For my school psychology practicum I will be working at the Ken-Ton YMCA. I will be a senior camp counselor in charge of the six and seven year old group of campers. It will be my job to supervise the children while providing leadership and guidance, as well as planning and carrying out various camp activities. There will be three other counselors in my group with me and we will be in charge of between 40 and 50 campers a week. Since my practicum only has to be 120 hours and I will be doing almost 450 hours, I will be picking and choosing days and experiences to write about. For the most part I will be writing about field trip days.
June 29 – First day of camp. We started getting to know all of the campers by doing different ice breaker activities. I was a little nervous because I didn’t know how things were going to run. However, shortly after the day began I realized that this job was nothing to be nervous about and that it was going to be a great learning opportunity. Prior to the start of camp I had to go through several days of training including child abuse training which related a lot to what I have learned through the psych program about what to look for and what to do if you suspect it. Other training I went through included first aid and CPR training, as well as basic camp training.
July 1 – Today was our first field trip of camp. We have a field trip every week on Wednesdays. Our field trip was to the Movie land 8 movie theatre to see monsters vs. aliens and Hannah Montana movie. You can tell that the camp directors have had a lot of experience with running the camp as they make everything run smoothly – getting 150 kids to a movie theatre, getting them all popcorn, and getting them seated in an organized fashion in time for the movie to start is definitely a skill. We also went bowling that day which was really fun, and the kids really enjoyed it. There was a little girl in my group who had an accident in her pants. No one had a change of clothes for her as we were away from camp and instead of calling her parents or taking her back to camp to change, the director told her she had to sit in her wet clothes all day. If I was this child’s parent I would have been extremely upset by this. From what I have learned from my psych classes I know that an event like this could cause a child psychological harm resulting in anxiety and self esteem issues. I really did not feel that the situation was handled properly.
July 8 – Today was our field trip to the Fort Niagara Pool in Lewiston. As protocol we always bring our own lifeguards to water fieldtrips. There were two other YMCA’s at the pool that day so there were a lot of children. We had counselors designated to be in certain areas whether in the pool, at the towels, or walking around the pool monitoring the children. The kids really enjoy swimming. One of things that really makes YMCA camp programs stand out from others is that campers get to swim on a daily basis. I feel like I am already starting to get to know the campers, as well as the staff members I am working with, and am starting to form good relationships with them. Even though it is only the second week of camp the counselors and I already know which children will need the most attention in our group, as well as which will be the most problematic. A few of the children in our group have behavioral problems and thanks to my psych classes I feel like I have one up on the other counselors as far knowing what to expect from these children and how to deal with them when situations arise.
July 10 – Every Friday at camp is Fun Friday. Each week has a different theme and a different group is responsible for planning events for that Friday. Today was my group’s week and we did culture. Some of the events we planned all week long with the kids for Friday were ethnic food tasting, an ethnic parade, different sports and games from different countries and cultures, and dressing up in hats and banners which represented different cultures we made in arts and crafts. I think the day was an overall success and that the campers really enjoyed learning about and participating in different activities from different cultures. It was interesting to see some of the campers share with us about their different cultures and ethnicities. I was very impressed with how open the children were and how well they embraced each others differences.
July 15 – Today was our field trip to Stony Brook State Park. The park is a natural water park filled with many different pools, slides, and waterfalls. The day ran pretty smoothly except for a few minor injuries from kids falling on rocks and getting cuts and scrapes. I also started to recognize first hand some bullying which I had learned about in my school psych class. Even at such a young age some kids tease others and bring them down to boost up their own self esteem. It is very sad that these kids have already begun to bully knowing the effects it can have on their lives.
July 22 – Today was our Fantasy Island field trip which all of the kids look forward to each year. I was a little apprehensive of how it was going to work taking 50 kids to an amusement park, but it actually ended up working out fine and being a really great day. We were given two others counselors that day to help us make ration (1:10) and we broke our main group into five smaller groups allowing us to better keep track of the kids. The group of kids that I was in charge behaved themselves and all seemed to have a really good time. I got to have more one on one time with the few kids I was with which I really enjoyed because I got to know them a little bit better.
July 29 – Today’s field trip was to the YMCA overnight camp, Camp Weona. We got to do more outdoor activities than usual like canoeing and archery. It rained all day and we were all wet, cold and muddy. I found it very important for myself to keep positive attitude in order to set an example and keep the attitudes of the kids up. Our group unit leader has been on vacation all week, and since I am the senior counselor I am next in line to be in charge. I have been busy all week planning and taking a different role then usual. One of my responsibilities that week was communicating with the parents at the end of every camp day. I would have to discuss with them their child’s day, whether they were good or bad, if they got injured, some of the fun things they did. It gave me a little taste of what working as a school psychologist might be like when communicating with parents. I was able to use a lot of the tips I learned about in class about how to speak to people and present yourself when doing so. One of the main things I used which really seemed to prove successful when discussing something negative about a child’s day, I always remembered to also present something positive about the child.
August 5 – Today’s field trip was to Beaver Island State Park Beach. We had very a specific system set up to keep track of all of the kids in the water to make sure they were all safe. We had a horse of counselors set up in the water which the kids were not allowed to swim outside of, a counselor at the edge of the water marking which kids were in and our of the water, and a counselor on the beach where each groups towels were. All of the extra counselors were swimming in the water with the kids making sure they were okay. Most of the kids had no problem following directions and making sure to tell us when they were going in and out of the water except for one camper who has been a bit of a problem all summer. This camper has a lot of behavior problems and is usually on medication, but her mother took her off of her medications for the summer and took the child out of counseling as well. She is very defiant and does not listen to any of the counselors. She also causes harm to other campers a lot by throwing things at them, hitting them, biting, makes fun of them. She has been written up several times and we have even had to send her home on a few occasions from camp. It is very discouraging to have to make her sit out of fun activities when she will not listen to us, but it is for her own safety especially on field trips like the beach.
August 12 – Today we went to the Buffalo Bisons baseball game for our field trip. We had to go today, Thursday, instead of our usual Wednesday field trip day, because of the Bisons game schedule. It was very hot and sunny out today and we had to keep making sure the kids had water and sunscreen on. One of the things I have picked up on working this summer is how different children are and the different types of homes they come from. Now that I have been working with the children for several weeks I have picked up on their behaviors, the way they socialize, and even started to pick up on the different types of parenting styles their parents use. It is very interesting and helpful to see the things I learned in class in real life.
August 20 – Today was our field trip to Angola State Park where we went to the beach again. We used the same system as when we went to Beaver Island to make sure were knew where the kids were at all times. One of the things I have noticed is that even at this young age of 6 and 7 the kids, especially the girls, are already beginning to be self conscious of themselves and the way they look. I think that as a camp counselor and the kids look up to me I could be very important in helping instill in them confidence and help them to not worry about such things. Even though there are many negative influences that kids face these days in the media, there are also many positive examples such as certain websites that can help them build confidence. I can only hope that I am being a good role model and a good example for these kids and am hopefully helping them with such issues.
August 26 – Today our field trip was to Rainbow Roller Skating Rink. As all of the other field trips it was a really great time. I think that the field trips are a really great treat for the kids each week. It gives all of us a break from the usual daily camp activities. This week classes began for the fall semester, so I have been going back and forth to camp and to my classes and it has been kind of chaotic. There is only one more week left in camp and things have been winding down. This Friday is our camp play. Each group had to pick a children’s book and we will be acting it out for the parents. My group chose the book Where the Wild Things Are. It is going to be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it. The campers are really excited about their big performance!
September 2 – Today our last field trip of camp was to Delaware Park, where we had our Camp Olympics. We had a picnic lunch and then the kids participated in a ton of different games in which they won prizes. At the end of the day we announced all the winners of the games. The kids really had a fun time, and so did the counselors. It was a little sad knowing that it was our last field trip. It was a long summer and as I am glad its winding down so that I can get concentrated on school, I know I am really going to miss camp.
This summer was one of the best summers I have had in a long time and I really owe it all to working at the summer camp. I met tons of really great people and learned so much from working at camp. Although it was a lot of work and a lot of hours, I think this was probably one of the best jobs I will ever have. Not only did I get a lot of experience for my career and was able to apply what I learned in classes to real life scenarios, but I got to go on tons of awesome field trips and do really fun stuff with kids everyday. One thing this summer has taught me is that I do not really want to go into the School Psychology field. I learned that I really enjoy spending more one on one time with kids, getting to know them, and getting to know all about their lives. I feel like if I go into the school psych field most of my time will be spent on assessment and testing, and that is not what I would like to do. It also taught me that I would like to work more with children and not just adults, where as previously I have just wanted to work with adults. Overall, this was one of the best experiences of my life. I have been able to learn so much and have taken so much out of this opportunity; it has really made such a great impact on my life. I am really glad that I decided to do this practicum and would really recommend other people looking into working at summer camps. I may even work there again next summer.
