...all day long. Got up at six a.m. to get all the crafting supplies loaded in my car and leave home by 7:00. Drive about forty five minutes to get up to the Scout camp in Harris County. Where there were about 120 girls, with mos m, troop leaders and the folks who were the organizers for the event. My assignment was to do crafts all day long, with groups rotating in and out of a variety of different programs in 45 minutes segments.
In addition to make-and-do, the girls were learning the basics of archery, canoeing/paddle boarding, knot-tying, low-ropes course, camp fire building. A group of girls were preparing lunch for the whole crowd in order to complete requirements for a badge. I did not eat any of the lunch, though I think it was pretty good for camp food. (I am sure the recipe came from a cook book or someone with lots of experience, but don't think I missed much as the main-est ingredient I noticed when I passed through as they were stirring was ramen noodles.)
The crafts included making the dream catcher which was a total bust. Only one girl of all that crowd actually had the patience to complete the project. I'm thinking if I had several samples/examples to show and had exhibited much more enthusiasm, there would have been a better response. It's too tedious for the little ones to stick with, plus they really don't have the eye-hand coordination/fine motor skills to do it like it should be done.
They did enjoy making the para-cord bracelets once they got the hang of the knotting process. Very repetitious, but if you don't do it right, it looks like a jumbled mess. And younger girls had a good day making a God's Eye from craft sticks and colored yard, along with friendship bracelets they all seemed to really enjoy. I thought the yarn bracelets were seriously cheezy - the yarn will get so dirty, nappy, frizzy, ugly after a couple of days it will soon go in the trash - but it was easy and they had a grand time producing something they could immediately put on and wear.
Long day of demonstrating the same thing over and over to different groups, but good to be out in the world. I tried to tell all those adults there as leaders and moms what a wonderful thing they were doing for those kids. Saying those girls would remember this weekend for years to come, even if they might not remember the names of the adults who make it possible. The experience of being out in the woods, fresh air, sleeping in cabins with friends and fellow scouts, will stick with them for the rest of their lives. And those women (and a couple of dads) who were willing to set their lives aside for two days to make it happen will have lots of stars in their crowns when they get to the Pearly Gates.
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