CAMP!!!

The sun was out, but there was a definite crisp cold to the air at 7:30a when we arrived at school. The evening and the morning went smooth and my son was ready to move forward to get to Camp. I was too. It felt good to send him off, and I have proof from a sweet friend and my girl that no tears were shed. Whew.

The kids are assigned into groups by gender once they get to Camp, but they have already been told that classmates will not be grouped together. The four elementary schools are mashed together to form groups, with a guarantee that at least one peer from your school, but not classroom, will be in your group. This adds another layer of jitters for the kids.  I snapped a quick photo of one of my son's buddy who had class last year, and again this year, together. Knowing they won't be in the same group, they opted to be bus buddies instead. It is a good fit ~ they will have fun.

My dear friend is the Guest Teacher for my son's class whenever his teacher is absent. Since the teacher is up at Camp all week, my friend was in charge of the class on Monday and Tuesday. However, she didn't have to come to the bus loading zone this morning - in fact she was scheduled today to Guest Teach for a different classroom. She didn't have to stand out in the cold and help answer questions from parents and students. She didn't have to be there at all, other staff members were there and could have taken charge of my son's class.

But she was there and it was perfect. The kids hugged her and swarmed her with questions. The authority figure for the group as they have a great relationship with her. It was so fun to have her part of the memory of my son leaving to his first camp experience. It was great to just have my friend there.

The bonus that we learned before the kids left was that my son's classmate/friend's Grandpa was the Motor Coach Driver. How very cool!! So, I knew already that the class, and my son, were going to be in great hands to and from camp. Again, just that added security (even though I have never met this man) helped all the parents, and students.

The camp staff include the 5th grade teachers in the district, the head nurse for our district (who just happens to work at our school), counselors, and just a handful of extra staff from the schools. The camp counselors are junior or seniors from the high school who have applied for the opportunity to go, were interviewed with references, and have attended training ~ not to mention fellow campers if they attended the district in 5th grade. The counselors wear red sweatshirts. These young men stayed as a group as they embarked last onto the bus of crazy 5th Grade Excitement ~ good luck!!

The kids had a beautiful bus and were so excited to ride in such luxury. The two buses pulled out right on schedule at 8am. They had over a two hour bus ride with a short boat ride to get to their location, but they made it as I just received this photo from my son's teacher. He looks cold; his cheeks are red. I am hoping he will speak up if he needs to take a break to add more layers ... but in reality his teacher just responded that he had just been running (yes, I asked if he was cold. Always a Mom ...).

After the buses left, my girl got to school on time and I headed out to ZUMBA with my friend. It was the perfect distraction this morning. Nothing like getting your blood pumping in a loud environment to release the energy that was inside. When my girl left for Camp, I remember my husband took me on an insanely long bike ride through trails and neighborhoods. It was awesome. When my friend invited me for this morning, I knew it was perfect timing and jumped at her offer.

Parting words by my son before we left the house ~ "Don't have too much fun while I'm gone, Mom!" Not to worry, Son, our vacuum is calling, the dust bunnies are waiting, and the bathrooms will be shinning top to bottom by the time this afternoon is over. I will keep myself busy and not have too much fun.

But I know you will ~ and that is exactly the way it should be!!