I'm a little jealous of my kids' summer schedule.
In the past, they've done the summer program at their school. But now that they are 7 and 9, I wanted to give them the opportunity to try new things in new places with new people, and -- if I was lucky -- have them come away with a new appreciation of what they already have.
I anticipated a lot of morning struggles, so I started them off at a small art camp at the Garden Path Studio. When we arrived the first day and they discovered they knew some of the other campers from tae kwon do and Memphis Rock-n-Romp, I could see them instantly relax. They had a great time making pottery, rubber stamps, drawings and even (sanctioned) "graffiti" on the outside wall of the studio.
Despite their successful first week, there was lots of moaning and groaning about "All Sports Camp" at Grace-St. Luke's. When I explained that "all sports" included field trips to Putt-Putt, the bowling alley and the skating rink, they perked up. In no time, they were making new friends, fitting right in and learning some new games.
Week three's activities were an easy sell -- Harry Potter Camp in the morning and LEGO Camp in the afternoon. They were back at Grace-St. Luke's with familiar faces, and they were all smiles all week. That's when I started to get envious: I wanted to go skating, make magic wands, and construct new worlds out of LEGOs!
Luckily, our summer vacation came just in time for me to have a few weeks of fun with them. Not long after our return, we faced our biggest camp challenge yet -- Rock-n-Romp Camp. It was actually an idea my fellow Rock-n-Romp board members and I came up with after a few years of enjoying the Delta Girls Rock and Roll Camp Showcase. R-n-R Camp followed the same mode -- music lessons in the morning, band practice in the afternoon -- but with both boys and girls who were much younger in age.
The Mike Curb Institute at Rhodes sponsored the camp, and my husband served as co-director. My boys were not only introduced to the guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals, but they also got to be in a band and perform a song at the end of the week for family and friends. They declared it their favorite camp of the summer, and it was clear that my husband had a blast, too. (Next year I'm adding on a Saturday session for moms to learn how to be rock stars!)
This week, they are back at Rhodes doing Soccer Camp. The only thing cuter than my youngest sporting a green and purple mohawk and holding an electric guitar is seeing him in cleats, shin guards and soccer shorts. I grew up playing soccer and played my first year at Rhodes, so we've come full circle.
The boys have one more week at Grace-St. Luke's doing Comic Book camp in the morning and -- shh! don't tell them -- Reading Camp in the afternoon, and then it's back to school.
It seems that their busy summer has been a success. We went to a midsummer parent meeting at their school on Monday evening, and as we walked in, my oldest turned to me and said, "I've had a really fun summer going to camp, but I can't wait to go back to school -- it's the most fun."
Stacey Greenberg, mother of two, and Richard J. Alley, father of four, alternate on Thursdays telling stories of life with kids in Memphis. Read more from her at fertilegroundzine.com and diningwithmonkeys.com. Read more from him at richardalley.com.Become a fan of "Because I Said So" on Facebook: facebook.com/alleygreenberg.
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