Camp Muskingum Part II

Well, I made it back from Carollton, Ohio in one piece. The rain clouds seemed like they could've dumped on us at anytime, but Mother Nature was on our side. Here are some highlights from my trip to sixth grade camp at Camp Muskingum:

~ It is definitely not enjoyable to load a bus twice and unload a bus twice when you have sixth grade kids who think 2 1/2 days means 2 1/2 weeks.

~ Words you do not want to hear whispered to you at 1:30 in the morning: "Mr. Kumpf, I think Justin is sick. He threw up by his bed."

~ Camp food blocks you up. I guess that is better than the reverse (it wasn't too bad either).

~ Sixth grade girls who think the male teacher is "cute" gets pretty annoying (I wish that would have been the case when I was in sixth grade).

~ Two students and two teachers got sick and had to go home.

~ God paints beautiful pictures with nature. The scenery and smells. The cool, crisp morning air. The stillness of the lake. The canopy of leaves in a multitude of colors.

~ When observing a game where 15 students were assigned a career tag and had to place themselves in order from least important to most important, this was over heard: "You can't live without a lawyer." A sign of the times? (at the end of the game, they created a circle to show that each job is of equal importance)

~ Sixth grade boys can really stink up a place.

~ The relationships that you build with individual students is priceless. I love my job. I love what I do. I love making a difference. I love when students hand you their trust. I love when students say that I'm their favorite teacher...not because I'm cool and let them do whatever they want (which is bad), but because I listen, I'm caring, and I make learning fun. To know that I have this much impact on future generations is very humbling. Hopefully, I make the best of it.

~ There is no difference between a gifted student, an average student, and a special needs student. If you model this, the students will too.

~ When having to remind the students time and time again to be quiet after the lights go out...they do not like for the lights to come on (after being out for over a half hour) and sit up in bed with their hands behind their heads for four minutes (threatening to up the amount of time by two minutes every time after the first offense). Shuts them up real fast.

~ A student hugging you and saying thanks for making camp fun...nothing better.

~ Trying to convince a crying, homesick 11 year-old boy that he needs to stay just a little bit longer.

~ Sixth graders hate mandatory showers.

~ It's cool to be muddy.

~ Ort means "leftovers" and that is a bad thing.

~ It doesn't matter how you dance, just shake something.

~ I couldn't make it back to Camp Muskingum even if I wanted too.