Return to Summer Program

So a little while ago I visited the Summer Program

They kept the staff shirts orange, which is the colour I proposed, and which we changed it to last year. Happy to see that, makes me feel like my influence had some staying power, although because Extend-a-Family apparently can't stand to use the same shirt design twice in a row (their logo changed once per year three years in a row, and then when they finally stuck to one, they changed the colour) they now have the "Leader" and "Peer Leader" print done in large stylized-informal lettering on the back. They also have a logo "Live Life Fully" in the same informal lettering on the front. I like the new print design, but I'm undecided on whether or not they really needed a logo. I like that they changed the word "Staff" to "Leader" since Peer Leaders are staff as well. At any rate, those shirts will stand out more compared to other camp staff shirts.

New staff team doesn't have any green personality types. If you remember, Summer Program always does Personality Dimensions which defines people by one of four colour types: Authentic Blue, Resourceful Orange, Organized Gold, and Inquiring Green. I'm Green, and first year we had one other aside from me, but the past two years I was the Group Green, and now that I'm gone, they don't have any intellectual type. How will they get by.

They have a better spread for conflict intervention styles. Last year we were all but one Compromising, which caused our team name to be The Compromisers.  They have four returning Compromisers so it still has a strong tendency that way, but at least the new three are different.

Their team name is The Beehive. I... I don't like it.

They killed Personality Bingo, which was the weekly icebreaker that I used to host. Knew they'd do that.

When I got in, they were playing Mission Impossible, which is the game where people have to steal bean bags from one end of the gym and bring them back. Program Leaders shout a number of seconds, count it down, and when the time is up, look over the gym and try to spot participants. There are a number of obstacles placed throughout the gym that participants need to hide behind when the time is up, and if they are caught, they must return to the front of the gym.

So of course, I show up and everyone is hiding. I get noticed and a bunch of people compromise their hiding spots by exclaiming in surprise.

I just got thrown into it. A staff member needed to do something outside the gym and asked if I'd take over supporting someone. Kept providing support through a game of "Knight, Horse, Cavalier" and "Frogger".

Knight, Horse Cavalier is a new take on Huckle Buckle. Difference is there are only three specific poses in Knight, Horse, Cavalier. Frogger is a new take on Murder Wink, sifference is, instead of having a murderer who kills with winks, you have a frog that licks flies. The implied violence of Murder Wink has been a topic of discussion in the past, but honestly, no participant has ever seemed bothered by it. I used to act all theatrical when I'd get "shot" by the wink. It's hard to know how to react to being licked.

Stuck around for lunch. When everybody was getting their hands washed, I was still supporting someone. One of the staff members asked if I was "good" which is a covert way of asking if you are able to lead the group on your own. I was so stoked! Leading a group again!

It was a good group, lots of people I have a long-standing relationship with, both participants and staff. Some of the new participants were confused at how I fit into the system, and were asking if I was various peoples fathers, and even got asked if I was the boss of the Program Leaders (haha). Even the new staff I was kind of familiar with, since I taught them Safe Management.

A lot of the participants wanted me to go swimming with them, which is what they were doing after lunch. But I'd worked a nine hour night shift before coming to Summer Program, and I'd already worked half a day. I knew if I swam, I'd come back, and then all there is is journals, and then the day is over and I would have officially worked two shifts in a row and wouldn't get any sleep that day.

Really took it out of me, especially since I climbed a mountain the day before (just gonna drop that there casually). I really don't have the time to be running around with my old job.

...I'll visit them one more time before they leave for Overnight.