End of super kids week!

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This was a tough week! Each year we have one week dedicated to kids with asthma and it's called camp super kids and it is always full to the max. On top of a full camp, we have roughly 40 nurses and 10 or so behavioral management staff that stay at camp for the week too. Four guys from a other YMCA camp came to help out this week, as did some staff from last year. A lot of the campers had behavioral issues which makes for a challenging week. I was initially assigned to be a 'floater' which meant I stay with the management staff in a separate cabin and help out where I can with the other cabins. However, on the second day, one of the boy counsellors had to leave due to family issues that arose and I had to step in and be the other counsellor. There were 10 boys aged 7-10 and they were super energetic. One of the boys was sent home on the second day as he was very naughty and disruptive. It was a relief but also sad as he started making a connection with me - I think because I was the only female counselor for the cabin and he saw me as a mother figure. On Friday I received a box of goodies from back home which was the prefect way to end off a hectic week! It was such a great surprise and made me miss home!

On Friday we had our usual drinks at the local pub and then most of the staff hang out and camp for a chill night and relaxed. On Saturday myself and a few others went to the science museum as one of the guys used to work there and had a bunch of free tickets. It was surprisingly fun! We watched a dinosaur documentary and spent an hour walking around all the exhibits. There was one stair case which played music when you stepped on the steps - noisy but lots of fun! That night one of the guys took me out for ice cream at a suburban shop called peppermint twist. It was really nice! You drive up to a park and then order what you want while still in the car and the staff bring it out to you. Super lazy but yum!

On Sunday the new kids arrived and it is our first "healthy u" camp which is for kids with high BMIs. There are only five cabins of 4-6 kids in them so it has been a chilled week compared to last week. I have been taking the kids for morning archery and then nature and swimming in the afternoons. I helped a kid today hit a bullseye in archery which was really awesome as I have never done archery before and neither had he! Moments like those really make me appreciate my job here at camp. We all got pedometers and yesterday I took nearly 16,000 steps which is a pretty typical day at camp. It's nice reassurance that although my exercise regime is very different compared to back home, that I am still keeping active. Last night each cabin cooked our own meals and we made a chicken stir fry dish over an open fire - it was very yum!

The kids leave tomorrow as this week is a short week. It's July 4th holiday on Thursday which is big in America. I'm going with a group of others to one of the girls house who lives close to camp tomorrow night and on Friday we are going to a parade and then valley fair. I'm super excited to leave camp for the whole weekend and see the surrounding suburbs and towns!

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Comments

[Ronelle]

Super Kids
I reckon it's super Lara!! :)