Terrific Tuesday Creativity

Evening program on our Dr. Seuss Terrific Tuesday was interesting and creative. Campers and staff joined together to create innovative skits using items they were given in a bag. At Sprucelands, we refer to these as bag skits. It was a program requested by campers and so it was an instant design for evening fun.

Following the Dr. Seuss story framework for rhyming words, most of the groups put a skit together using the rhyming technique. It was awesome. I wish I could reproduce some of their rhyming stories. Here you see a character created by our wonderful camper, Rachel. She was the Cat in the Hat in her skit.

What I enjoyed watching during skit construction was the cooperation and teamwork amongst the kids. They gathered in their groups, looked at their items, and brainstormed about what they could do.

A little at a time, you'd see a light go on as individuals came up with ideas and shared the possibilities for using the idea in their skit. Then they'd laugh and laugh about whatever their visions were.

So the process was almost the best part of this program. I loved the collaboration that happened. Everyone contributed. No one was grumpy because an idea was rejected or because they didn't want to participate. No one complained about the props. Skits were played out and replayed until the kids had it put together the way they wanted.

The results were fun and funny, creative and spontaneous. I do believe we could have created brand new possibilities for Dr. Seuss books. In fact, I think Dr. Seuss would be proud of us and what we are doing this summer at camp.

Sprucelands is unique as she takes the kids back to the basics. I remember as a kid creating little plays with items that I'd find. My sister and I used to entertain each other and our folks with the stories we made.

Sometimes my grandmother would let us play dress up and that was great fodder for another little play. It was simple, basic fun and when I think of my childhood, it is a memory that makes me smile.

So Sprucelands is working hard to let kids be kids, giving them the opportunity to find joy in creating simple fun with silly friends. Ah, memories!