June 23, Monkey's Fists

Next week, when camp starts, I will have to teach a craft every morning to a couple of cabins. (this is called a quest, the kids do two different activities each morning) Today, the boy's craft arrived. It's called a monkey's fist and it's basically a knot tied around a marble. For about an hour, the girl I work with tried to follow the provided instructions to make a sample. She when she couldn't make one, I started to try. I thought it couldn't be that hard...but it was. This craft was definitely a new challenge and I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to "initiate this activity." If the craft is this hard to make, I have no idea how I'm going to teach it. I've never worked with monkey's fists before, they are made of different kinds of materials than I am used to using (rope and marbles). Maybe by experimenting with these new materials I will become more creative. I will know how to use more materials and will be able to create more things with them. So, as I and most of the other Camp Berea staff try to figure out this craft, I'm learning that working together and sharing ideas gets things done faster. Different people are giving their suggestions and it really helps. Also, practice makes perfect. Each time I try to make a monkey's fist I get a little closer to accomplishing it.

July 15
The monkey's fists are so hard to make, and the kids are not doing well with them. I feel so bad, they try really hard and usually fail. This is not helping me with my goal to make kids feel accomplished. I'm wondering if I'm not teaching it well, because they are coming out badly, but I think it's just a really hard craft. Today, we tried a new craft. Our boss gave us some origami to try, but it didn't look very fun and when we tried it, we finished the craft really fast. The origami won't take enough time to fill the whole quest. Instead, we decided to make duct tape wallets. This was very successful. The campers were really excited to make them, they were easy to teach, and turned out really well. This experience taught me that sometimes if something isn't working, you should take a break from it and try something else.

July 20
So today, I tried something different. I've still been working with the monkey's fists, trying to find a better way to make them and teach them. I tried using hemp instead of string, and it worked really well. The hemp stayed in place better, making it easier to tighten the knot around the marble. I was also able to cut the hemp into longer strips, allowing me to make the knot bigger and also making the string easier to work with. From this I learned that although it can be good to take a break from something that isn't working, you shouldn't give up on it all together. It is good to have perseverance and stay committed to the projects that you start.

July 24
Now for the boy's quest, we let the boys choose to make either the monkey's fists or the wallets. I think this works really well. The kids are more likely to be excited, better behaved and more successful on a project they choose to do, rather than one they have to do. The monkey's fists are working a lot better with the hemp, and the boys who are having trouble can switch crafts to make a wallet instead. I am accomplishing my goal to make kids feel successful. The quests are going well, and the projects are turning out great.