Behavior Management

Can you believe we are only just about a month from camp?  Sometimes it feels like camp was last week, others like it was an eternity ago.  But let's take a moment and think about one of the tougher parts of camp.  Think about managing difficult behaviors at camp.  What do/will you do for homesick campers?  Campers that don't seem to fit in with the group?  Campers that won't seem to follow directions?  Share your best behavior strategy with us!

I'll go first:  I had a particularly challenging group one year as a counselor and one girl was consistently left out and downright overrun by her cabinmates.  Even when we tried things like using an object to take a turn to talk, others tried to run right over her.  Later in the week, we needed to clean the cabin and the girls decided they wanted to go for clean cabin.  I told them that was fine, but that the girl that had been left out would be in charge--period.  She would tell them what to clean, how to clean it, and when it was clean enough.  It worked beautifully.  She came out of her shell and they learned to appreciate her wisdom.  Thankfully she didn't make them clean everything to spotless! :-) 

Thriving!

I am really enjoying reading all of your posts about the articles that have been posted so far.  Can you believe camp is now only TWO MONTHS away?!  Wow.  If you haven't been posting, try to go back and get caught up on posts---remember that this is important for our training record for the state.

Also, you should've received an email from Tom Crowe this week regarding the documentation you need to submit for camp.  Make sure to get started on that ASAP! :-)

Now, on to a new item to look over.  We have talked in the past about looking at kids in terms of their assets instead of their difficulties and helping THEM to look at their assets.  This is a list of thriving indicators--things that society values in youth.  We can be a part of their opportunities and supports and the adults that inspire them to develop their sparks.  Looking especially at the first 6 indicators, how can we help our kids in a week of Choir Camp (and other ways/times throughout the year) to not just survive their other 51 weeks of the year, but THRIVE?  Here is the link:

http://www.search-institute.org/thriving-indicators

I hope to see many of you on May 19th in Adrian as we again honor Terry's impact in our lives with song. :-)  My love to you all!

                ~Christie

Owning Your Faith

Hi everyone!  I'm sorry I have been so long since the last article that was posted.  It has been a crazy few weeks around here, and I am sure it has been much the same for all of you! 

Let's continue on the faith development theme and comment on this article about helping kids own their faith.  It will be good to help us focus in on helping those kids that DO grow up in the church transition to a more mature faith.  It also presents some intriguing thoughts on just how to do that.  Which ones do you agree with? Are there any ideas you disagree with? 

http://ymtoday.com/articles/2648/helping-your-kids-own-their-faith

Thank you for your continued participation in our training blog and your patience! :-)

Faith Development

As we prepare for camp, we come knowing that each of our campers comes with a different background in faith development that is influenced by their past experiences.  We also know faith is developmental in terms of their age and how they view life in general.  This blog post from last year gives a good description of how important community is in faith development by stage. 

Go to this link: http://www.youthandleadership.com/blog/brian-pingel/faith-development to read the article and then consider the age group you work with.  What aspects of their faith development do we tap into well?  In which areas could we grow?

Relational Presence in a Technological World

Here you have it, our first "real" assignment for training purposes on the blog.  Go to:
http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/2011/02/maintaining-relational-presence-in-a-technological-world/
and read the article.  It relates very well to our theme of "There's an App for That."  After you finish reading, comment here about your thoughts on what you read. 

Updates!

Time to start a new post--I'm getting confused reading all the comments on the other one!  We are all learning as we get a hang of this.  Some of our counselors haven't checked in yet, so PLEASE do that on here ASAP. 

In the meantime, I have good news: our facebook page is officially now a "page" that people can "like."  If you were friends of Lake Louise Choir Camp, you automatically are listed as liking it already.  Your new assignment to build recruitment efforts: Go check it out and post a response the question that has been posed on there about your favorite Choir Camp memory. 

Thanks for continuing to check this blog--remember we are trying for at least once a week!

Welcome to our Blogging Home!

Hello to our amazing counselors!

My hope is that this blog will help us to complete some of our training, but also to become a place where we can gather and reflect on our experiences with camp.  I am excited to try this new way of training and excited for us to continue growing in our relationships together and with God.  More posts to come--it's time to get this ball rolling! :-)  Once you have seen this welcome message, post a comment so we know you've seen it! 

                  Much love, Christie