DD and camp vent!! "Update post #31!!!!

[bicker]

And bicker.....there have to be some non-musical type shows you can do in your area

I'm a tech geek; I did the lighting at high school plays and musicals, and would be more than happy to stick with that stuff, assuming I had time for getting back into that sort of thing.

 

[shortbun]

Sorry, I think you are wrong. 9 and 10 year olds should be reminded about mosquito repellent-especially if the repellent needs to be at least 50% deet to ward off these mosquitos. AND a red headed 9 yo boy who is a viking in spirit needs to be reminded to reapply his sun block because he's not going to stop getting pummelled by counselors to do it. Why the heck would they need counsellors at camp anyway? A lifeguard to pull them off the bottom of the lake should suffice and maybe someone to teach camp songs. Otherwise, they will learn to take care of themselves, right? AND, fist sized bruises in three places on the rib cage would be investigated by children's services if I turned it in at my job. I work for a school and I'm trained to recognize abuse and listen to children. A reminder: Not all counselors are you!

I'd expect heat, homesickness, a few scrapes and cuts, a mixture of emotions, fun and yes, learning to take care of oneself. I did NOT let my son touch the grill to learn not to touch it. I expect camp counsellors to take the same tac.

 

[bicker]

I think there is a big difference between summer camp for seven year olds and summer camp for fifteen year olds! In general, the level of maturity of, and the expectation of responsibility placed on, camp counsellors should be inversely proportional to the age of the campers. Younger children should be much more closely supervised, more directly instructed and directed, and more carefully led, than older children. Once a camper is a teenager, they're reaching that point where the majority of the responsibility rests on the camper, and the counsellors are there more for the purpose of helping the campers get the most from their experience, rather than protecting them from themselves or their own carelessness.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hi guys....just wanted to give you all an update...I know you're all just lying awake at night wondering how my dd is doing!!! She called last night, with an 'issue'. Seems she has no idea how to learn all her lines. Evidently, she asked for a 'large' part and now has a ton of lines. I gave her some advice as to the best way to run lines, she needs to sit with someone else, rather than try to go it alone. That's almost impossible. Now, she needs to have them memorized by today!!! Ahh, not sure that's going to happen. I wish the counselor in charge of this program had given them some guidelines as to how best memorize lines, but hey, that's not my job. And since dd has had these lines since last week, she has to accept the responsibility of learning them (or not if that is the case!).
However, the thing that amazed me was this......I asked if she was going to be bringing home those bedbugs with her. She told me that no bedbugs were found in her room or those rooms on either side of her room. But, once they moved all the kids to a different building, they took all, ALL, the wooden bunkbeds in her old building, and the mattresses, and burnt them!!! There was one set of metal bunks left, in a building that had about 10 rooms!!! I guess they were pretty proactive!
So...dd sounds happy, except she is still not liking this program. When I told her what many of you had said, about how this show would look great on her theater resume for future auditions, and what a great learning experience it was, she told me that that was what she was trying to keep telling herself.

I guess my 'baby' is getting more self-sufficient by the day!! At almost 13, she should be able to deal with some of these issues, and it looks like, that despite my best efforts to keep her a baby, she is managing to grow up!!!! Thanks to all of you who gave such good insights...looks like I may just manage to make it to Sat without going over the edge!!!

 

[BuckNaked]

AND, fist sized bruises in three places on the rib cage would be investigated by children's services if I turned it in at my job. I work for a school and I'm trained to recognize abuse and listen to children. A reminder: Not all counselors are you!

Yeah, and when it was discovered that it happened from playing dodge ball, they would laugh and say "Oh, OK". I doubt there would be any accusations of abuse.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thanks for the update! It really sounds like this is something that she needed to do. Some of our hardest lessons end up sticking with us.

 

[shortbun]

Yeah, and when it was discovered that it happened from playing dodge ball, they would laugh and say "Oh, OK". I doubt there would be any accusations of abuse.

Yeah, I guess 19 yo's bruising 10yo's during Dodgeball and wrestling is ok. Even though the bruises were making it difficult for the 10yo to stand up from a chair 8 days later. No permanent damage I guess so no big deal, right? Heaven knows 19 yo's are still kids too and should not be blamed for getting too rough with 10yo's. Good thing it wasn't intimate behavior, eh. Then maybe we'd be worried. All's well that ends well. Thanks for the support!!!

OP-lines in Chaucer are pretty hard to learn! She's a brave girl to ask for a big part in such a production at 12. Hopefully, they have a great stage manager. I loved Chaucer, so ribald and saucy! Hope the kids have fun!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I read this thread with interest. My 20 yo DD, after 9 years of being a camper at a Methodist camp, is now in her third summer of being a counselor. They had a bad week last week.

The fire department had to be called three times. No injuries but there was a fire in the dining hall after campers had left and one of their boats burned up, no one on it. The ACA was there for their 3 year accreditation visit, which they passed. There was a recurance of strep throat among counselors. And campers in 2 programs were infested with head lice requiring them to be sent home early to keep the rest of the camp from getting them. All counselors had to be treated and all cabins disinfected over the weekend. All I thought was what I might have thought if my child had been a camper that week. But none of these things could have been prevented and the camp did everything they could to fix the problem as quickly as possible.

This week is supposed to be 100º and I am sure they will do all they can to keep everyone cool and safe.

 

[goofy4tink]

I thought the lines would be a tough thing to learn also!! What was this kid thinking!!! This could turn her away from auditioning for lead roles in the future!!! Or, she will find that she can actually do it, and my life will never be the same!! I'll be carting her around, from town to town, as she auditions everywhere she can!!! But, she's happy at camp, the bedbugs shouldn't be an issue when she gets home. Now, here's hoping she wants to go back to camp next summer!

And to those who have had kids come home with 'injuries'.....as a parent, you know in your gut which injuries are just the result of routine activities and what injuries are excessive. I know my dd came home with bumps and bruises last year, but they were 'normal'. If your child has bruising on their torso, then I would think that excessive force may have been used in those routine activities. I wouldn't think that dodgeball would leave huge bruises...I didn't think the object of the game is to maime the opposing team!!! Go with your gut feeling.

 

[barkley]

dd (12) just returned from a couple of weeks at camp (same one dh attended for many years as a kid) and unless it was an issue deemed necessary for phone contact by the counselor or nurse no phone contact (and even then the adult initiated the phone call). we could send email messages in, but none could come out.

i never went to a camp as a kid so i took the kids to the 'family camp' that the place runs the week before the regular sessions start. got to try out the same food, activities, facilities the kids would be using (so someone interested in a camp might inquire if they offer one of these).

as far as the question about non singers being able to be cast as leads in muscials-depends on the musical, depends on what sex you are. since the bulk of people who come out and audtion for community or college productions are women-men who cannot sing or dance can easily get cast if the need is great. with some musicals the lead can be much more driven by acting ability (molly brown in 'the unsinkable molly brown' needs someone who can 'belt out' the songs-but is often cast with a actess able to handle the physical demands of the part vs. a more trained singer-same with meg in 'brigadoon'-someone who can do the comedic stuff is going to be cast before the less skilled (acting wise) singer.

i can sing and act-but i actualy prefer to down play the singing when i audition with a new group (and will seek out either non musicals or spec. audition for non singing roles)-i prefer to get a reputation as a strong actor and then when the need/right role comes around demonstrate my abilities in that area (besides i LOOOOOOOOVE playing character roles-so much more meaty and fun. for the last several years i've gotten to play a string of 'bad guys' that are so much more enjoyable than the vapid soprano 'goodie-goodies' of my youth).

oh and re. differences in supervising kids re. their age-the camp dd attends actualy has a higher counselor-camper ratio during 'teen camp'. apparantly the older ones can get into a few more serious issues (think fraternizing with the opposite sex) than the younger ones. instead of one counselor in a cabin with x number of campers they up it to 2 (i think they likely sleep in shifts ).

p.s. to op-tell dd to work on memorization, it's very impressive in an audtion to be able to take a scene you were handed 30 minutes earlier to read over and be able to do it without the script in hand

 

[goofy4tink]

Okay....dd is home. Just wanted to let you guys who gave such great advice...you were all right!!! She had a terrific time, she's going back next year. And....she did a great job as the Host (hostess in her case!)! Loved doing 'Canterbury Tales'.....once she got the language down. Learned all her lines..didn't drop one!! She's really happy that she did it, had a great time and learned a lot. So...even though the power went out during some horrific thunder storms (for 2-3 days no power except for a generator so no showers), and super high heat, and there were a few big trees that came down, she loved it.
I'm just an over-protective mommy....I so need to get a life evidently!!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am glad to hear it! The harder it is, the more rewarding. Good lesson for her to learn. Thanks for the update.

 

[MushyMushy]

You're not too overprotective! Overprotective would be going to that camp with guns a'blazin'.

You're a good mama! You seem like a very balanced parent -- obviously worried about your child, but willing to listen to objective opinions.

 

[BouncingTigger]

I didn't drop any of my lines, but everyone else did! We completely dropped the last bit, with the whole voice of chaucer thing. oh well.....yep, I'm that dd! Bed Bugs +Sleeping in a soccer field= GOOD TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ilovejack02]

I didn't drop any of my lines, but everyone else did! We completely dropped the last bit, with the whole voice of chaucer thing. oh well.....yep, I'm that dd! Bed Bugs +Sleeping in a soccer field= GOOD TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL what do you do with those over protective parents??
Ya gotta love them. I miss camp days!