So the last week of June I had the opportunity to spend time in our Boys II Men camp, a program for boys ages 9-11 that focused on building life skills, coping skills, team building skills, and other areas such as financial literacy, health and wellness, and how to be a gentleman. It was me and 13 tween boys plus our presenter, Jerod (who was AWESOME by the way.) I was vastly outnumbered and slightly concerned. Within the first five minutes the concentrated boy energy was running high, and I had heard the words Minecraft and fidget spinner at least 50 times. However when it came time for the first icebreaker it was tomb silent, like old school "SHHHHH!!!!" library silent. I was inwardly panicking thinking my camp program was not only going to be a bust, but would drag on endlessly for the five days it was scheduled.
But then out came the spirit ball...
Mr. J-Rod (as the kids called him) was a master at getting the kids to talk, and all it took was a simple rubber ball and a few simple questions to get the boys to talk about themselves. That led to one of the kids talking about a game they played in school and a highly competitive game of what is known as "Toss Tony" took place. I have no idea why it's called that, and he didn't either. Basically it's tossing a ball around without dropping it, and if you do, you're out. It made me think of that old
Friends episode where they kept tossing a ball around, but I digress.
The first day was mainly about getting to know each other, learning to accept the things that make us different and unique, and how to work as a team. It was cool to watch the kids begin to open up and have fun together. They spent some time talking about how to communicate effectively and respectfully and how words can really affect people both positively and negatively. I wanted to keep them all in the little bubble of happiness that was forming and keep them from moving on to middle school which will suck away these awesome kiddos and turn them into rule breaking, authority challenging, little punks who hate the same librarian they loved the summer before. Ugh, middle school. I could write an entirely separate blog on it and how I think the people who work with middle schoolers are magical wizards.
 |
| A game of Catchphrase proved to be very entertaining! |
|
My favorite parts of the week were when we all got to go outside and get some exercise. The weather totally cooperated and I loved being able to "work" outside. The kids played kickball, football (on the high school football field which they thought was pretty sweet), soccer, and Zombie freeze tag. With my lingering broken toe issues, I found myself to be a natural at trying to chase them around like a zombie!
 |
| Choosing teams. J had the captains whisper to him the people they wanted on their team and then called them all up at once so there weren't any "last picks". |
 |
| I was so happy to get an action shot! |
 |
| Before I got recruited to be a part of Zombie Freeze Tag... |
 |
| Playing on the high school football field! |
These games really let me see how far they had come even in a short couple of days. It was wonderful to hear them encourage each other, celebrate together, and have fun together. Kids who were very quiet and initially reluctant to share with the group were right in the action. They had willingly accepted "the girl" as one of their own. When they found out that I was going to miss the final day of camp due to a scheduled day off, they all thanked me and gave me hugs and high fives. I praised them for being such gentlemen. They held the door for me and were very respectful and helpful. I had a blast hanging out with them. I also earned major credit for being a huge sports fan who knew her stuff. I impressed a few of them with my baseball knowledge. :)
Being a mom of two little girls, I don't have a whole lot of experience with boys this age, but any initial trepidation that I had at the beginning, quickly went away. Yes there were many instances of burping, farting, and all around crazy energy that left me exhausted by the end of the day, but I think I held my own. Honestly, my four year old daughter prepared me for the experience! She would've given those boys a run for their money!
It was a great experience, and one of my favorite camp programs that I have been a part of.
