This past week I was able to substitute for a counselor and spend the entire week with one group of kids. I was very excited when I heard I would be doing this because as the CIT coordinator, all my time and attention was dedicated to the CITs, not the actual campers. Since the CIT program has ended, I haven’t had the chance to stick with the same group of kids for a week. Instead I have been floating around to different groups of campers. I was placed in a first grade group and really enjoyed it. After being with campers of different grade levels, I have noticed that the first graders tend to listen more quickly and are more obedient to following rules while the second/third graders sometimes tend to be the opposite. Within a week I was able to develop a bond with the group I was placed in. On Friday, we were able to experience a mini circus! Some of the campers from all grade levels signed up to participate in one of our week-long specialty camps, circus camp. Some first graders from my group were a part of the circus. The circus was very cool, I honestly didn’t expect for it to be as extravagant as it was. After seeing the circus, I began to reflect on how cool it is for the Jewish Community Center to organize yearly summer camps. The JCC’s summer camps benefit both counselors and campers. Counselors truly are able to develop strong leadership skills while campers are able to make new friends and learn about diversity through certain activities such as our Israeli Culture and Judaics activities. I am glad that I have been able to add onto the value of this summer camp program by fulfilling the CIT Coordinator position that never existed in the past.