My Academic Camp... In Retrospect

Today was the last day of my academic camp that went for two weeks in June and this week. Looking back, I certainly have some thoughts on the future of Mr. Aubrey's Awesome Academic Adventures.

Here's a quick recap from a previous entry:

The first week was a total waste of my time. I pretty much babysat three girls for eight hours. The academics that I had planned went right out the window due to only having three students who would've finished everything in minutes rather than hours...

The second week was better because I had more students and less time. If I remember correctly, there were about eight students, and I only had them for four hours rather than eight hours, so things ran extremely smooth. The academics that I planned worked well, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Now, onto this week...

I was shocked to discover throughout the week that I never went below fifteen students each day. All of the academics that I planned went so well, and this week really got me back into the swing of things after enjoying sleeping in, taking a break from lesson planning, and not having to discipline children with a management plan.

My boss inquired today if I'd be interested in doing this again next summer. This caused me to break the whole three-week experience down by pros and cons.

The Pros:

• Getting back into teacher mode!
• Teaching in general! (After all, I love my job!)
• Interacting with children of all ages.
• Receiving assistance from Nic and Taz, who alternated days this week. (It was nice having another "grown-up" in the classroom with me, even if they both just graduated high school. HaHa! They're great, though, and help out a ton!)
• Hanging out in the Office when time allowed and laughing my ass off with Tami, Mary, Janet, Christina, and Paulette. (It's great being around them before the stresses of work take over!)

The Cons:

• Not having a management plan... (You really can't create and maintain an effective one with just three weeks that are spread out.)
• Having to discipline children of all ages... (It's much easier sticking to one age group with one management plan.)
• The first week in general...
  
• Not being able to use the restroom regularly the first two weeks; thanks to Nic and Taz, I could leave when needed this week...

I must include what Tami told me this afternoon about what some of the parents have said to her regarding my academic camp.

One of the times that I stopped by the Office today, Tami told me that she spoke with some of the parents this morning as she was helping some students out of cars. The parents thanked her for offering an academic camp so close to school beginning to help their children get back into school mode. They also praised me and said that they're children have really enjoyed spending the week with me!

This, of course, made my day and helped with my answer to Tami's inquiry...

After thinking about it, I told Tami that I would love to do it again next summer, but I will only offer it during the week of Vacation Church Camp, where I would welcome students for four hours in the afternoon, and the week in August before Teacher Orientation Week.

She understood completely why I didn't want to repeat what I went through with the first week, which was right after school ended.

So... There you have it! I offered my time for an academic camp without knowing how it would turn out, and it was an overall success! It just goes to show to always try and see what happens! You never know how things will turn out. :-)