Fourth of July!!

Yesterday was the 4th of July here at camp - and at home too I suppose - and we went all out here at camp.  We began the night before by decorating the cafeteria with all the schtuff that we brought with us, and things that have been left from years past.  There were boxes and boxes of stuff that we had to sort through, most of it was put to good use.  There were streamers and costume pieces, and random weird things that we had no idea what they were to be used for, but we forged ahead anyway.

Here is the cafeteria waiting for the kids to come in.  We spent probably 40 minutes or so preparing these decorations (I personally put in a good 20 minutes and then let the younger ladies take over) and they did a great job.  The kids loved them, but were distracted by food way too quickly.  For all of you out there who have prepared an entire meal and it's gone in 15 minutes - you know what I'm talking about.

Throughout the day, we did activities with the 4th of July in class- at least in my class anyway.  Emily and I talked about what the 4th meant to us as a country and how we usually spent the 4th of July.  We also utilized the decor I brought for the kids, the lady liberty hats and other patriotic caps.  They wrote word association sheets using the words "Freedom" "America" or "Liberty."

Adam's Freedom activity - please look closely at the words he chose to associate with "freedom"

Janek - working hard as usual

One of the classes

After class the kids had the opportunity to play baseball as their "activity" for the day - it was quite entertaining.  They hadn't been exposed to the rules really, only a few kids were familiar with the game,  so they went after it as much as possible.  The hitting was pretty good - way better than I could have done, that's for sure.  They were a bit confused on the fielding, as they all seemed to flock towards the ball no matter where it went.  The first baseman could cross the entire infield - it was fun to watch.  Having said that, me playing handball would be as entertaining to these folks I'm sure.  Actually, now that I think about it, me playing baseball would as entertaining I imagine.  

Following baseball, we prepared for our "play" and the s'mores activity.  We were all told to bring "things for s'mores" - what that meant was pretty vague.  I got 30 or so bars of chocolate and three large bags of marshmallows.  I didn't indulge in the graham crackers, I was hoping someone else would bring them... and they did.  We ended up with a hodge podge of stuff, but it all worked out!  We had enough for all 100 kids, and then some.  As we were preparing the pieces for the kids, I was counting in my head to see if there would be enough for me.  I never really got the "camping" experience as a kid - which I'm not complaining about, but a REAL s'more?  When was the last time I had a legit s'more on from a fireplace?  I can't recall.  I was thrilled.  However, as we have access to these things on a regular basis, I should really be more concerned with the kids getting them, but I wasn't.  I certainly was a bit bothered when Stanley returned for a second, third, fourth through seventh.  I think by the end of the time out there, I was trying to make Stanley barf up marshmallows or something.  

Our performance highlighting the contributions of the Poles to our nation's Independence-  (which I learned great things from) was stunning to say the least, and the s'mores were a hit.  We did campfire songs and had a wonderful evening.