WFCU Summer Camp: 2020
What have I learned?
I have been camp counsellor for over 3 years now, but the past 2020 summer proved to be one of constant learning, adaptability, and commitment. A day camp being run during a pandemic proved difficult but possible and in the end provided myself and my campers with wonderful experiences. I additionally have learned the importance in communication. While that seems like an obvious answer, it can truly be a complication in classroom settings, and especially in our COVID-19 world, effective communication has become more important than ever. Not only are mouths covered with masks, and verbal communication is impaired, for many, all forms of communication have been digitalized.
What particular concepts or perspectives inform and inspire my teaching?
In contrast to traditional classroom teaching, my experience at a day camp through the City of Windsor brought forth obstacles that I have never reached before. In a COVID-19 world, the day camp was set up like a classroom dupe, yet things ran a lot differently. Unable to go near the children, I was not able to guide them with explicit detail, or assist them in physical activities. Not only was this a prominent learning experience for myself as I had to adapt with new techniques and strategies to communicate, these young students, aged 4-5, had to additionally learn a new sense of independence.
One struggle I faced, was with a camper that spoke 3 different languages at home, and one of them was rarely English. Not only could she not see my mouth while I spoke and struggled to hear me in regard to volume, the language barrier proved very difficult to communicate. Because of this, she was often off-task and being disruptive. Noticing this, I was determined to find a way to communicate effectively with her and get her on track. To start this mission, I had written out the alphabet and picture-to-word associations, and hung them up all over the class-room. This allowed for her to reference these posters when doing writing activities. Most importantly, we found an application on our class-room IPAD, which audibly read aloud common words when a button with the matching picture was pressed (I.e. Washroom, Lunch, Water, Question), this not only helped the camper and I communicate safely, but it also allowed for her to learn some commonly used words in the classroom setting.
One last fun system that kept the children motivated, was our sticker system, while this is a fairly basic form of communication, to reward good behaviour, it made our days exciting. Our sticker chart prominently allowed positive reinforcement for team-work and participation, as well. Without directly saying so, this communicated with them a welcoming and positive environment, because who doesn’t love a sticker with Ana and Elsa on it! With young kids, some of whom have never been in a class-room setting, getting them involved and comfortable in a COVID-19 safe way, was a main goal for collaborative and engaged learning. It also made for a fun end of the week surprise!
How can I use this new knowledge to diagnose and solve the problems in my previous practicum?
I believe the biggest thing I’ve learned through these class lessons and my day-camp practical experience, is not to give up when miscommunication occurs. It is truly one of the most frustrating things when people don’t understand you, but what is important to keep in mind, is it is equally as frustrating to be the one that does not understand. In the future, I will allow myself to take a step back, and reassess the basics of communication when teaching in the classroom. Whether it is using an application on a mobile device, taping up spelling and grammar tips on the walls of the classroom, or simply listening a little closer, I will ensure that students feel heard, have resources to turn to, and feel comfortable enough to reach out when they are confused.
What is Youthrive?
Youthrive is a prominent project at Enactus Windsor and is a 10-week program that educates young students on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and environmental sustainability. Youthrive’s mission is to bring important financial life lessons to young students and help to end the poverty cycle here in our Windsor-Essex community. For over a year, I have run this program as project manager and have taken it off its feet into the virtual world. This past year we ran our program in 19 classes and have had a direct impact on over 400 students in the Windsor-Essex community. Not only does the day-to-day management of this project and its large team take the right leadership, but with the unpredictable changes of COVID-19, I proved my adaptability and perseverance as a leader.
“Youthrive is a mentorship program that strives to empower students through experiential learning. By partnering with grade schools and high schools in Windsor-Essex county area, we are able to guide participants through a 10-week program that focuses on three main pillars: entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and environmental sustainability. Utilizing these skills, these students are empowered to create their very own micro-business. Youthrive teaches financial literacy in a practical manner, truly showing our youth the importance of budgeting, saving, and reinvesting profits.”
https://www.enactusyouthrive.com/about/
Throughout the year we had to pitch our educational program to educators across Ontario. Not only were we pitching the success of our in-person project, but the new virtual program we had established! Down below you can see one of our virtual meetings with teachers here in the Windsor-Essex community.
Youthrive Resources
As project manager of Youthrive, it was my job to reassess, update, and edit the resources/curriculum from the prior year. Due to the unforeseeable changes that came with the COVID-19 pandemic, the project faced many obstacles. Not only did the participants need to shift to a virtual setting, but the project itself and all of its curriculum needed to as well.
This year we were able to convert Youthrive into a 4-week program that brought all the same core values to students in the Windsor-Essex community. This shift meant all new resources. As an educator, this was my time to shine and with that, I was able to create new worksheets and resources for students to excel in the virtual environment! Down below you can reference a few of the examples!
WFCU Summer Camp Day Plans: 2019
Since 2018, the WFCU Centre Summer Camp has been an integral part of my growth as an educator. Not only have I learned valuable interaction, behaviour management, and under-pressure decision making skills, but I have additionally learned a different way of creating day plans! Please take a look down below at the files attached to get a look into some of the resources I’ve created in the past!