Highlights and Observations from the 6th Week of the SML Good Neighbors Summer Enrichment Camp

We have completed the sixth week of our work with the children; this means we have completed the second week of the Franklin County camp that is being held at Trinity Ecumenical Parish. It was a very good week. Approximately 35 children attended camp each day and we anticipate the number will be closer to 40 during the next two weeks.

We continue to have excellent support from our volunteers. This week we had three Intern Assistants every day and these extra hands and eyes (and hearts) allow the interns to focus their time and energy more completely on the children. We also had a terrific Camp Facilitator this week – our board president, Larry Broomall. This is not a glamorous job (I know from experience since I have occasionally been a substitute) but it is critical in supporting the daily routines of the camp. The camp director truly needs this help. And, we had another great week with the Reading Buddies. We have many reading buddies who return every year. Several of them who worked with us this week have been with us every summer (three years) and several others returned for their second year. It is a joy for me to see the smiles, hear the stories and watch the eye-to-eye connections between the mentors and their children. I used the phrase – their children – intentionally because the bonds form quickly between our reading buddies and the children they read with every day for a week. It can be a transformative experience for both the children and their buddies.

Our afternoon enrichments this week, as in week two at the Bedford County camp, focused on Peace. Again, the first afternoon was facilitated by Unbridled Change, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons were organized and led by Elizabeth Brown. On Friday the Roanoke Children’s Theatre engaged the children in song and story-telling through drama to help them learn about compassion and understanding as a way of living with others. This is part of the Peace Child program. My words can’t capture the power of these experiences. If you experience the program you too may come away with an ineffable heart-sense of its power.

Photos from Peace Week

We took a break on Thursday afternoon for a fun and rowdy Water Day. This is a favorite of the children and the interns. The objective is to just have fun. Along the way the kids also learn to play together without hurting each other (intentionally) and to cooperate. It took the interns many hours to prepare for water day, but it was a big success. The photos tell the story.

Highlights and Observations

As always, there are situations or events that catch my attention during the week. I like to share these experiences. In many instances, they are not part of the planned program but capture the spirit of this program for me.

• The children are getting fresh fruit and vegetables – at least part of the time. These are supplied by Feed the Children, the group that is providing the food for this camp. The children like the baby carrots when we provide ranch dressing as a dip and eat the apples when we section them. I hope we learn from this and expand the offerings next year.
• One of our returning reading buddies, who is an experienced teacher, is so impressed with our interns that she bought each of them a gift card from Target.
• During the peace cycles, Angela led each group of kids in a 30 minute yoga exercise to help them experience calm, quiet and a peaceful interior. Most of us react by saying “Good luck with that.” Well – let me tell you – it worked. I would never have imagined that I would observe a group of 15 fourth-graders lying absolutely still, listening to the music of Enya and the very soft words from Angela as they ended the activity. If you want to hear the music, go to: www.grooveshark.com. This is a free radio listening program. Type in Enya and look for The Best of Enya, Paint the Sky with Stars and listen to “The Memory of Trees.” I have told several others, this is not normal behavior for nine year olds or, for that matter, any of us. It was amazing!
• A personal experience - During the Roanoke Children’s Theatre program with the kids, I was in a semicircle with the kids standing next to Rick as we sang one of the songs. The last verse of the song says – Well I’ve been thinkin, about my friends… When this verse begins we all join hands. At the completion of the song, Rick put his arm around my waist and said, “Russell, we’re pretty good buddies.” To that I can only say – amen.

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I swear I will not dishonor

my soul with hatred,

but offer myself humbly

as a guardian of nature,

as a healer of misery,

as a messenger of wonder,

as an architect of peace.

“School Prayer”

Diane Ackerman from I Praise My Destroyer

Highlights and Observations from the 5th Week of the Good Neighbors 2010 Summer Day Camp

Following our very successful four-week enrichment program in Bedford County we took a one week break before beginning the Franklin County program. The interns, Shearer and I met at Trinity Ecumenical Parish on Sunday afternoon on July 18^th to get the rooms organized and our materials unpacked for the opening of camp the next day. We are grateful that Trinity opens its doors to us and allows us to use most of the building for our program. This is just one of the ways that Trinity has supported and nurtured the Good Neighbors programs from the beginning.

We have 52 children registered for the Franklin County camp. They come from Dudley, Burnt Chimney and Windy Gap Elementary Schools. This is a significant increase over 2009. The beginning of this camp overlaps with the last week of summer school so some of the children could not attend the first week of our program. We welcomed 39 children on Monday morning, July 19^th and had a great first day. The numbers fluctuated the next three days and on Friday we had 42 children with us. We anticipate that attendance will average around 45 children each day during the next three weeks.

We had enthusiastic volunteers during this week and, as usual, it was wonderful to see the interactions between the children and their Reading Buddies. Bonds form quickly and the children truly love this time. As Jim Mullens has reminded us, the one-on-one attention given to these children may be the most important thing we do. It is hard to quantify or even describe these relationships but if you witness these interactions it will leave your heart tender.

The first week was excellent. The interns continue to do excellent work in planning and managing the daily work with the children. Additionally, it is clear that they have formed a close-knit community and are very good friends. This makes them a very effective team; there is a synergy that results from these relationships that brings color, texture, humor and passion to the daily work. I often remind myself that part of our mission is to provide vocational exploration experiences for the interns. We are meeting this objective.

A Few Highlights and Observations

Our program themes this week centered on nature, the interconnections and interdependence between all things in creation, environmental stewardship and how Good Neighbors live as part of, not apart from, all that exists.

• This was a great week for Shearer. She was able to take off her hat as the manager of the daily camp details (at least part of the time) and put on her hat as a nature and environmental educator. This is what she truly loves to do. As some of you know, Shearer works for the 4-H Center and the State Part as an environmental/nature educator so this knowledge and experience was perfect for the emphasis this week. We still worked with the 4-H staff and they came to camp with their resources. However, Shearer reorganized some of the cycles and facilitated some of the stations. We all agreed that the afternoon enrichments were excellent. These same themes were good at the first camp, but more dynamic and stimulating at this camp. It was clear as we watched Shearer lead the children through these programs that she loves nature education. By the end of these enrichments on Thursday I think she was exhausted but pleased with the week. And then, on Friday, she put her camp director hat back on and returned to the less edifying but critical task of managing the endless details that keep the camp running.
• Have you ever heard of the Green Gorilla? Well, Angela connected with the website – greengorilla.com and used two of their short videos to teach the kids about Mountain Top Removal and problems with Plastic Bags. These are great animated clips. A great way for the children to see examples of human activities that are destructive to our life support systems.

• On Thursday Jeff, from the 4-H center, brought live animals to teach the kids about respecting other species. Of course the highlight was the corn snake. Great program.

• The last event of the week was Family Night. At 6 p.m. on Friday evening we welcomed many of the children and their families for a short program and refreshments. The interns led the program that ended with some of the children singing their favorite camp songs. It was more like a celebration than a program. The families loved it. And – the remarkable part – we had a great turnout. There were 75 of us in attendance. Another success that exceeded my expectations. I think we are reaching more and more of the families we hope to serve.

Week 1 of this camp was a good week. Week 2 will focus on Peace Education. It will be very busy but, if it is like the Peace Education week at Moneta Elementary School, it will be excellent. Helping the children learn ways to live peacefully is one of our central objectives; I think we are planting seeds.

Russ Baskett

Program Coordinator

Highlights and Observations from Week 4 of the 2010 Good Neighbors Summer Day Camp

This was the last week of the Bedford County Camp. It was a different kind of week for several reasons. First, we met on Monday, July 5^th that is part of the extended holiday for many people. So, we had only 22 children on Monday. Second, the Bedford County Summer School program began on Tuesday. Eighteen of our campers were in summer school until 12:15 but many of the campers in summer school joined us for the afternoon. By the end of each day we had 42 to 46 kids with us.

Every afternoon this week the Roanoke Children’s Theatre worked with the kids preparing them to present the play “Cooking It” at the end of the week. This is part of our focus on Healthy Living.

Then the difficult part – saying goodbye to the children and their families after our closing celebration on Friday. We do become family during these four weeks of life together.

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Some of the Highlights

• Monday morning began with local author and storyteller, Becky Mushko reading her children’s book, Ferradiddledumday, to the kids. This is an Appalachian version of Rumpelstiltskin. This gave the kids a chance to ask questions about writing stories and publishing books. I was good for them to meet and talk to a working author since we spend time everyday in writers’ workshop. Maybe we have a “budding writer” in our midst! Again, a big thank you to SMAC. They purchased enough copies of the book for each child to take one home.

• From 12:30 to 2:15 every day this week the kids worked with Pat Wilhelms, Artistic Director for the Roanoke Children’s Theatre, and others from the theatre staff. This also required the assistance of all of our interns. The kids continued learning theater skills but they learned the songs, dances and some of the script for “Cooking It”, a musical play about healthy eating. This was a big task to accomplish with 40+ kids. The themes and messages in the play are great and timely with characters such as Brock Broccoli and Brussel Sprout teaching us about the good foods to eat and the bad ones we are addicted to. There were times when I wasn’t sure we could get the kids to focus enough to actually make this work. But - and this is not uncommon - my fears were unfounded. The kids were great. They got in to the story, the songs and the movements. This is a great and subtle way to teach the basics of eating and healthy living.
• From 2:15 to 2:45 every day the kids are in Writers’ Workshop. The older kids are generally able to do some writing. But the youngest (the Koala Bears) are a challenge. Many of them are very beginning readers and writing is beyond their grasp. But, Nalina Nop and Angela Massino, the interns who work with this group every day, were very creative and helped the kids write and illustrate a book based on their own ideas. Nalina and Angela took the basic, disconnected stories of the individual kids and knit them together into a complete story. They had the kids do illustrations for the parts of the story that came from their ideas. All of this was then put together in a book. It was great to observe Nalina and Angela guide the kids through this activity. It was a lot of work for them and a great community activity for these kids. Working with six year olds is a challenge!

• Angela completed her first video about the program. It is a 10 minute program that highlights the elements of the program. It is very well done. It captures what life at camp is like, educates people about the real content of the program and, the kids loved it. Great job Angela; we now understand why you win awards for your video documentaries.
• During the morning on Friday Elizabeth told us a wonderful story. Here is the short version. Jesse, one of our campers, was very upset and crying. He was crying because this was the last day of camp and he didn’t want it to end. Although most of the kids didn’t cry about the end of camp, Jesse’s feelings were typical – a good witness about how the children feel about the program.
• At 2 p.m. on Friday our closing celebration began. It exceeded anything I expected. By the time the program began, there was standing room only in the gym – the bleachers were filled with family, friends, volunteers and a few board members. The kids were perfect. Working with the Children’s Theatre staff, they performed their songs and moves with enthusiasm to the delight of the audience. “Cooking It” is a great play about healthy foods and our addictions to foods that are not so healthy. It is funny but truly has a big message. We were really proud of the kids. At the end of the play, Mary Bova, one of the authors of the play, led the kids in one of the songs they taught them as part of their work about the Peace Child. It is about accepting our differences and living together peacefully. The words of the chorus are something like this – so you be you, and I’ll be me; that’s the way it’s meant to be; and we’ll live together, you and me… differently. A great message for children and adults – maybe we can learn from the children!

At the completion of the theatre program, Angela's video about the four weeks of camp was shown. I think anyone who hadn’t spent at least one full day at camp was amazed by the depth and diversity of the activities the kids do during the four weeks. You can imagine the applause. It is too bad that we didn’t have media present. As we know, it is not possible to explain what goes on at camp - it has to be experienced. Now for the good news - since I was recording the program on video, I have no still photos to include in this report.

Finally, we all moved to the cafeteria where we had ice cream, clowns, tattoos and other silly things for the kids and families. And then – all of us who came to know and love these children had to say goodbye. These are transforming experiences for many of us. Our lives are changed by this work and I hold the belief that it is transforming for many of the children.

A Few Parting Thoughts

We did have a terrific four weeks. The program operated with no major problems and only a few minor issues. Being well prepared explains much of this success. But, in my opinion, even more important are the people who worked with the kids and managed the camp every day.

• Shearer Rumsey did a great job as the new Camp Director. She managed the dozens of details necessary for the daily routines. These included opening the building every morning, greeting all the kids and their families every morning, working with the reading buddies, making certain that breakfast and lunch was set up on time, dealing with behavior problems, calling parents as needed, being the nurse, signing out the kids at the end of the day and on and on and on!!! Multitasking is a way of life in that position and Shearer did it well. As we were doing our final closing activities at the school I asked Shearer how she felt about the job at this point. The big smile on her face said it all; she didn’t need to say a word.

• All of our interns are excellent. But, for this report I want to single out Hannah Sizemore. Hannah is our lead intern and she has been a very effective team leader. And, she has taken ownership of the program. She is the “go to” person for dealing with most of the issues about the daily work of the interns and the schedule. We made a very wise decision in inviting Hannah to return this year as our lead intern. I have truly enjoyed working with Hannah and have the highest respect and admiration for her work and for her as a person.

• The Intern Assistants and Camp Facilitators have been invaluable in keeping the program running smoothly. The assistants are attached to a group of kids and their two interns. From taking kids to the bathroom, mopping floors and setting up lunch, to working with disruptive kids – we truly need these volunteers.
• And then, there are the behind the scenes volunteers who quietly support the camps. These are the people who purchase all of our food from Second Harvest Food Bank and Shop Rite, pack lunches, pack backpacks, and deliver all of these to the camps. All of this work requires 30 to 40 volunteers who do this work every week. This team is led by Colleen and Jerry McNulty. They work quietly at TEP (backpack packing) and LCM (lunch packing) and without benefit of air conditioning. We are not only dependent on these volunteers, we are grateful to them for supporting this mission.

Our moving company loaded all of our materials and supplies at Moneta E.S. this afternoon and delivered them to Trinity Ecumenical Parish. At 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 18^th, we will meet at TEP to unpack all of our supplies and get our rooms organized for the Franklin County Camp that begins on Monday, July 19^th. At this time, we have 48 children registered and expect a few more. Between now and the 19^th, I will relax and play with my family and savor dozens of wonderful memories of my experiences at the camp we just completed. We are so blessed to have this opportunity to work with these children.

Blessings and Peace,

Russ