Summer Day Camp has officially started for this year. Summer Day Camp is a program aimed towards children in the range of 7-12 years old. The camp started on June 23, 2015. It runs until July 30, 2015, and is held Tuesday – Thursday. The program combines Potawatomi cultural teachings by using the Seven Sacred Teachings: Honesty, Respect, Humility, Love, Courage, Wisdom, and Truth. The education department along with other individual departments of the FCP Community partnered to bring the youth fun activities to do during the summer while teaching them the importance of their culture and the Seven Sacred Teachings. With 85 youth responding and about 60 showing up daily, this program is really taking off!
Week one was a great success. Even though there were a few kinks to work out, all the students and teachers had a great time learning from one another. Each day of the camp is set up with a basic structure. The students arrive at 9 a.m. and have a prayer before starting the day. Then after receiving a snack, they settle in for a day of learning. The children are divided into six individual groups. From about 10:30 a.m. until noon, these individual groups focus on the Sacred Teachings for that day. Group activities are designed around the particular Sacred Teaching being studied that day. Following lunch, the remainder of the day from 12:30 – 2 p.m. is devoted to recreation time.
A highlight of one of the days during the first week was the opportunity to hear from internationally acclaimed writer, Native American educator, and traditional teacher Larry Spotted Crow Mann. Another day they started their kickball tournament, which is ongoing in the coming week. Once the day camp is underway for a few weeks, they will also be taking some field trips, which of course, is always a highlight for the students. It is obvious in talking with them they are pretty excited about these anticipated expeditions. They will be going to the movies some days, to the beach, and to Wildwood Wildlife Park. This is a great program to have for the youth in the community and is well received by all. Not only do they get to have a fun summer of recreation and other activities and trips, but also they learn important lessons about morals and values that they can incorporate into their lives as well as pass on to others.
Look for more information about Summer Day Camp in upcoming issues of PTT. Also, if you have any questions about this program, you can contact the FCP Education Department at (715) 478-4815.
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