LifeBridge Partnership is Out of This World!!!

Today we worked at a spring break day camp with LifeBridge partnership at a sports complex. The campers ranged in age from 6-18. At the camp, we were divided into four teams (based on age); each member of our group picked a team and worked with them for the rest of the day. Today's theme was outerspace.

We began our morning learning about outerspace at several different stations provided by the Challenger Learning Center. One station featured paper rockets that allowed the campers to build and fire their own rocket. Another allowed campers to build their own constellation map that adjusts for the time of day and year. The last station was a planetarium that taught the campers about different constellations and planets in our solar system. Another space-themed station was the art station. At this center, the campers created their own planet out of a paper plate, which they painted and decorated. After these stations, we got to eat lunch with the campers. Then, the different teams rotated between basketball, wiffleball, and arts and crafts. To finish off our day, we enjoyed some out of this world Moon Pies.

Everyone loved today because we got to interact with the kids all day. Each person got a totally different experience but we all learned a lot. We all learned how to be flexible and patient because each camper has his or her own needs and did not always want to participate in every activity. Many of us got a lot better at communicating with people with disabilities, which is often difficult and frustrating. Additionally, we learned from the campers and how they acted. The campers were very unselfish and often put others' needs in front of theirs. When the campers played wiffleball at the end of the day, they all worked together to help every person's need. From talking to and watching the staff interact with the kids, we better understood the value of personal relationships with the kids. We also learned that there is no clear solution to every problem and even experienced workers often struggle with how to handle problems.

  
This camp is very important to these campers because time away from school is often very unproductive and even harmful. Disabled students often do not get the attention they need when they are away from school and their parents are at work. When campers come to this camp during spring break, they are given opportunities to keep their bodies and minds fresh. Additionally, they form valuable relationships with other campers and volunteers. We all loved working with this organization and are so excited to be there tomorrow for Pirate Day!

-Bryan Shrader and Caroline Gowin