So, our week of the second ever Ring Mom camp is over. We had a different theme each day: Kindness, Perseverance, Obedience, Respect, and Bravery. Ellen and I brainstormed a Bible verse and story, an outing, a project, an activity and an application for each day.
Mom Camp pamphlets We even put together little brochures with different colored covers for each of us 4 gals, with room for a journal entry for each day. During this hot week, we pushed back a couple things until cooler weather arrives, but we still managed to do quite a bit and learn some key lessons. My favorite one was Monday - where we talked about Kindness. We found a website with a quiz to recognize which of the 5 Love Languages we all had. Suddenly, several pieces fell into place for me. Ellen's primary need for Quality Time means that being ignored in favor of electronic devices by friends cuts extra deep for her. Katie's language of Gifts is illustrated in the way she makes thoughtful little gifts or paintings for her friends. None of us were surprised to see Sadie's high need for Physical Touch, when she constantly hugs, picks up and jumps on her friends and family. (Although it's a little unfortunate that her oldest sister scored a ZERO on Physical Touch, so they just need to be physically separated at times so that don't antagonize each other too much!)
I wonder sometimes why I put myself through this, especially when I'm aching after an hour of jumping at Sky Zone trampoline park this afternoon. I would never pretend that this one week is going to teach them all they need to know about these values. But it was certainly worthwhile to have some intentional conversations about what respect means, when and whom to obey, and how to be kind in a way that's meaningful to that person. And despite the occasional bickering and tired girls, they are three of my favorite people to hang out with. They teach me plenty about life -- and about Doctor Who -- and they are not shy about calling me out when I'm hypocritical or crabby or negative or anything else that I've tried to teach them NOT to be. I'm blessed to be a camp "counselor" to three such terrific girls. And now I'm going to collapse on the couch for the rest of the night. Have a great weekend, all!
I wonder sometimes why I put myself through this, especially when I'm aching after an hour of jumping at Sky Zone trampoline park this afternoon. I would never pretend that this one week is going to teach them all they need to know about these values. But it was certainly worthwhile to have some intentional conversations about what respect means, when and whom to obey, and how to be kind in a way that's meaningful to that person. And despite the occasional bickering and tired girls, they are three of my favorite people to hang out with. They teach me plenty about life -- and about Doctor Who -- and they are not shy about calling me out when I'm hypocritical or crabby or negative or anything else that I've tried to teach them NOT to be. I'm blessed to be a camp "counselor" to three such terrific girls. And now I'm going to collapse on the couch for the rest of the night. Have a great weekend, all!