Carola Stepper leads one of our most unique, self-empowerment Village Fair classes. A class very rarely offered to children yet one that has the potential to make a significant difference in their lives going forward in a couple of ways. Carola teachers campers how to activate Acupressure points to self-heal, and guides the children to heal themselves when in pain and offer healing to each other. Two big takeaways of her class are learning the acupressure points and practices of consent. Here's a glimpse into her class yesterday:
Carola: Do you believe you are all healers? Kids: YES! Carola: Do you believe the body can heal itself? Kids: YES! Carola: What do you do before you touch someone for massage or Acupressure? Kids: Ask before touching and no means no! (Mr Teddy Bear was their model.) Carola: Show me where you press if Mr Teddy Bear's knee hurts? (See picture!) They loved the massage train so much, they wanted to do it again at the end of the session, so they did!
0 Comments
An amazing thing happened today with finger painting color and emotion. Kids who were stressed about not being told what to draw ,about using crayons, went wild displaying emotion on paper. Emotions such as sadness, excitement , silliness, despair, anxiety were depicted with blues, Browns, yellows, orange, in swirls, in drawings, in handprints, in a flowing fire. It was so wonderful to give the space for this, to unlock expression and inhibitions and let art be a tool. One camper was “not going to scribble with crayons” and at the end had hands like an avatar. Art is in all of us if we just let ourselves express it! - Heather Clemons, Express Yourself Facilitator Yesterday, the first afternoon of camp a 12 year old and his father walked onto campus. The boy explained that he lived in the neighborhood and when he heard the sounds of happiness coming from the Mosier school where our program was in full swing he realized that the camp he’d been to last year was back. Eager to participate again he asked his primarily Spanish speaking father to take him over and sign up.
Turns out this boy had been a camp scholarship recipient in the past. and for whatever reason he hadn’t gotten connected in this year - yet! Thanks to his own desire and initiative within 10 minutes of arriving on campus we were communicating with dad and getting his son all set to begin the next day. When dad ask, “how much?” I glanced over at our director and we both shook our heads smiling. Another scholarship awarded on the spot. Thanks to our values, vision and donors that’s the kind of camp we are. :) We’re also a camp that enploys 30 peace educators, and 22 teen counselors and supports each one every step of the way to create a fabulous experience for campers. My days as program coordinator include listening to teachers tell me both the inspirations and challenges of their experiences with kids, listening to campers tell me whatever they need a caring adult to hear in the moment, listening to staff as they trouble-shoot the nitty gritty issues that come up when guiding kids to try new things, connect within, and be empowered. This is what re-villaging for power-with and peace-within is all about! I'm tremendously grateful to be a member of this amazing CG Peace Village tribe. As you can see scholarships are still be awarded when need walks onto our campus. Your donations makes it possible for us to say yes. Thank you! Stay tuned for more stories! Karen p.s. This is what our Micro Farm class teacher had to share today - “I was filled with JOY today after my village fair class. So fun! It was one of the best ever animal times (she brought chicks & ducklings to share with the kids). We had a lovely meditation ahead and the birds soaked it up. Thank you for everything!" p.p.s. To keep up with all our goodness this week follow CGPV on Facebook or Instagram. |
AuthorPeace Village Staff and Volunteers share mostly during the week of camp. Sign up above to receive notifications of blog posts and you'll never miss the latest news. Archives
August 2018
Categories |