Fresh off the heels of July camp, tucking right into August camp was a breeze… sort of.
In between, there was an ample 2 weeks to recharge and refocus:
Morning runs chasing that elusive sun like what I’ve come to accept is my spirit animal- the lizard.. (I’ve normally up until this point claimed the leopard but… look I concede defeat. OK? 🙌🏽☀️It’s definitely the lizard🙄😅)
Quality time with friends spent relishing 3 of my favourite pastimes: Food, wine, and even more breath-taking views🫶🏽
punishing up-hill hikes and the like…
and before one knew it, it was time to do it all over again.
Somewhere in-between, I’d received sudden heart-wrenching news I had to evacuate the classroom by month’s end before the pre-agreed time of December, so that put a damper on things, which left me sour and agitated with worry, but which honestly, looking back in retrospect, came as a blessing in disguise as I can’t possibly have fathomed moving classrooms in the frigid winter, mid-school year.
So, back in the swing of things we went, and being a firm believer of “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” decided to stick with what worked with camp July.
Eye patches at the ready, the campers started off day 1 taking their best shots with the cannon balls
It was a rare honour and privilege to host returnees which gave me the needed confidence boost that I was doing something right. So I tried my best to give the kids the best possible experience even if it meant going out of pocket.
Routining it with breakfast, tidy-up and heading out came easy.. and I’d even broken the news to them that it was our last time together in that space, so we tried coming up with names for whatever new space lay in the horizon, speculating it was time to go big, complete with proper branding, as going back home just wasn’t an option.
Off to the playground we sauntered, with a neighbourhood or two kids tagging along on the way
The floor is lava for the win,
so back round the corner to Gostilna Špulcer for Dobble on steroids on soft cool grass in the shade… a relief!
Picikato, because what was I supposed to do? Cook for them?😳
After which, Špulcer let us earn some cool-down drinks by feeding their cows
Ice-cream finishers,
And next thing you know, it was time to head home
Day 2 brought back Alja, (another returnee from July camp) from the sea-side with a game she showed everyone how to play but no mercy in winning. (The kid is a gifted Slovenian National Chess prodigy at only 7 years old, so… naturally to be expected🙄)
Breakfast, clean-up, and you know how the rest of this story goes….
After which, the kids went absolutely nutters for donuts and a game of…
Off to the woods where we caught up with Nik to prep for the next day’s activity- making bows and arrows..
and if you’re sitting there, judging me, wondering why I’m letting kids run rampant with machetes unsupervised, let me just assure you by letting you know that Nik is the last surviving breed of country boys born with said machete in hand, cruising around in a tractor and/ or performing death-defying helmetless bicycle stunts straight out of the womb. I trust Nik with my life more than with any able-bodied adult and proud to have him as one of my students.
PLUS, he always brings me flowers… so your arguments are falling on deaf ears my friend 🤫
Quick goofy game of fill your pants that wore them right out with giggles
And right back to Špulcer’s to wolf down Picikato because, surely… you didn’t think I was going to cook for them🤨did you?
Half- way through lunch, horses were spotted, so of course the kids had to go A- petting🤗
And then on the way back to the classroom, a pony was spotted! And whaddya know? We had to go pet some more 🙄
Back in the classroom, Naj and Rok were feeling confident they could take on Alja again, but she destroyed them …every.single.time…and so they conceded to playing each other- under her tutelage of course!
and then finished the day strong with a game of giant Sequence on the parking lot
Kicked off day 3 with a fast and furious memory work game, Grabolo to jump-start their brains for the long day ahead.
A fantastic multi-whammy game that hits colour and shape recognition, not to mention observational and dexterity skills.
Meanwhile, Rok and Naj preferred to get a head-start on inflating the giant burritos for throwing.
A feat we couldn’t even accomplish at July camp with Alex’s even more sophisticated pump
But Rok was unfazed
He huffed
and puffed
and blew that burrito right up😭with Naj tinkering away at the other burrito
in the end, success my friends👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I was so moved by their relentlessness and determination, I told them they could have whatever they wanted for breakfast, and in perfect unison, they cried out for pancakes!
Well, pancakes they had!
Thankfully, I lived just next door , so tinkering and puttering up and down the stairs I went,
and in less than half an hour, the kids were showing off their flipping skills
and then some…
and then we tucked right in!
and then off we went, to burrito battle!
But first, a breather….A.K.A any opportunity for the kids to play in my hair😝
That, and there were still those pesky bows and arrows to complete, so the battle had to wait.
More weapons of mass destruction later, and we managed to fell the tree we’d been working on the day before. Not taking all the credit, as nature had assisted us days before with a violent storm that uprooted it half-way. We just came along and finished the job .
then we got down to the business of clipping and sawing and shaving and stringing and what-nots
You betcha’ the girls wanted colourful arrows with glitter and studs and all that jazz🥰 and they had quite literally a field day at it!
Meanwhile, it was all systems go on the other side!
Naj on quality control check,
and Rok was just about ready to steal from the rich and give to the poor
but before you could say Robin Hood, the clock struck noon and we were famished, so off to Špulcer we trotted.
On the way back, the never-ending itch to burrito-battle overcame these two, and they went at it all the way uphill😳
Upon arrival, Špulcer was so gracious to let the girls feed their fish
While the boys absolutely insisted it was battle or nothing.
By the time things had gotten ridiculously out of hands, with the boys realising it was way more fun to kick the burritos around like footballs instead of using as intended, lunch showed up in the nick of time and I could heave a sigh of relief.
Ice cream finishers, and we called it a day- a well spent one🤗
The next day took us out on an early morning hike while the weather was still cool and bearable.
Sometimes, Iva will just about have it with my shenanigans, and she’ll never fail to let me know😅 Alja’s always a trooper!
En route, the kids spotted an immobile bird and their poor, concerned selves absolutely refused to budge until they were sure it could fly again.
A few minutes later, it took flight, and we were back on our merry way.
We soaked up some more of the gorgeous scenery atop hill, cutting through the woods,
and right back out, by which time, we were parched, exhausted and ravenous.
Absolutely determined not to give Picikato any more of my hard earned money, I marched them right to my home and made them club sandwiches.
Seeing that nobody died, or ended up in urgenca or got the shits, I decided to celebrate this fine occasion by letting the kids take a plunger to cool down.
A quick soak in the sun, and then the real water fun began
…and even more water fun💦
Next thing you know, they were hungry again! Jebela cesta, eh!🤯
So, I had to fork out… 😤
and then we finished strong with ice cream😋
Come day 5, we were absolutely knackered! We all struggled. Iva came in really late.. so late, she missed out on breakfast. Her mom said she struggled to get out of bed. Rok didn’t even make it out and skipped the last day altogether😅
Plans were to go back to the playground to finish up our archery but the kids just wanted to go back to my place and chill.
So we did just that- grabbed a few games and went off to bake cupcakes and donate some more money to Picikato.
And thus, ended August camp on the sweetest of notes 🥰
And I can’t wait to do it allll over again this year! 🤗
Haven’t signed up yet? You can do so here
Hugs,
Y☀️
