by Jocelyn Martin
At SCATS, we have mandatory Optionals that entertain and allow the campers to work off any lingering stress from classes. A pair of counselors supervises each Optional, which lasts from one hour to 90 minutes, and the offerings change daily. On Monday, we offered activities such as Arts & Crafts, Ultimate Frisbee, and Speed Friending.
Chloe Banaszak and I ran Speed Friending, an age-appropriate rendition of speed dating. We had eight campers in the Great Hall, with two campers per table. We screencast icebreaker questions such as, “If you had three wishes from a genie, what would you wish for?” and “What fantasy world would you like to teleport to?” The campers then had two minutes to ask and answer as many questions as possible with each other before rotating to a different table and partner.
After 45 minutes, all the campers had had a chance to meet one another, so we transitioned to the second portion of the Optional: we brought out the embroidery floss and taught them the basic patterns for friendship bracelets. After learning the basics, they made bracelets for one another and made light conversation while we put on Gravity Falls, a cartoon TV show.