This Is Awesome For Camp Counselors! If Your Campers Don’t Feel Safe Or Listened To When They Are Upset,

It is important for campers to trust their staff.

9 year-old: “Well, it looks like lemonade and it tastes like lemonade, but the label says it’s fruit punch, so it must be fruit punch.”

(It was lemonade.)

EVEYONE SHARE THIS! CALL YOUR REPS!

YALL.

CALL YOUR REPS!

https://twitter.com/TheBoneHeadClan/status/940369097052827654

What in the absolute AI’s version of a Dumbledore/Gandalf love child is this?

Children are THE most important work

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're quite large for an elf"

(There is an extra 🔞 page to this on my Patreon!)

Come have one of the best summer jobs EVER!!!

“Costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo ensured the cast wardrobe enhanced the authenticity of each episode. […] As the series segued from black and white to color, Rubeo collaborated with the director of photography and production designer to ensure they achieved the perfect overall look. She describes the first three episodes as ‘particularly stunning,’ including a psychedelic 1970s print dress for Wanda in the third episode.”

Wanda Maximoff + outfits WANDAVISION (2021)

We all know Scratch is the best boy 😁 (sorry Gale)

I Bring a Small Library to Camp

One of the many reasons people at camp call me “Mom” is because I love reading to my campers at bedtime or during down time when asked. I’ve been called “entertaining” by my fifth grade campers because I “do voices” and read more like I’m narrating a play and all of its parts. Part of the reason I do this is because, well, I enjoy it. They may not seem too interested in reading when you interact with them, but that’s usually because it’s during the day and there are so many other things to do. But when given the option to stay up a bit later, they will want to be read to; and many kids (and even teens) really do like listening to someone else read. For younger kids it may be something their guardians do at home; for the older ones it may remind them of the comforting reading time they had as a young child. Children who are read to on a usual basis (five or more times per week) often use more literary language when asked to speak or write.¹ While working with children, I have noticed that many kids show signs of stage fright or a feeling of discomfort when doing things as simple as introducing themselves to a group. I like to use reading to my campers as a way to show them that speaking up and being crazy when you talk is perfectly okay and even encouraged.

I find it’s often difficult to get my campers to interact (sometimes appropriately) at meal times. While being the icebreaker of the group can work, at breakfast I found my campers often spoke about the book I read the night before. That’s the last thing they remember from the previous day and it’s the first thing they’ll talk about the next morning (unless they’ve already been distracted by gaga ball). When we read to campers or children in general, they’ll unintentionally talk about the story, ask open-ended questions, question word definitions, and point out conflict and resolution. This promotes an increase in their language development and comprehension of stories– all of which lead to better reading skills.²

I usually bring a small collection of paperback books to camp with me and have a library in my cabin for down time or if they would like to read before bed. The big hits this past summer were J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Roald Dahl’s Matilda.

Keeping in mind that my campers are usually in the 3rd-6th grade (8-12 years old) age range, here are some books I keep in my little library:

Dolphins at Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborne

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s by J.K. Rowling

Lions at Lunchtime by Mary Pope Osborne

The Talking T. Rex by Ron Roy

Midnight on the Moon by Mary Pope Osborne

The Lucky Lottery by Ron Roy

Matilda by Roald Dahl

The Worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

The Canary Caper by Ron Roy

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Faith and the Electric Dogs by Patrick Jennings

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

Fergus Crane by Paul Stewart

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Now just remember, if that character yelled- you should be using above an inside voice. If that character is described as having an accent- try your hardest to have one. The more engaged you are in the book, the more engaged they will be. Read to your campers. They will love it and you will have control over bedtime.

¹Wolf, M. (2007). Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. New York: Harper Perennial.

²Berk, L. E. (2009). Child Development (8th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

A lot of this is just listening to and knowing my body, but I almost religiously track my medication intake, menstrual cycle, and always take note of when I’ve gotten too little sleep. A change in any of these things could trigger a seizure. I’ve been very lucky to have a medication that has worked for me at a reasonable dose for 16 years. UNFORTUNATELY, that means I’ve been on a mood stabilizer since I hit puberty… mental health treatment is difficult now…

Epilepticon Day 28 prompt

What’s something you do because of your epilepsy that most people don’t realize is related to your epilepsy?