Beautiful Moment in Counseling

Yesterday we did an activity called CHAOS (http://sunshineandrainbowdreams.blogspot.com/2013/06/day-1.html) and one of the activities was building boats out of recycled materials. The majority of the group was 7 year old boys- a tough age to get to focus on anything, and yet, they were incredibly focused and worked hard the whole time.

Towards the end of the period, I headed over to the art barn to see their final projects. Counselor M was leading the kids towards sunset beach to see if the boats could float. Counselor B was still in the art barn with one of the kids. I walked in and stood off to the side to observe.

The camper was crying and I could see that his boat was only half finished. But instead of rushing the camper or telling him, "tough luck- we ran out of time" Counselor B was sitting next to him, quietly and patiently telling him not to worry, he would make sure that the camper got to finish his boat. He didn't rush- he calmly worked as if they had all the time in the world.

In staff training, we talk about building relationships, about treating every child as if they were the only child here, about meeting kids where they are at. But so often in the hustle and bustle of getting a big group of kids from one place to another, or when we get tired or frustrated, the ability to be patient, to take your time and to give the one-on-one attention each kid needs gets forgotten.

Eventually the camper and Counselor B completed the boat and took it to the beach. The moment that the boat went into the water and floated was exceptional. The camper and Counselor B looked at each other in pure joy- both of their eyes lighting up with surprise, pride and excitement.

It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things whether or not kids finish building their boat or if they float. And with so many kids and so many activities, it is easy to rush through things to get the whole group on to the next thing. But these small moments mean something to the kids. And the extra time and effort was so worth it. It was a good reminder for me and I am so proud of Counselor B.