4th Weeks a Charm

Hey guys! 

       I am back, posting a recap of my 4th week out on the job. This week was similar to last, we worked at Blacks Creek in the mornings, and then made our way to the Curley on Tuesday and Thursday. On Wednesday we got to go to Atlantic Warf to do some storytelling, fish printing, and fishing with a few groups from Community Centers from the area. On Thursday, we had a rainy day which was the first of the summer. Our programs are rain or shine, so we continued our programming even though the weather was a little tough! The kids were great sports and loved playing Gaga Ball and Mad Scientist in the rain. At Blacks Creek, our program is technically run under Quincy Recreation. They have many programs running in the area including a day camp called "Happy Acres". This is a camp that caters to special-needs children in the area, and they will be joining us every Tuesday and Thursday for the rest of the summer! This week was the first week they joined us, and it was a great experience to work with these kids and get to know them in a setting where they were comfortable learning and playing games with us.

The kids looking around for some sea creatures at Blacks Creek. 

       I have lived in Boston all of my life, so the Boston Harbor Islands have been very familiar to me ever since I was little. I went on retreats to Thompson and George's Island while I was in middle school and when I went to camp as a child, but for this history-focused blog post, I thought I would focus on an Island I truly knew nothing about. I visited the Boston Harbor Island Website, and found the list of Islands and was shocked at how many I had never heard of, Bumpkin Island, in particular, caught my attention. It was originally home to Native Americans, and it is in the Hingham Bay area of the Boston Harbor. A summer hospital/care facility for children with physical disabilities was built to be used during World War I for polio patients and for other illnesses for both children and adults as well. Unfortunately, the facility was closed in World War II and burned down in 1945. The island is now home to beautiful hiking trails and gardens full of flowers.his island is accessible by shuttle boat or ferry. Bumpkin Island is now a camping destination where you can explore the remains of the hospital facility and a farmhouse on the Island. After reading about Bumpkin Island, I am extremely curious about the other Islands in the Boston Harbor and look forward to learning about them or hopefully taking a visit out to them at some point! There is so much history in Boston, and I think the Boston Harbor Island history is overlooked.

A cool picture of Bumpkin Island! 

See you next week!
Maggie