Mr. Aubrey's Awesome Academic Camp

A quick back story...

My school has a Summer Camp that's offered throughout the summer... Obviously! This summer, there were three weeks where the Summer Camp wasn't being offered: The first two weeks after school ended and this week, the week before Teacher Orientation Week. After hearing that my school was receiving several phone calls and e-mails from parents who worked and needed a place to send their children during those three weeks, I volunteered to put together an academic camp, so the school had something to offer for the entire summer.

The first week was $200 per child for the week; the second week was $100, since it was only for half-a-day. (The third week would go back to being $200 per child for the week and $100 if the child belonged to a working faculty member.)

The first week was, I hate to say, a complete waste of my time. From 08:00 AM - 04:00 PM, I pretty much babysat three girls for the entire week. What happened to all of those parents who needed something available?! My lesson plans went right out the window, and I was trying to find ways to keep them busy. We played board games and computer games on the SmartBoard. While those were somewhat educational, since the students had to use logic and critical thinking skills, I obviously didn't feel like the "academic" part of my camp was coming through.

The second week, my school's church was offering Vacation Church Camp in the morning, so I offered my academic camp from 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM. I had about eight students a day, which was much better than the week before. I could actually do activities and teach something each day. We still played some games, but I feel that it was much more effective than the previous week.

Now, onto this week...

After having such a wonderful summer vacation, I went back to work at my academic camp this morning. I was nervous because I wasn't really sure who had signed up over the long period of time between my last week of camp and this week. Plus, a three-year-old and four-year-old arrangement had been added by my boss to help with those who needed a place for their little ones.

I was shocked to find out that I had FIFTEEN students today! Everything went extremely well. My extremely detailed lesson plans worked perfectly, and I had plenty of time to complete everything. Thankfully, I had Nic to work with the three-year-old who came today, as well as assist me in anything that I needed him to do. He was a lifesaver!

I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow and for the rest of this week. I have Nic and Taz alternating days, so I'll always have an extra set of eyes and hands to help in any way.

This whole thing isn't just about the money either. (Although... That's definitely a plus!) It's really helping me get back into the swing of things. It's actually getting me excited about the first day of in school in two weeks. Woo Hoo!