June 23 – From Camp Beyond

by Leave a Comment

We have been busy!  We are in camp 7 days a week and the typical day looks like the following:

  • 7:15am – Breakfast
  • 7:45am – Class
  • 9:15am – Leave for activity (Hiking, swimming, visit museum, climb a mountain, etc.)
  • 12:00pm – Lunch
  • 1:00pm – Leave for activity (visit fish hatchery, learn about nature, visit dairy farm, hiking, etc.)
  • 5:30pm – get home
  • 6:00pm – dinner
  • 7:00pm – class
  • 9:00pm – free time
  • 10:00pm – lights out

We don’t go to every activity because as the teacher I need to make sure I am prepared for my new lessons both morning and night.

Our lessons are helping kids deal with 6 key decisions teenagers must make.  The 6 decisions deal with

  • Parents and Family
  • Friends
  • School
  • Addiction
  • Dating and Sex
  • Self-Worth

On each of these topics we do some specific class activities and discussion to help them in choosing how to deal with these decisions.  Example, tomorrow morning we will be starting the part on Parents and Family and will be introducing them to The 5 Love Languages.  This will help them learn how to recognize their parents need for love as well as how the student needs and tends to give love.  I love the material and believe strongly in the effectiveness of discussing these topics.

In the first few classes, we talked about the greatest challenges each student was currently facing. I had them write down challenges and turn them in. I then categorized them and counted them to see what our biggest challenges were.
Students are reviewing some of their greatest challenges with another person from the class. This gives students a great time to bond with others not only from another student group but also another language, culture, and country. It is interesting to find how their challenges are very similar.
A great team building exercise! Have them set up a tent without instructions and then spend 2 nights in it. They did quite well. Especially since several of them had never dealt with a tent.
Eryk learning how to use a hatchet and cut wood for the first time. He is one of our youngest students and is so full of joy although a little bit of a prankster from time to time.

 

We have also had some amazing things happening when not in class where God is ministering to some of the students.  I can’t share all of those details here.  We still have 2 weeks of class to go to this particular camp.  More to come!

The camp has a dedicated photographer who uploads pictures and videos she takes to their Facebook page.  I have shared them on our page as I find them.  If you are on Facebook and would like to see them click the picture below.

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Enjoy this blog? Let your friends know!