Running Nick Camp = CRAZY!

This week felt like the worst and the best week all at the same time. I was helping out in the 9-12 yr old Reality Show Camp in the mornings with Eric (a Camp Adventure staff person). We had 15 kids most of the week and things could not have run smoother. Monday was "the Apprentice" day where we wore ties and were addressed as Ma'am or Sir and all our games had to do with being in the business world. Tuesday was "the Amazing Race" and we had them do a picture scavenger hunt and a mummy relay to pretend they were going around the world. Wednesday was "Fear Factor" day and we made them eat gross stuff and put their hands in gross things...we had to eat it too, I nearly puked. Thursday was "America's Next Top Model" day where we gave them costumes and face paint and let them give us a fashion show and do walk offs (it's a Zoolander thing) even though it was a pretty girly thing to do, even the boys seemed to really have fun. Today was Game Show day where we played Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. It was the best camp I've had yet. The kids were for the most part well behaved and interested in what we were doing and genuinly having fun. One of the best parts was getting to work soley with Camp Adventure staff, it felt for the first time like we were doing what we came here to do.
Another great part of this week was being adopted for one night by a family that attends camp. On Wednesday the father picked us up after work and took us back to their house for homemade turkey and veggie lasagna and we got to see how a regular family from the US functions in a German home/town. The kids seemed to really get a kick out of having their counselors over for dinner and wanted to show us all their stuffed animals and lego creations. After the mother found out we don't have commisary priveledges she took us to a German grocery store to buy fruit and milk, but then she insisted on buying it for us. I don't think I've ever said "thank you" so many times in one day.
The worst part of my week came in the afternoons. I was the lead counselor for 36 kids in the 9-12 range for Nickelodeon Camp. I spent a lot of time working on a program that would work with this size and age group and felt pretty prepared going into Monday...boy was I wrong! Out of the 36 kids present...maybe 6 payed attention or listened to me the whole week. After reviewing the rules of the room "when a counselor is talking you should not be" and things of that nature...the kids were already talking and being disrespectful. The time I had planned to get things done in was doubled by the sheer number of kids having to move from one place to another and the amount of time it took to get kids to quiet down enough for me to explain what was going on...and then explaining it 10 more times for those that weren't paying attention the first 9 times. By the time I got home from work on Monday I was already starting to lose my voice. I was really frustrated. The days seemed to only get worse as my monthy friend came to visit...by Wednesday I was at my wits end and I could see the frustration on the kids faces with how much I was yelling at them. By Thursday even the fun games weren't fun anymore. I didn't know what to do. When I was in front of all those kids talking while I was trying to explain something I wanted to rip their heads off or go cry in the corner. Today I appologized to the kids about being so cranky all week and told them I hadn't been feeling well, but that I was feeling better today so if they were behaving I wouldn't yell at them...the difference was amazing. All of the kids were really nice to me and thanking me for everything I did and almost behaved like normal children. Today was Slime Time day and we played a really hilarious game where I had them hold a cup on their heads and had to transport the slime from the first player in the team to the bucket behind te last player without removing the cup from their head in a bucket brigade format. The game was effective in getting all the kids covered in slime (cornstarch and water) and helping them work on their teamwork. After 10 minutes the winning team had only managed to get about an inch of their bucket filled with slime. At the end of the day we allowed the team who had acquired the most points throughout the week slime the counselors. I was thuroughly slimed when I got home. But it was worth it to see how happy those kids were when they left today. It's amazing how much a bad week teaches you about yourself and how to change things when they aren't working.
I'm really excited to be working with a cooking camp next week called "fancy fruit and finger sandwiches". It should be really fun.