Excited for Soccer Camp

This morning we will be having our second annual soccer camp at the church. Soccer is the national sport of many of the countries that our children represent. It is something that father's teach their sons about and a time where families can come together to share in a common experience. The boys of our camp are very excited. Throughout the academic year we would invite a ex-professional player in Colombia (the country not the city), to work with our kids showing them skills and teaching them fundamentals and strategy. This is was one of my favorite activities to participate in because I got a great exercise running up and down the field with them.

This year we will be bringing in two extremely knowledgable players to work with the kids and participate in the camper/counselor game (Counselors won the 1st year). Look back today to hear from some of our kids and the fun they had.

Daisy talks about the Mountain

One of our veterans for our After-school program is Daisy. An extremely mature 1st grader who is grown tremendously during her participation in the program. This is her second summer camp and she wrote about her experience at Paris Mountain:

"We went to go swimming in the lake. It was so cool to go back to Paris Mountain just like last year. All of my friends were swimming and splashing and playing games. I am happy because I passed the test to go to the deep side. I did not dive, but I still passed the test. The counselors were happy to be swimming with us and playing with us. I wish that we could swim more often! I am tired now and was trying to not fall asleep on the bus ride home. The end."

Daisy wrote this on her own with legible handwriting and double spaced. She is an intelligent young lady and I am so proud that she volunteered to write this blog for me. Looking forward to this weekend and the soccer camp we are having tomorrow!

Logan's 1st Field Trip at Summer Camp

I got a chance to ask one of our newest campers a couple questions about his field trip. He was tired, which I am sure many of our parents are thankful for!

Here's our mini-interview:

Elias- What was the first thing you noticed when you walked in?

Logan- The first thing I saw was the super big pool. It was so deep!

E-Did you have to put on a life jacket when you went swimming?

L- No, I didn't put on a jacket...and I stayed up the whooooole time.

E-Good job buddy! Were there people doing cool jumps off the diving board?

L- No...no one was own the board. I think thats because there were a lot of people there. There were some people that weren't from camp too, they were just there with their Mommy and Daddy.

E-Did you take the test to go into the deep end?

L- No I didn't..

E-Why not Logan?

L- Because my buddy didn't want to take it. We swan for a long time though.

E-Did the counselors look like they were having fun?

L- Yes, Mr. Jon and Ms. Tonya and Mr. Santana were swimming, but there was so many people I couldn't even check on Malia (his younger sister). Mrs. Dalila didn't go in, it was probably because it was cold!

E-Are you excited to go back?

L- I can't wait, the pool was so cool!

I also got a chance to talk to Malia and her response to her first field trip was, "I loovvve it!!"
Looking forward to our 2nd Annual St. Francis Summer Camp BBQ tomorrow!

Making Adjustments

Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance...I heard that line many times growing up playing sports. I always thought that if you had a plan you'll never be surprised. This strategy worked for the most part until I started working with the program at the church. Today is a perfect example of how to move through the day successfully, with the many challenges that come with child care. One thing that I have come to realize is "expect the unexpected". It just seemed to be one of those days. Greenville Country Recreation District made a great call on re-routing our kids from Paris Mountain to Westside Pool today. It was great to see how quickly a tough situation can turn out into a very positive field trip. Tomorrow you will hear from Dalila, our camp director, on how the first field trip turned out. Check back later today to see a post from Logan, a 1st year camper who took the first field trip to Westside...

Show and Tell

Good morning to all. We are ready for an exciting day. Today is SHOW AND TELL day!!! The kids will be practicing thinking and public speaking skills. Our program feels a responsibility to reinforce the academic skills our kids have been taught by extremely hard working teachers. Studies show that all kids, regardless of demographic or income status, can lose up to several months of learning, including math skills. However, students from low socio-economic, Latino/Hispanic, and African-American families are at greater risk for reading and literacy skills.

Below is a great link for the Afterschool Alliance (An amazing resource for my program!) :

http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/press_archives/Summer_IB_NR062308.pdf

We began incorporating study skills, reading, and journals last year during camp. We try to offer activities that provide a holistic approach to a child's development. As you can see in the article it is important to provide a healthy snack to students. Our After-school program provides nutritious snacks on a daily basis during the academic year. Greenville Hospital System is assisting the church by keeping a healthy snack as a staple of St. Francis experience to, "energize the brain" as well call it, during snack time.

Our great summer camp staff planned Show and Tell and we are looking forward to hearing our kids responses. Until the next blog...

First Day of Summer Camp 2009

My name is Elias Valentin II. I am the Hispanic Outreach Director for St. Francis Episcopal in Greenville, South Carolina. As I sit here in my office I am reminded of how lucky I am to be working with great kids. Despite the rain and loud thunderstorms the children seem to have ignored the conditions outside. They are with friends that they haven't seen in a whole year and a little rain will not stop them having fun. St. Francis Episcopal Church started its 2nd annual summer camp today sponspored by Greenville County Recreation District (GCRD). After a very successful pilot year we are so proud to offer quality, engaged child care at the church for the summer months.

This year we are happy to have Greenville Hospital System back partnering with us to provide educational, nutrition and health based programming for our kids. Our amazing staff led by Executive Camp Director, Dalila McCrum, a vibrant Puerto Rican 1st grade teacher with great leadership skills, will execute a fun filled summer with field trips, games, and activities that will tire the kids out (or so their parents hope). She is assisted by Santana Saldivar, Tanya Garcia, and John Hamby. Each staff member brings different skills that will add to the depth of the summer camp. The staff does have large shoes to fill as St. Francis was voted Best Camp Overall last summer, a title that I had the pleasure to oversee in my role as Executive Camp Director last year!

As the Program Director of the summer camp I have put in countless hours planning, re-planning, and coordinating activities that are innovative, physically active, and entertaining. Please follow us this summer as our campers, counselors, volunteers, and those associated with the summer camp chronicle our adventures. I know it will be a great summer for St. Francis and the kids attending. Until the next blog...

-Elias Valentin II