The week after vacation, I had the privilege of working a weeklong middle school camp. At first I was not excited about working twelve-hour days with middle schoolers, especially since I don’t usually even teach middle school. But, I got stuck with it so I might as well make the most of it, right?
Turns out it was great! The kids, well teenagers really (15 year olds), were the best of the best from around the island, hand-picked to attend this camp. I was a homeroom teacher (go Class 4!) and a club activity teacher (go Thriller Dance Club!). I was also in charge of five lessons, two book missions, making t-shirts with my homeroom class, mini-Olympics, game show, and writing activities every night. Exhausting isn’t it?!
Each day was basically like this give or take a few changes here and there:
7:00 – 8:00 – Morning Exercise
8:00 – 9:00 – Breakfast
9:00 – 12:00 – Lessons
12:00 – 1:00 – Lunch
1:00 – 3:00 – Class Activity
3:00 – 5:00 – Club Activity (go Thriller Dance Club!)
5:00 – 6:00 – Book Mission
6:00 – 7:00 – Dinner
7:00 – 8:30 – Writing Activities
8:30 – 9:00 – Snack
9:00 – Head to dorms to get ready for bed
The first lesson didn’t go so well. Not that I wasn’t prepared, but it was the first day and I was meeting my homeroom class and to say they were shy is an understatement. My first meeting with my Thriller Dance Club went well, although they weren’t as excited about the dance as I thought they would be. But by the end of the first session they were laughing and having fun and as the day went on all the kids started opening up more and more.
Overall the whole camp experience was wonderful for the students and the teachers. It was such a great opportunity to get to interact with the kids outside of the classroom and to work with kids who actually understood us and who could have fun, joke and enjoy what we prepared. The best part was the scavenger hunts, club activities and all the things they had outside the lessons that gave the students a chance work with us and have fun, but while speaking English.
By the end of the camp, both the teachers and students were sad to see it come to an end. On the final day, after closing ceremonies students were actually in tears about the camp being over. I am sure it had more to do with saying goodbye to their new friends, but we would like to think it had something to do with us too.
Here are some pictures from the camp…
All the kids before the Mini-Olympics
The Thriller Dance Club
Class 4 - AKA "The Fantastic Four"The Thriller Dance Club was so much fun. It felt like dance team practice all over again. I taught them the choreography and they picked the formation. I hope if I am able to find an art teaching job back home, I can also coach a dance team as well. It was so much fun and made me remember how much I love it. Anyways, here is a video of my kids dancing at the closing ceremony. They did an amazing job, especially with only 8 hours of practice!
Today, I got an email from Rebecca (the girl in front and center on the Thriller Video) thanking me for the camp, telling me she had a great time, that I was her favorite teacher and she loved the Thriller dance. It was really sweet and made me happy that I was able to be apart of the camp.
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