Guest Post by G3: My Summer Camp Experience

Three of us boys from our church got to go to Bible camp near Peoria Saturday June 22. It was my first time at camp.  For our schedule in the morning we had flagpole (I liked going to the flagpole early), then breakfast, then cabin clean up after.  After that we had Bible hour.  Bible hour was fun because if I did the study I got a York candy bar for reward.  Then we went to our cabins, and then we looked at our paper to see if we passed cabin clean up.  We had break or time alone with God for Bible.  We went to lunch.  The food was good, because there wasn’t any foods there that I didn’t like – and I’m a very picky eater.   Games were next, but I did not like that time.  I didn't like it that much because during games I ended up in the infirmary.  There was a nurse-mom there and I saw her 4 times.  She was very nice and cool.  There were lots of games.  Many games included water and mud.  There was running games and it was very hot.  Ultimate Frisbee and kickball were the games that caused me to get hurt.  I’m sorta competitive. 

My favorite parts about camp were that my cabin leader was amazing, AND I enjoyed the horseback ride. It was fun. I promised my mom I would go on a horseback ride because she seemed to think it was one of the most important parts of the week.  She grew up riding horses almost every week, so she misses it and thinks it’s more important than spelling.  One of the leaders for the horseback riding people told us we could go down a hill.  So, when I went down the hill, it was very muddy.  Some went down the hill; the horses almost fell all the way down the hill.  The good thing was that I didn't fall down the hill, and I was thankful.  I didn't do paintball though because my mom forgot to sign the form.  Actually, I didn't know we had to sign it, so I will probably do paintball next year.  They also had a pool with one Not-so-springy diving board, but it was still fun though because I had friends there to play with.  When we had chapel (in the evening), the pastor who taught chapel was amazing.  The theme for the week at camp was our identity in Christ, and who we really are.  So we studied the life of Christ. 

I would like to go back to this camp after I try the other summer camp in Wisconsin that my brother went to last year.  There aren’t girls at the Wisconsin camp like there are at the Illinois camp that I attended with my brother and friend from church.  It was weird to be unplugged and I don’t even have a cell phone.  We couldn’t check the Blackhawks hockey match for the Stanley Cup because there weren’t even any cell phone towers to get a signal!  Can you imagine?!

G2 Finds a Volunteering Niche

According to her: 
I got to play with all kinds of fun kids. Well, the oldest kid with 16 months, so they're more like babies ;). There were five other adults there and I helped play with the little ones.  It's for a group that shares English language with Japanese women. It's so fun to be in the nursery, because I get to be with such little kids. One cried the whole time (girl), but she stopped when I was entertaining her.  Another one who cried the whole time finally fell asleep. It was hard for them to be without their moms for the first time.  But their moms were studying English in order to be more active while their dads work in this area.  I was there for 2 and a half hours, but it seemed like only 30 minutes! That's a good thing.

(G2 earned her babysitting certificate this summer and hopes to get more experience with babies before she takes on a job someday to babysit on her own.)

Guest Post: G1 Volunteers at Local Library

What do I do at my volunteer job at the library?  By G1

 

So, my first day volunteering at the library I sorted out the due date cards.  sorting them was like playing cards. you had to sort the cards to date which was like dealing the cards out. Not that interesting, but it needed to be done. That was the only thing I did. On the next visit, I went to the library and I first had to clean the break fridge.  There was an interesting looking orange.  Cleaning was really easy.

Then I had to check the books that the library did and did not have from the catalogue. You have to search the book, check the author and write the appropriate symbols. That was all from the last 2 weeks. On my third week I had to make some brochures ( well not really"made" but I folded them) then I sorted out some more due date cards. then I had to rearrange some books, which was not hard at all. Then I HAD TO BIKE HOME, which wasn't that hard, but it was cold and my ears were hurting after that. I probably won't do that again in the cold... Lessons learned.  Good day.

G2 Babysitting for the First Time

I have never babysat before, so didn't know what exactly to do.  I've been studying a website about babysitting, but haven't completed it yet.  My mom was there while my charge was in the house with us on Valentine's Day from 3-6pm so her parents could go on a date (isn't that sweet...).  Mom had three of us, so she knew what to do.   I knew that this 15 month old liked to read, so Mom helped me find some board books that my brothers and I used for me to read to her.  She also liked playing with the puzzles we used. 

I also knew that this baby liked to move, so I kept her moving.  She doesn't walk or crawl, but scoots upright on her backside.  Mom helped me carry her upstairs so I could practice the trumpet quietly and she didn't get upset at the loud sound at all.  During the last few minutes she was here, I could tell that she was really tired so I bounced her on my knee.  I also picked her up carefully and carried her on "tours," which means walking around the house.  I was really tired after my first babysitting job.

I'm looking forward to this summer when I get to take the class for babysitting that my local library offers for kids my age.  Mom says that my brothers have to take it too in order for each of us to be certified.  I hope they don't make me change a diaper, but I know that's part of the job someday.  For a reward, the baby's parents gave me a bag of goodies.  Yummy!