Curley Community Center

This week, I was fortunate enough to spend my first day with the kids at the Curley Community center. I had only ever been there before for programming orientation, and it was fairly rainy that day. You can only imagine how different the vibe was today! Ana and I were back in action, and we brought things back to how they were at Blacks Creek, by starting things off with introductions in a circle. However, it was a bit of a challenge, as they could not coordinate themselves effectively. To quote one boy, "We're from Southie, we don't make circles, we make squares!" Eventually everyone remembered what shape they were supposed to make, and we then played one of our favorite games to get to know each other, "Where the Wild Wind Blows". By the time we had gotten a few rounds in, I could tell the kids were getting antsy to go explore the beach, so I felt that I had to give them what they wanted.

It's a race to experience everything at Curley in time!

Let me tell you, it was pretty much every kids' dream there on that beach, as there was so much to do. We had a group of kids off fishing, and while no fish were caught, one girl was lucky enough to catch a green crab. We had another group over near this big wooden divider, where they were catching large amounts of asian shore crabs and periwinkles. It really brought me back to my day at CHV. We had kids making art with our sand rakes, or in some cases, treasure maps that Imani and Ana had to follow. There were kids building sand castles, or making "ice cream sundaes" out of sand that myself and the rest of the staff had to eat. There was a bustle of activity from the get go, and these kids needed no encouragement to explore. In fact, I almost felt as if we were superfluous, as the only time the kids really needed us was to cut up bait for them. Even then, I get the feeling that they would have been fine on their own, not that we would have let them! I also would just like to let anyone know, for the future that one should always check their tackle box for a sharp knife, so Kamal won't have to use the dullest knife ever seen to cut up our bait. As usual though, we were able to improvise, and everything worked out in the end.

Though I was only there for one day, it was nice to get a new perspective, and see how this community utilizes their beaches. As mentioned before, I rarely make it over to Carson Beach, so it's always a welcome treat. But past that, I was talking to one girl about her experience at the summer camp held at the Curley Center, and she told me about how each day they would spend time in the center, go to a park, go to the beach, and do so much more. I know I've touched on this theme in an earlier blog, but it was another great reminder of how, even though kids these days have a surplus of activities to take hold of their attention, they still want to return to the world around them. Even after the kids were told that they could go back into the teen room, with the allure of games and computers, many stayed to catch fish and crabs. I think that speaks volumes.

Until next time, I'll be taking in everything the outside has to offer,
Zach