Just Another Learning Experience: 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp

Internships are all about learning and real-life experience while being out of your comfort zone.  While assisting with 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp, I had all of those aspects.  Not having much experience with very young youth I was nervous to work with Camp, even though I was mostly helping supervise instead of facilitating.

Robyn shows the campers chive to pick

For day camp we had ten youth, ages 5-8 for a week.  Each day had a different focus on topics that they have/will study in school and can also be a part of 4-H curriculum.  The first day was about geology where we went to Whitt-Riverbend Park in Pembroke.  There, we went on a trail walk and learned about the different types of rocks and their uses.  Day two was a real treat because we got to tube down the New River at the New River's Edge.  Following that the students learned about watersheds and how runoff and pollution affect water through hands-on models.  Wednesday was my turn to facilitate the activities.  We visited Virginia Tech's Farms and Fields project at Kentland.  Robyn and Alison, farmhands, showed the students around.  Robyn led the students through the demonstration plot where they were able to pick mint, chive, and raspberries, among other things.  Alison finished the tour of the actual plots and then let the students be farmers for a day and plant a row of corn.  In the afternoon we learned about Virginia agriculture through VA agriculture maps.  Even though it stormed something crazy, we didn't let that stop us from making delicious homemade ice cream!  Thursday's topic was on citizenship.  Ken Vittum, the Pearisburg town manager along with a town police officer taught the campers how a town council works and duties of an officer to protect the public.  They had a nice surprise for us and allowed the kids to explore a police car and the town digger!  We wrapped up citizenship day with a little history lesson and GPS exercise by hiking up to Pearis Cemetery.  The week ended with a lesson on financial management after visiting Dismal Falls.

Pearisburg officer and the students with the police car

I'll be honest, day one was a shocker.  A handful of young kids running around is not my normal environment.  After the initial shock, as the week passed my observations helped me to be a better chaperon and facilitator.  The kids grew on me and I gained a better understanding of how they learn and play.  There are still plenty of areas of youth program management that I could really work on.  Effective discipline was and still is the biggest hurdle for me when it comes to young children.  From this week, it did concrete the concept of establishing rules and always enforcing them.  During my facilitation time when I upheld my rules about interrupting, the lesson went better.  I really hope that I can take my experience from Day Camp into the classroom or wherever I may end up.  This opportunity made me further value in experience for education, because the books can only tell you so much.

Keep following for more of my learning and self growth experiences in Giles VCE!