Online Camp, Real Magic
As each session of Zoom starts for HomeTown Stomping Ground, I think any counselor leading the session has the same feeling of nerves. We get these nerves at actual camp all the time. A feeling that sort of says, “I am so excited for this game I am leading, but what if nobody else likes it? What if the kids don’t have fun? What if nobody comes?” Our staff spend so much time preparing beforehand: making sure each ingredient is on the recipe sheet, each kid will have enough cardboard, or that everyone has a song on the queue they will like for the dance party. We as the facilitators just want everything to go exactly perfect, exactly how we envisioned it.
Ashley led master chef. Those cookies though?!?!?!
Now add in the fact instead of being at camp in the grass at the mainfield, we are all in miniature boxes on our computer screens. It is a wild idea, every part about it seems extremely challenging.
But undeniably our staff AND campers have proven online camp is possible. Not just in keeping us distracted, but giving us an opportunity to connect in meaningful ways and offering different systems of support. It’s not just kids doing yoga for 30 minutes and logging off. HomeTown Stomping Ground has become an online community of radically empathetic decision makers. Sure we play dungeons and dragons, and bake vegan banana bread with Ashley, and even get to talk anime with DaKwan. But the meat and potatoes of HTSG are in the “magic moments” the same moments we talk about at actual camp all the time. Let me share a few of my top HTSG experiences...
The Chat Room - Super Fun and Super Wild
One of the first things Klee and I realized as we hosted different HTSG activities was the fascination of Zoom’s chat room feature. Similar to other online platforms, it’s a place you can send messages as the activity or session is happening. Let me tell you, it can get wild. Quick aside, Jack turned off the ability for participants to privately message each other. In the beginning it is a few people sending messages like “hi” or other ways of checking in with the group. And then as you can guess, other times it can get a little wild. Disclaimer: I was definitely that kid to blow UP a good AIM chat in my day, so no judgment from me. Smashing a ton of words into the computer? Sign me up.
Quick chat room story.
Klee doing egg carton crafts with Nana!
Each day at 2pm I have been helping staff run DnD. For the most part, they run it and play the role of dungeon master, and I am there to support them. It’s one of our most popular options, and the kids absolutely love the wackiness of our staff as they lead them on journeys through Mordor or wherever they might venture. It is a game with a lot of twists and turns, and inevitably sometimes people get lost.
About midway through a session, I noticed somebody decided to take to the chat and start spamming a bunch of words. They just kept sending the word “hi” multiple times, and even another kid responded back with more of the word repeating. Then another individual typed that they wished for the messaging to stop, and that it was distracting from the game. This situation is certainly tricky for a ton of reasons. The counselor was leading the session really well, it’s hard to interrupt them. And different from normal camp, I can’t ask the two kids to step to the side to talk about it.
In this moment, I decided to pause the game, and take a minute to check in with everyone. I told the group I noticed the chat was getting a little wild, it seemed like some people felt overwhelmed, and I wanted to take a minute to talk about how we should use the chat going forward. Our group agreed that the chat was fun to use and we felt most of our inside jokes came from the space. However, we felt it was best to make the conversation relevant to the game. We wrapped up the discussion, did a thumbs up or down to check in how we were feeling, and continued the game.
All in all, I was nervous to address the conflict. At real camp it is easy, but online there were so many factors I felt unsure about. But at Stomping Ground, we understand these disagreements happen, and people get frustrated with each other. We aim to approach conflict through a restorative justice lens, and the awesome thing is we can do that even online!
Teen Connection
Every week, we offer two different options for embers that are specifically teen focused. One block is for all teen campers from ages 13-17, and the other is for past BIG TIME campers, one of our leadership programs at Stomping Ground. The goal of these meet ups is to provide connection through the use of facilitated prompts and circle discussions. Some embers are even more elaborate with sketching drawings, making bracelets, or listening to music.
Kenzie leading thrifty fashion show!
In our first teen embers, we had about 20 teens come with our previous BIG TIME Directors running the session. As each person reflected on their own feelings and emotions, you could instantly see the relief in everyone’s eyes. That feeling of comfort you get when you know you aren’t alone in the hardship you are going through. As one person talked about going stir crazy at home alone, the other talked about fighting with their siblings. Each story was received with such a high level of empathy, and I could feel the chills on my arms as I thought about how special this was.
Because my week was hard. I worried a lot about my job, my family, my passion projects being ripped away. Turns out what I needed from that conversation was a reminder that when we come out of this epidemic, there is a group of young people who will lead the world as the next generation of radically empathetic decision makers. These individuals taking part in this embers were hurting and their worlds were turned upside down, but now more than ever I could see the strength, patience, and kindness they all shared.
Real Friendships
Now it is going on 5 weeks of online programming with Hometown Stomping Ground. We did the classic “build the plane while you fly it” strategy and we are welcoming close to 100 campers each week to experience the magic of camp in a tiny 8x11 digital screen. We never expected it to grow the way it has, and Stomping Ground has never adjusted more rapidly.
My favorite part? People are becoming friends. Actual. Friends.
Inside jokes very much exist in our zoom world such as Tursh’s new nickname as Turf (Thank you Mena for that one!) Everyone knows each other's pets' names because of pet show and tell, which is so cool when two kids who have never met bond over their golden retrievers! We even have a zoom dance thanks to Kenzie Barron that most participants know by now. It is truly wild, and as much fun as you think it is.
So come join us. Sign up for a session to see what it’s like. Call Klee and she will tell you how she wishes she could be on every single call. We are growing our online community, and what a strange beautiful thing that is!