One down one to go

The first segment of our youth writing camp ended this morning. I give the parents of the children who participated a big hand because the children were attentive, eager to learn and respectful of the adults in charge. It isn't always easy to capture the attention of a room full of elementary students on summer vacation, but we did it!

This morning I am mentally going over the activities we offered and making notes on what worked and what didn't. The second half of the writing camp will be offered in July with a different line up of inspiration.

One of the things that was very obvious was the kids are more interested in hands on activities rather than having an adult offer a lecture. They get enough of that during the regular school year. With a little  imagination students can learn without realizing that they are being taught. Works for me and has as a matter of fact!

I learned a few things myself this week. Number one is that even though one should properly prepare for any new adventure; one should always allow for wiggle room. Also, if you expect a room full of kids to enjoy what they are doing you had better make sure you are enjoying what you are doing. In other words just relax and go with the flow.

The fact that was really reenforced for me on a personal level this week is that I am a very good coordinator. I believe part of the reason is that I can stand back and "see" what is likely to happen well before it does. I guess that is called manifesting a dream. It is also called imagination and that is exactly what we are trying to inspire in these young writers.

We have one week down and one week to go.