Camp Free-From-Technology

This weekend I vanished into the forest of Nevada City, trekking up and down hills and singing camp songs with 5th graders also while performing goofy, improvised skits. I, along with the other 10-12 teen volunteers, had the duty of teaching these children science lessons not only about our beautiful lakefront environment, but also about science all around us! I had the fun (and slight stress in the beginning) of leading kids in water testing. Group to group, the kids varied when asked to participate. I was impressed that the majority of the kids had heard the terms we used in our lesson. When asked what they thought certain woulds meant, they were not afraid to make educated guesses based on the clues I gave them. My partner and I felt proud as the lesson came to an end because as we reviewed the four terms of our teachings (salinity, temperature, turbidity, and pH of water), every kid had their hand up to tell US what the words meant, what causes it, how we measured these in water, and what tools we used.

What I enjoyed most about my weekend was the grand escape from technology, media, and my day-to-day life. It was a blessing to have zero cell phone service. No one felt the obligation to check their phone every ten minutes to see what's happening in the world. Without the buzzing of phones, both the staff and the kid campers endured a period of genuinely living in the moment. We embraced the sunlight, the dirt, and the bugs. We laughed. We sang. We ate together. We entertained ourselves without the presence of screens! Children, the freest spirits, clasped their freedom without batteries powering their minds!

I was startled by one thing: the kids' phones. A few kids dared to carry their phones throughout the days. Most of them were excited to take pictures, but I was in awe that the devices were bigger than most of their heads! Before the buses departed, the kids exchanged instagram usernames with friends and staff they met along the trip. We're talking 10-11 year olds! WHAT?! Even though it is bizarre that kids these days have social media accounts as early as fifth grade, we should acknowledge that they are willing to keep connections through these accounts.

This was the best taste of pre-summer.