Week one

Week One of the summer is always fun and exciting. I was working at Courageous Sailing in the morning, then in the afternoon we'd go to Carson Beach. The first day, we didn't have as many kids due to the fact that it was raining and it was humid.

Fishing at Courageous

But as the day went by, the sun started to come and we started fishing with the Step 1 kids (Younger kids). The day was slow, we didn't catch anything, but the kids still had fun. The said the most fun part of fishing was the casting. After the fishing we played games with the kids. We played games such as "uncle sam" and "taping". Overall it was a really fun day, and kids said they had fun and can't wait to come back next week.

Some of the campers at Courageous

Till next time,
Abdi

Embracing my inner child

The first week at Carson Beach was kind of an interesting one. Carson Beach differs from many of the sites due to the fact that there are no specific camps or groups that come to the site every day, or even every week. In many ways, the week seemed to operate in the opposite direction than I had expected, but not in a bad way. The first day, it down poured for the first two hours of work. All of a sudden, the rain cleared, and within about an hour, we had 167 children on the beach! The harbor explorers got to work bringing out materials and fun for our new friends to experience! It was actually a great first day, because it allowed us to get to know our site, get our bearings, and get a handle on how the summer might pan out. It was the perfect day for "land fun," and we had an absolute blast interacting with all of the kids on the beach! (Below, Preston engaging in a soccer game with a few children from the Boys and Girls Club, making the best of a not so great weather day)

So this was how our week and our summer began - 167 children to play with, educate, interact with and learn with. And yet, the week did not end the same way. Thursday and Friday were relatively chilly days on the beach, and the water was pretty choppy. So instead of twiddling our thumbs all day, we decided to use the games and materials at our disposal and get to know each other at the same time. There were six of us at carson on Thursday. Six harbor explorers, no children for a long chunk of time. That means it was time for us to be the children. I cannot remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did when I'd see a frisbee fly overhead and hear my team members yell "GET UP!" or hear the phrase "Bridget, HANDS!" only to turn and see a football headed straight for me (I swear my life flashed before my eyes!). I appreciate that we got the opportunity to interact and hang out with each other, because I learned more about what each of my team members can offer to the children we will continue to serve throughout the rest of the summer. (Below, one of the many times I was taken by surprise, and probably did not "get up" high enough to catch the tricky little thing!)

See you at Carson! - Bridget 

Frisbee fun!

Ahmed showing the kids a lobster

What's up, guys? Kiauna here. 

Today was quite an enlightening day at Courageous Sailing. Another JPA, Amhed, taught the kids lots of fun facts about crabs. The kids were really smart. They knew all about what kinds of crabs live in the water. From Green Crabs to Red Rock Crabs. They knew it all. I wasn't very surprised that they were pretty familiar with Mr. Krabs, from Spongebob. 

  After we had great conversation about crabs, the kids got to hold a few. They even got to see a lobster! For some of them it was for the first time so they were kind of nervous. Most of them were brave and held it. They sure are braver than I am! Especially Emily. She held it twice! 

  

 It wouldn't have been Save The Harbor style if we didn't do something with frisbees. Of course we played a game with an official STH frisbee. Ahmed and I walked to the field and set forth in our game. He had a system where he threw the frisbee and the person who caught it had to tell a fun fact that they knew about a sea creature. Supposedly a shark is likely to watch me undress. I'm not sure how much truth there is to that theory but, hey! We did not discriminate about what kinds of facts were thrown into the mix.

Stay golden,
Kiauna Peete

Ps. Shoutout to Bruce Berman. I know how much he enjoys reading about frisbees

Pps. Ahmed and I did all of the above while drinking milkshakes. McDonough may have sully's but look out! Tedeschi's is catching up! That is a big bonus about being at Courageous. Tedeschi's now has a smoothie/milkshake maker! 

Only $2.99!

Yummm!