilitator could (possibly) be successful. The book also has an appendix with our favorite songs (as you knew it would). We'll have copies available at the conference and have some of the early versions (rather *current* versions) sitting on our shelf awaiting revision.
If you are interested, let me know.
I am going to start posting more games and advice up here immediately. The latest break was to allow for my wedding (thanks) and subsequent honeymoon to New Zealand (best place on Earth).
I am also working with a couple friends on an iPhone app with all of the games on it, so PE & etc can have everything at their fingertips. It's a little breakneck speed to try to get something out by February, but we'll see...
And... a project that has gotten dusty on the shelf *will* be revived soon. A DVD of (better) produced videos of Bryan and I (and a special guest) performing some of our favorite camp songs will hopefully be put together around the holidays. I will likely include it with the final copy of the book and make it all available for some reasonable fee...
:-)
11.10.2009
4.03.2009
Whoa.
This has been the longest I've gone without a post... Sorry about that.
What have I been doing? Well, I've been writing a book... kind of. I was commissioned to put together the Activity Curriculum for 60 camps. Yes, 60. That work, which turned from a smaller-type project into a rather huge undertaking, is almost fully complete and compromises of some of my best camps thoughts intermingled with an excellent array of games and activities - Over 200 to be exact.
So, do not worry. I will start posting very soon - and sharing more relevant teaching about camp and working with youth. My next essay is probably about "Bad Apples," inspired by some research I learned about on "This American Life." Stay tuned - and check out www.kidssite2.com for fun stuff!
What have I been doing? Well, I've been writing a book... kind of. I was commissioned to put together the Activity Curriculum for 60 camps. Yes, 60. That work, which turned from a smaller-type project into a rather huge undertaking, is almost fully complete and compromises of some of my best camps thoughts intermingled with an excellent array of games and activities - Over 200 to be exact.
So, do not worry. I will start posting very soon - and sharing more relevant teaching about camp and working with youth. My next essay is probably about "Bad Apples," inspired by some research I learned about on "This American Life." Stay tuned - and check out www.kidssite2.com for fun stuff!
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?
Kid's Site 2: The Webpage - "Episode 17" Tuesday, October 7th
On this momentous Tech Trek Tuesday, Pete talks about the different video game consoles... plus lots of unexpected wackiness from Jerry Jingles and Barry Buttons!
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