Painting canvases, balloon races, and shaving week art closed out the final week of our summer program at WAV. We have had a whole month filled with music and art activities that made for a really exciting experience for the kids we had, and I am going to miss them and the other summer staff members a lot.

Today we all talked about what we learned from camp this summer. One camper said she learned to take care of herself, another said she learned she can be smart and learn, and another told a story about how she didn’t like everyone at first but after playing games with them she looked past her initial judgments. My favorite was from our youngest camper, who said he learned he can always make friends. Even with their brief answers, I can tell they listened to our wellness tips and that our social-emotional learning activities stuck with them at least a little bit. 

Our coaches also shared what we learned this summer, from learning how to start fresh every day to learning to not get too caught up in the details when it’s about the experience. We definitely had a rough start all being new staff for a new program, but we figured it out and adjusted as we went. Now at the end of the month, I am glad I got such hands-on experience with the programming and I got to see what WAV was all about from the start of the fellowship. I feel like I have a better lens as I go forward and work on other projects. 

WAV programming always includes a feelings check-in, and every morning we went around and talked about what feelings we were bringing into the day. I shared that what I learned most from this month was how important it is to check in with each other and know when extra support is needed. At the end of Week 4, I am feeling a little tired, proud, and excited for a change of pace as I learn even more each week.