The 2017 Shari Prestemon Social Justice Interns have graciously agreed to share their experiences with all of us. From time to time, we’ll be posting ‘journal entries’ from Naiomi Gonzalez and Katy Morton. Below is one of these entries.
Controlled Chaos.
This week we had the opportunity to be group leaders/counselors at Gaston Point Summer Camp. I was a bit apprehensive to be a youth leader again, as it has been years since my days as a camp counselor, and even more years since my student teaching days. Naiomi and I had been tasked with the responsibility of running activities for two days, games one day and crafts the other. On Friday, we would be assisting Back Bay’s Community Health Worker, Mary Tell, with her nutrition and cooking demo(s). Naiomi and I worked together on games and crafts, but each took a lead on what topic we would be covering. My topic was crafts, and I took to Pinterest for ideas. As I sifted through pages and pages of cute crafts and ideas, I began to worry that I wouldn’t be able to find things to keep all the kids occupied for the entire day. Each day at camp, we were responsible for ensuring that groups of 5-10 children, grouped by age (ranging from 5 years to 15 years), were engaged and entertained for the 30-60 minute periods we had their group. After much researching, and discussion with Naiomi, I decided on homemade play-dough, marbled milk paper, and melted crayon art. My plan was to make play-dough with the little guys, marbled milk paper with the elementary-age kids, and melted crayon art with the oldest kids.
As many of you know, planning activities for kids and actually carrying out those activities are often two very different things. We arrived the morning of craft day, to find that there were many new kids, and that some of the kids who had been at camp for game day on Monday were no longer there on craft day. We also learned that we would have each group for a longer period of time, so I was very happy we had budgeted for extra supplies as well as coloring books and crayons. After a busy day of crafting with the kids, I was exhausted, but very happy that everyone had fun! Even with all the planning, many of the groups ended up doing multiple crafts, as well as creating and coloring some beautiful drawings. Things got messy several times during the day, especially with the littlest guys as they made play-dough, but there were smiles and laughter abound! Overall, the day was a success, with only a few minor hiccups.
Anyone who knows me knows that I sometimes have trouble with chaos, crowds, and uncontrolled situations. As a social worker, my brain seems to be at least partially hard-wired to assess and de-escalate chaotic situations. But, as is often the case with kids, some controlled chaos is usually a ton of fun, especially for the kids. I found myself apprehensive of the chaos, noise, and unpredictability of the kids at certain points during the week, but as time went on, I began to realize just how much fun the kids were having. Besides attempting to prevent injury and de-escalating some minor conflict situations between kids, we let them have fun, run around, and let their energy out. On game day, we provided balls, tic tac toe boards, and some other game supplies, explained the rules, and let the kids play. Several times throughout the week, we welcomed ideas and suggestions from the kids, and tried playing games and completing crafts their way. Even during craft day, which Naiomi and I had carefully planned and prepared for, we let the kids choose their craft activities, and get creative with the supplies we provided. As the kids crafted and created — and managed to dye their fingers all sorts of colors — I watched in amazement as each child interpreted the craft in a different way and gave the activity their own spin. I worried that the children’s parents might be upset that we were sending their children home with green and blue fingers, but my coworkers were quick to remind me that the parents would likely just be happy that their children had fun, and that food dye washes off anyway. To my surprise, at the end of the day, some of the littlest children even offered to help clean up!
Though I do admit it was difficult for me to let go and go with the flow sometimes — especially as visions of children falling down during games and hurting themselves flashed through my mind — with some gentle reminders and introspection, I was able to truly stop worrying and enjoy the activities. All my worries about the kids not enjoying the crafts, getting bored, or not having fun, quickly melted away as the kids jumped right into the activities and told us they were having a great time! Spending the week with these kids helped remind me that it’s okay to let go and enjoy the moment, and that a little chaos is not always a bad thing.
