(no subject)
So, despite the fact that the lightening storms were so strong last night that we lost power and several trees, and the fact that there are lightening storms predicted all day for the area where day camp is, and the fact that severe storms are predicted to begin right around the time we throw the girls into cars and send them on their merry way, day camp has not be canceled today.
Recipe for disaster, anyone??
And yeah. Day camp has overall not been going smashingly. I love the girls, they're all so cute and I want to take every one of them home with me. But I don't like the gossiping and back-biting and snobbiness of some of the people from the other service units. I don't care for the 42bajillion mile walks in 85+ degree weather, and really when it gets to 80% humidity, things are pretty effin' miserable in the woods. I don't like cooking over a blazing fire in 85+ degree weather, either. And I totally despise the "rush, rush, rush, rush OK GATHER THEM ALL UP AND SEND THEM HOME RIGHT NOW RIGHT THIS MINUTE WHERE ARE THE PARENTS THEY'RE FIVE MINUTES LATE OMG MAY THEY BURN IN HELL" routine at the end of the day.
Whomever thought up daycamps, where we completely run them ragged all day and then round them up and send them home, and then round them up, exhausted, in the morning and do it all over again should be shot, hung and quartered. At least when there's an overnight, the child and the leader have a chance to bond and create a relationship. Things go pretty smoothly after this has happened. At Day Camp, we've completely eliminated that opportunity, so every morning we get to go through the whole power/authority struggle again. There are SO MANY activities crammed into these girls' days, with no downtime. And then we send them home and they continue running themselves ragged, going to play in softball games, and having sleep-overs, and staying up until 11:30 (or later) at night. They don't replenish their fluids or their energy, and they come back to us exhausted and grumpy and drained. If they were with us, we'd know to get them to bed early and make sure there were lots of fluids pushed at dinner and breakfast, because we were with them all day and know what they went through. The parents don't know, all they know is they thought the kid was leaving for a fun day of camp and now they're getting back an exhausted, grumpy, muddy mess on the verge of meltdown.
Oh, and one of the girls lost her glasses in the pond yesterday, after someone initiated a STUPID game of flinging sponges at each other with the canoe paddles. Guess who got to call her mom and explain all that to her??? That'd be me.
Yeah. This is so never happening again. Camporee?? Yes. Camping with my girls?? Absolutely. Continuing to be a leader?? You bet your bottom dollar. Day Camp?? Nada. Never, ever again.
Recipe for disaster, anyone??
And yeah. Day camp has overall not been going smashingly. I love the girls, they're all so cute and I want to take every one of them home with me. But I don't like the gossiping and back-biting and snobbiness of some of the people from the other service units. I don't care for the 42bajillion mile walks in 85+ degree weather, and really when it gets to 80% humidity, things are pretty effin' miserable in the woods. I don't like cooking over a blazing fire in 85+ degree weather, either. And I totally despise the "rush, rush, rush, rush OK GATHER THEM ALL UP AND SEND THEM HOME RIGHT NOW RIGHT THIS MINUTE WHERE ARE THE PARENTS THEY'RE FIVE MINUTES LATE OMG MAY THEY BURN IN HELL" routine at the end of the day.
Whomever thought up daycamps, where we completely run them ragged all day and then round them up and send them home, and then round them up, exhausted, in the morning and do it all over again should be shot, hung and quartered. At least when there's an overnight, the child and the leader have a chance to bond and create a relationship. Things go pretty smoothly after this has happened. At Day Camp, we've completely eliminated that opportunity, so every morning we get to go through the whole power/authority struggle again. There are SO MANY activities crammed into these girls' days, with no downtime. And then we send them home and they continue running themselves ragged, going to play in softball games, and having sleep-overs, and staying up until 11:30 (or later) at night. They don't replenish their fluids or their energy, and they come back to us exhausted and grumpy and drained. If they were with us, we'd know to get them to bed early and make sure there were lots of fluids pushed at dinner and breakfast, because we were with them all day and know what they went through. The parents don't know, all they know is they thought the kid was leaving for a fun day of camp and now they're getting back an exhausted, grumpy, muddy mess on the verge of meltdown.
Oh, and one of the girls lost her glasses in the pond yesterday, after someone initiated a STUPID game of flinging sponges at each other with the canoe paddles. Guess who got to call her mom and explain all that to her??? That'd be me.
Yeah. This is so never happening again. Camporee?? Yes. Camping with my girls?? Absolutely. Continuing to be a leader?? You bet your bottom dollar. Day Camp?? Nada. Never, ever again.