Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula
Brain Gain
Week four of Brain Gain was all about culture and communities: our families, our towns, our country and a global community.
On Monday, members explored family traditions — their own and others — while learning how people everywhere share similarities and differences. We discovered that even though people come from different backgrounds, cultures and countries we are all connected to one earth and one global community.
We read a story about Chinese-American and Italian-American kids in New York City whose conflicting cultural norms could have led to violence, but they were able to solve the problem by listening and learning from each other. Members experienced how our global community is interconnected by business, food and athletic events like the recent World Cup. We used maps and globes to find the countries mentioned in our activities.
The week ended Friday with a classic animated film by Academy Award-winning Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki and ice cream sundaes.
Morning camp
Sizzling Sun: All things related to sun this week. Camp kicked off with a coloring contest where campers were challenged to draw and color a sun using complementary colors and shapes. Several campers picked a prize from the treasure chest for their creative artwork. Our hot, sunny week lent itself perfectly to the week’s theme. During the week members shaved and melted crayons into art and used air dry clay and glass pieces to make coasters.
Junior Rangers
It was a fantastic week for our Junior Rangers campers who loaded up in the bus and ventured out to Nature Bridge. Out in the park instructors live onsite with the goal of educating guests of their surroundings. Two instructors escorted the club members on their daily venture.
Members loaded up in a Salish canoe and paddled across Lake Crescent. The informed guides shared with the kids about how the lake was formed by the two glaciers many years ago. While hugging the shoreline, kids experimented with echoes. Once back on land, the group was able to take the short hike to Marymere Falls. Instructors placed cards along the trail to pique members’ interest. Cards read, “Hug a tree” or “What’s this?” in front of piles of moss and sticks. All the cards were intended to have the individuals really tune into their surroundings. There was a brief lesson on biotic versus abiotic and members learned how both work together to contribute to our environment.
As a special addition to the Olympic National Park exploration this summer, teens took one of two special sessions this week. Both Sequim and Port Angeles youths went on a river raft ride. The members joined Olympic Raft & Kayak on an Elwha River rider. The guides were wonderful with the kids and pointed out the differences in the river bed before and after the dam removal.
Storm game
Every child needs someone to look up to. We had our chance to motivate local girls to find their role models by taking them to a Seattle Storm home game. Through the Tickets for Kids program, the Seattle Storm Foundation offered the club discounted tickets and 23 Sequim and Port Angeles girls were given the opportunity to experience the best women’s basketball in the world. The all-day trip included dancing, entertainment, a visit from the mascot “Doppler” and Disney’s “Frozen” characters at the arena. The young ladies were delighted to see their clubhouse name up on the JumboTron.
