we made the news!

Pfeifer Camp Graduation on the news! Check it out people! What they don't cover in this video is how we had the President and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Sherece West speak at graduation. She was the most moving speaker that we have had in my opinion. She really understood what these kids go through and the amazing experience they had while at Pfeifer Camp.

Success Story II

Liberation

Being asked to read a book aloud in front of one’s peers is a daunting task for a fourth grader. The pure fear and anxiety created by this request during reading group brings about behaviors that often make getting through a page of the book difficult. First, there is the moment of shock on their face, followed by a big gulp, then finally a quick look around at the faces of their peers waiting for them to start. For most students I have worked with this is a rather quick and painless process, resulting in a new confidence in their reading ability. For Khari though, this challenge was more for him to handle than the average student. Khari’s first several attempts all ended about the same- with him shutting down and quitting. Khari often got through about five sentences before one of his classmates would kindly ask him to read a little bit louder because they couldn’t follow along with him because he was too quiet. This act of shutting down was a pattern that Khari exhibited at other times during class, and therefore I had a bit more patience with him. After about the third time of this happening it occurred to me that we were reading the most perfect book because the main character had intense fears that his best friend was helping him overcome. In The Liberation of Gabriel King, Gabe’s friend Frita helps him overcome his fears one-by-one by making him face his fears slowly and steadily. Frita declares it her mission to help “liberate” Gabe from his fears. I decided during reading group that I was going to do my best to liberate Khari from his fear of reading aloud during reading group. At first, Khari was not excited about this plan. After a bit of consideration and reassurance on my end, he accepted my proposal to face his fear. During reading group, while the rest of the group worked on a worksheet, he would read aloud only to me. At first he was very apprehensive, but I could see his confidence growing the more he read to me. After about the third time he and I read together, he told me that he was ready to read aloud to the group. On the last week of reading group, Khari raised his hand to read and began in a new and self-assured voice. I could see the surprise of his group mates immediately. After he had finished reading, one of his group members raised their hand and told him how good of a reader he was. Khari thanked them with a bashful smile, and his cheeks got a bit red with embarrassment. After reading group that day he thanked me for helping him to overcome his fear, and I in turn thanked him for being so brave. Just like Gabriel King, Khari had a great fear that made it difficult for him to function. With a friend to guide him and provide support, Khari was able to face his fear and find success.

Success Story from Session 1!

    From the first moment I met Destiny I suspected she would be one of the most challenging in our cabin. To say that she had a strong personality would be an understatement. She was hard-headed, not afraid to speak her mind, and was in constant need of attention. During her first week at camp she made quite the name for herself. Not only did she tell numerous lies about her cabin mates; toward the end of the week,  one of her cabin mates was assigned to keep track of her because the sight of every little bug and the sound of every rustle in the leaves would distract her away from the group. In fact, her behavior was so extreme that we were afraid we would have to ask her not to come back to camp because she was so hard to handle. While discussing this possibility with Destiny it became immediately clear that she really wanted to stay at camp and work on her behavior. She loved everything about the outdoors and by talking with her family about having her medicine at camp, she was able to come back and work on what she needed to so that she could function positively within the group. As soon as she arrived at camp the Sunday of the second week, her demeanor had changed dramatically. Upon entering the cabin, she immediately made apologies to the cabin mates she had upset and set goals for herself. Her positive consequence for following through on these goals were often outdoors oriented. She absolutely loved cooking during campout, and by making good choices she basically cooked the cabin’s dinner over the fire on the third week by herself. The most dramatic sign of her transformation while at camp occurred during the last couple hours of her session at camp during a team building activity. The activity required that the girls work together to move long poles that they were standing on by holding on to ropes attached to the poles and lifting their right foot then left foot. We split the cabin into two groups and made it a race. At first Destiny’s group was really struggling and it didn’t seem like they would get anywhere without arguing. After the initial leader of her group gave up, Destiny stepped up and successfully led the group across the finish line first. Her achievement didn’t stop there; when she noticed the other group was still struggling she offered her help and lead them across the line as well. When given the chance to work on her behavior and receive positive consequences Destiny thrived and found a healthy outlet for her energy in outdoor activities. Pfeifer Camp gave her the chance to succeed by giving her the opportunity to make up for her mistakes and explore the things about herself that made her a leader.

FINALLY

   I realize there are not a TON of people that view this blog, and that no one has probably been waiting with bated breath.... but to those that do read my blog about my experience here in Ar-Kan-Saw I sincerely apologize for my lack of an update. So, without further adieu....
   ..........
...Jeez...where to start?
 Ok... so I don't get overwhelmed I will just start where the spirit leads me. :)

We got to take a guided tour through Central High during our Field Trip last session!

 This year I arrived on a beautiful Wednesday early September to my wonderful cabin and the two other returning staff, Heather and Mike, to find out that we were being made into "Team Leaders". This was completely unexpected, but we were excited. It comes with some extra responsibilities and we have learned so much already.
  During the first session I was paired with Clara (as you may have seen in my last post). To fill in for one of the staff members we let go after the first week of staff training, we brought Clara in from Indiana and I was paired with her to provide a bit of role modeling because she only had about a 1/2 week of training. We had a great time being co-counselors together, and of course we loved our girls.... even when they were pushing us to the brink of insanity (although, it could be argued that a person has to have a certain amount of insanity to work here ;)

The local veterinarian held a Fall Festival with a cool bubble station.

  This current session I am a "rover" and am having a wonderful time in the classroom and providing assistance to the counselors in cabins. I am also being taught some of the "office" stuff like making schedules and getting familiar with the data package that holds all of the camper info. In the classroom I am teaching a reading group. Our book is The Liberation of Gabriel King. It is a really great book and I would encourage you to read it. Being at a 4th grade level it wouldn't take too long. teeheehee. I have also enjoyed finding challenging spelling words for them. Three of my girls in that group have asked for more challenging words. Some of them have been philosophy, hyperventilate and malicious. Next week I am excited to have them spell psychologist. mmmwaahahaa.

diggin for diamonds!

This was it at it's worst.

   Let me think. Well, some other notable things that have occurred this year include me being bit by a Brown Recluse Spider on my left forearm in the middle of the night and having to go on antibiotics so that the acid would stop eating away my skin, we got to go to an Experiential Education Conference in Southern Illinois which was a lot of fun, and Mike, Heather, Alice and I went digging for diamonds with no success but a lot of fun and dirt all over us.

3 sided cabins in Illinois!

 Overall, this year has been pretty good so far. There are definitely new challenges to face this year and I have learned a lot so far. It is great to be back and have the support of Mike, Heather and the rest of the staff that has been at Pfeifer for years. We have only one more week with these kids, then we will start our 3 week Transition period.
Much love to all!

A couple of my girls reading with each other by the light of the fire :)

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We made Gingerbread Houses during the CIT Christmas Party!