GreenHouse Summer Highlights #5

GreenHouse Summer Highlight #5: All the new stuff

For my fifth and final Summer Highlight - an all encompassing list of the new stuff we added or did differently this summer.

1. A new time for Adventure Zone Day Camp - Instead of running our elementary day camp from 1:00-4:00 like we had for the past 6 summers, this year we ran it from 10:00-1:00. Brilliant. How did we not think of that sooner? It was cooler (can't emphasize how much that helped), kids had terrific, positive attitudes, and everyone had more energy.

2. Serving USDA Free Summer Lunches - In the past, we've served an Afternoon Snack through the USDA's Free Summer Lunch Program. This year, because of our new earlier start time, we signed up to administer Lunch through the same program. I absolutely loved that our site served 50 kids a balanced lunch everyday this summer. There was something about seeing everyone from babies to teens filling their bellies that definitely filled my cup.

3. Art Workshop - One of the benefits of a down economy is that we are getting some super-star volunteers at The GreenHouse. Unable to find jobs, they come to us looking for a place to use their gifts and gain some work experience. One such volunteer this summer was an art student by the name of Anna. Anna's weekly art workshops for our elementary kids and our teens added so much value to the programs. There's just something special about kids doing art in the summertime. Maybe it's because they have more room in their brains to be creative when they aren't in school? Anyways, it was great to see some budding artists at work. Even the oh-so-cool teen boys let their guards down for just a bit when they were drawing. And Anna? She was willing to work at The GreenHouse for free, but at the last minute I was able to apply for mini-grant that allowed us to pay her a small stipend. Yay!

4. Prime Time Teen - In May, I got a call from the City asking if we wanted to be one of only 4 sites in Sacramento to offer a Prime Time Team program. More opportunities for our youth? Funded by the City? Um...yes, please! In the end, it turned out to be a very successful collaboration and a great experience for our teens. They learned everything from pre-employment training and resume writing to etiquette training and general responsibility. They went river rafting on the American River, swimming at the Aquatic Center, for a tour at Sac State, out to dinner at a sit-down restaurant, and even spent a day learning to navigate the City's Rapid Transit system. And the best part? The teens that had 95% attendance and participation for the entire summer got a $200 stipend from the City. Very cool program.

5. The "GreenHouse is Going Green" theme - This summer, our day camp theme was taken to new heights. Our very creative summer staff, Kelsey and Lynnie, incorporated the "GreenHouse is Going Green" theme into just about everything they did: skits, crafts, games, field trips, service projects, Bible Stories and more, making it a very fun summer. The kids recycled their cans and bottles all summer long to earn money for an end-of-summer pizza party, had a team competition to see who could pick-up the most trash around the apartments, cleaned up the Yolo Wildlife Basin in collaboration with REI (and learned all about the wildlife there), toured the Recycling Center, planted seeds and watched them grow, and learned about Creation, God's great love for His Creation, and His desire for us to take care of the beauty He made.

6. Field Trip Wednesdays - Thanks to the planning and perseverance of Elementary Director Cara, our elementary kids got out of their apartment complex every Wednesday for a field trip. Some weeks, they simply drove to a different park to play, explore, and sing camp songs. Other weeks, they went somewhere special - roller skating, rock climbing, the movie theater, and Funderland. It's hard to put into words how important these field trips are to the kids. It's almost as if an important part of their souls gets fed when they go on these outings. They are filled with pure joy! And it gives our hearts pure joy knowing that they are going to places they've never been - and wouldn't be able to go to otherwise.

7. VBS Mondays - Why do the traditional one-week Vacation Bible School when you can incorporate your Bible Stories and skits into all 8 weeks of day camp? That's what we thought, too! So we switched things up a bit this summer and it worked very well. It was so fun to kick-off each Monday with a new Bible Story, skit, and discussion questions. And even more fun to watch the kids learn and grow in their understanding of who God is over the entire summer.

8. "Splash About" Trip at Rock-N-Water - We love Rock-N-Water (a Christian Adventure Camp about an hour away). One of our GreenHouse volunteers is on staff at Rock-N-Water so they give us fantastic deals every spring on their "49er Fun" camp for 4th graders. It's always a very positive experience for our kids so this summer we thought we'd try taking our teens on their "Splash About" trip, an overnight river rafting trip. They loved it. Most of them had never been camping before so they had some pretty hilarious quotes from the trip. Amy, a volunteer who went on the trip with the teens, got to respond to questions like these, "Whoa, there are hella stars in the sky...Who knew?" and "I've never slept in a tent before. Are hella bears going to eat me?" (:

9. Liquid - Since we had Prime Time Teen for the high schoolers this summer, we were able to offer a separate day camp just for junior highers, Liquid. This is not something we typically get to do since we are a small organization with a small staff (junior high and high school students are typically lumped together for teen programs). So, it was so nice to be able to offer something just for junior high. It really helped in making the incoming seventh graders feel welcome and part of the teen programs....without any big scary high schoolers there to intimidate them.

10. End-of-Summer Celebration - We closed out our summer with an End-of-Summer Celebration. Elementary kids sang their day camp songs for their parents. Prime Time Teens gave their Open Mic Speeches. Kids and teens got awards for attendance, behavior, and participation. Prime Time Teens got their $200 stipends. Volunteers and Staff got cards and words of appreciation. We all enjoyed a potluck meal. And at the end, we said farewell to Elementary Director Cara, who had been with us for four years. She is off to Indiana to get her PhD in Psychology and will be dearly missed. What a great way to close out our summer, and our time with Cara.