Camp is three days crammed full of activities for all the Mormon girls and their leaders from the area, there were about 150 who signed up. My young women BEGGED me to come to camp this year as one of their leaders...but the stake got to me first and requested that I be the Crafts Leader for the whole camp! Whoa! (Which I thought was hilarious because I actually dislike most crafts and hate to be called "crafty" even though I am good at them. The word brings to mind old ladies painting wooden lawn ornaments and other such impractical kitschy items.) But of course I accepted, and it was fun to go in a creative capacity!
So with a $500 dollar budget for two projects ($1.67 per girl—yes, I shamelessly went back several times a day to the store so I could use coupons) and instructions from my girls to NOT have the crafts be LAME...I came up with and executed two NON LAME ideas.
PROJECT #1: GRASS MATS
The overall theme for the youth this year is to "Stand in Holy Places" Meaning; to always find themselves in good places and situations that will allow them to keep their standards. So of course painting grass mats would remind them of the theme...cuz you stand on them. Heh. Heh.
I put together a few examples and posted them on a bulletin board to give the girls ideas and let them have at it.
Things went pretty smoothly until the youngest age group came through. Quickly, I discovered they do not know how to contain messes nor clean them up. I think it's kind of humorous and can't hold it against them (I should have known better), after all they've been in Young Women for less than a year.
One girl walked up to me and beaming she said "Look what I did!" Her legs and shoes were COVERED in splatters and specs of paint. She'd decided to go for the flicked paint look. The other girls' mats around her were splattered, the plastic on the floor around her mat was covered...I hope she didn't see the panic through my smile. I told her how creative she was and reminded her to please wipe up the area around her so people wouldn't step in the paint and track it all over the room.
Splattering was banned from then on. Some girls got around it by
pouring paint onto their mats directly from the bottle. Again, another banishment.
If anyone wants to know the potential disasters that may come from crafting with a large group—I would suggest using a focus group of twelve year old girls.
This was a stressful project for me, but I could tell the girls LOVED IT. The leaders told me they received several thank you cards mentioning it was "the best camp craft EVER" and next time could there "please be more black paint". These kids crack me up! You know they like it when they return to the craft room during the hours they are supposed to be in another class...and then when they're done they ask to make another.
In the end everything turned out alright. On the last day during free time one of the girls didn't want to craft but didn't want to go anywhere else either. I asked if she would like to help clean up. She spent a half an hour happily scrubbing any paint that had gotten on the floor. (It came up easily thank goodness!) She got double hugs from me and passed off a camp requirement by providing a service. Awesome!
Below is the group who SAVED me. Each day I was scheduled to be in the craft room for at least 5 hours. The first day bending over tables and squatting on the ground aggravated my back. I was in SO MUCH pain that I was in tears at the end of the day (That's a whole 'nother story). So for the remainder of my time at camp these lovelies came to check on me, helped me between classes, and even carried my chair and backpack around. I am so grateful for all of them.
PROJECT #2: JEWELED BIB NECKLACES
Another theme was "More Precious than Rubies." Naturally that called for a jeweled craft, that when worn, the young women would be reminded of how precious they are and hopefully remember some of the things they learned at camp.
Again, I printed out examples and had them displayed on a bulletin board. This was a particularly good move for an activity like this. It helped the girls get excited when saw the items in use in a cute way.
I wish I had gotten more photographs of their necklaces. I saw all kind of shapes like a jeweled key, a blingy mustache, and some downright pretty ones. I actually wish I'd had a chance to make one myself!
It was a pleasure to see the youth walk around camp wearing their necklaces. I know some of them will probably throw their project away...but I think a lot of them will keep it too. And in the end, their experience matters more. Did they have fun? Did they feel encouraged and successful? Did they accomplish something that they've never done before? Did they make good memories? I hope so. And that is what matters.
I don't know if I will be asked back next year, but if so—I would be glad to go again!
And can I just say I have A LOT of new found appreciation and awe for my own youth leaders from back in the day—and the stake leaders at camp this year. Seeing it from this perspective, the amount of planning, time, energy and emotion that goes into making camp successful for the girls is astounding.
