Stars and Stripes

We began this week with a day off to celebrate the 4th of July. I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. We know many of the children got to go to the lake and cook outs. They've been telling us some amazing stories of what they did over the weekend. We hope you all had an enjoyable time with friends and family.

Tuesday was VERY HOT outside. We began our week at camp with swimming at the YMCA. We headed back to the site for lunch and to change. The kiddos were all for walking back to the YMCA to play in the kids club and attempt some rock climbing. We made sure they all had water once we arrived to the YMCA and were able to get as much as they wanted while we were there. We took one last big drink before heading back to the site. We had snack upon arrival and a lot more of the H2O.

Wednesday we headed to the PRP Fire Department. Upon arriving we had several firemen to show us around the facility. We started out by looking at the trucks in the "Garage" and each child getting to sit up in the truck. They had a lot of fun and had MANY questions for the kind firemen. Once every child was able to look all around the truck they took us into the living room of the firehouse. One of the head firemen talked to us about fire safety. While he was talking he also showed us what the firemen have to wear to go into a fire. He explained to the children not to be scared of the firemen IF they ever have to be rescued from a house or smoke filled room. He talked about what the children should do and how to respond to that type of situation. He then allowed each of the children to get up and touch the fireman who was fully suited up. He wanted to be sure they knew the same regular guy who put all that on was the same person once he was covered up and looked kinda scary. They did a great job explaining and answering the children's questions. As they were ending this part up and showing us more of the firehouse they got a fire run. Most of the men had to leave and the kids thought that was really cool. They were able to hear the call come in and see the men leave with lights/sirens on. After we were left with almost no one to give us the rest of the tour the fire Marshall talked with them about lighters. They brought in some lighters that looked like toys and talked about lighter safety. They also showed them all a fire detector and talked about what to do if they hear one. As the visit came to an end they got to go in and see the beds the firemen sleep on and their bathroom/showers. Of course when seeing the bathroom EVERY child had to go :-).

We left the firehouse and went to Waverly Park to eat lunch. It's very quiet and peaceful up at the park. We ate under a covered gazebo by the lake. After they got done eating they were able to play on the playground for some time. We would have stayed longer, but there were no restrooms and one by one each child had to go. We left a little early to get back to the bathrooms at camp.

We got back early so we filled in our extra time at site with some art projects. First we made Thank You cards for the group cleaning up around Doss High School. We delivered them and of course they wanted to play with the kids and talk with them for a few minutes. The kids had a lot of fun creating the cards and then delivering them. After the cards were delivered the children made finger print American Flags. This was quite a task of listening to directions and following them. Most of the children did a wonderful job at both. We sent those flags home today, so if you didn't go home with one we will send it tomorrow.

After the flags, we played in the gym for a little while as we waited for our guest.

Officer Holland came to see the children at camp and talk to them about more safety. He is well known to most of the returning campers. They know him by the name Mr. Tyler though. They were so excited to see him come back in his new uniform. He explained how police officers are here to keep them safe. He also showed them all his "tools" he uses on his job. They had many questions (mostly about guns and shooting) but he quickly turned the conversation away from guns and shooting. He reminded them that is not the major concern for a police officer and although they have a gun that's not what they want to use on a regular basis. The kids thought it was really cool for him to come visit them. He even took some time to hang out and take pictures with the kids.

Today we went swimming at the YMCA and returned late in the afternoon for rock climbing and kids club. We had several children that got all the way to the top of the rock wall. They were very proud and I have to apologize that I didn't have the camera with us. We will take it next week. We also made firework art in the classroom as we waited for parents to arrive. Some children might not have been able to make one but that is OK. Tomorrow we are going to have three different crafts for them to choose from to make and even have a chance to make ones they didn't get to make today.

Tomorrow we are going to end out the week with some fun at site. IF we are able to we will add in some extra swim time. I hope you all have a great weekend and keep checking in for more photos and posts.

Wild, Wild West

Last week we ventured out into the Wild, Wild West. The children started out the week by making their own sheriff badge and learning some western songs. They learned a fun version of She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain and a few others.

On Tuesday we hit up the YMCA for swimming, rock wall climbing and kids club. Even though the weather was very hot, the children did a great job walking to and from the YMCA twice in one day.

On Wednesday we went down to the Frazier Arms International Museum. This was a mostly hands off field trip, but these children did an amazing job following those rules! We began our field trip with some instructions from the director at the museum. Then we were able to go ALL THE WAY up to the fourth floor (by using the stairs). We definitely got some exercise in that day. After we made it to the fourth floor the children listened to a book read by the lady leading us on our tour. She then had a really neat art project for the kids. They got to create their own brand for their"cow". The children had a lot of fun creating this and putting it on their cow as they finished coloring it. It was fun to see the different designs they chose. They learned all about the branding and why it was done. They also were able to try on some really neat cowboy clothes. She had a vest, chaps, hat, boots, brand, gloves and rope on display. Each child was able to touch all the items and also to wear them. After this project ended we had a quick bathroom break then divided up into several groups. Each group went on a scavenger hunt through out the museum. We each had three stops to make and several questions to answer. This was actually a lot of fun and an easy way to let us see the entire museum. After the scavenger hunt we got to meet a real live cowboy. He talked to the children and let them participate in a "Re-enactment" of rounding up some cattle. He answered questions and even took time to take a picture with our campers.

We ended up the week with some more swimming at the YMCA and also a cook out on Friday. The children really seem to enjoy our cook outs. They are able to pick out what they would like to eat from what the campers brought in. They seem very surprised that we let them go back for more and get whatever they want. We are so thankful for all the wonderful veggies, fruits and baked chips you parents bring in. The kids make such good choices and every thing is healthy so it makes it even better. We serve the left over fruit, veggies and baked chips for snack. Thank you for all your help in providing the campers with such a healthy lunch and snack. They truly love it. I cant believe how many strawberries and melon balls these kiddos can consume. I am so excited to see them choose more fruit and veggies over the chips too. You parents would be very proud of them.