At Wawenock we often take time to pause and appreciate each other and the natural world around us. One way we do this is at our weekly campfire, which happens on Wednesday nights. As we sit together around the fire, Catriona often invites us to be still and listen to the birdsong, or admire how the colors are shifting during the sunset. At the end of campfire, we ask our camp family to raise their hands if there is someone they’d like to thank for something helpful, kind, or thoughtful they did for them that week. Examples include, “I’d like to thank my tennis counselor, Andy, who spent extra time with me after class to help me practice my serve.” We ask everyone to be as specific as possible. The result is powerful; not only the person being thanked, but also the person showing appreciation, feels good. As is true with all acts of kindness, the feeling is infectious and spreads to everyone in the campfire circle. In that vein, our suggested activity for today is one that reflects this idea of appreciation and gratitude, it’s The Compliment Game! We also invite you to join us for a live stream of a Wednesday Campfire tonight, 3/18, at 6:30 on Instagram and Facebook. Prepare a “Thank You” (for anyone, camp friend or other!) and we’ll share them with our Camp family at the end of our Campfire.
Materials Required: A piece of paper for each person participating and a writing utensil
How to Play the Compliment Game: Each player writes their name at the top of a piece of paper. Everyone passes their paper to the left, and with the person whose name is at the top of the page in mind, takes a moment to think of a couple of reasons why they appreciate that person, what qualities in them that they admire, or thank them for something they recently did. The more specific, the better! Then each person writes those words at the bottom of the paper. When finished writing, fold the paper up, so that sentiment isn’t visible. When everyone is finished writing and folding up their compliment they pass the paper to the left. The next person can only see the name at the top, and so the process is repeated. Sometimes counselors ask campers to sign their name, and sometimes it’s anonymous – that’s up to you. When the papers get back to their original owners, campers keep the page. Whether they read it immediately or save it for a moment when they need a lift, each person now has a collection of kind words from loved ones to read about themselves!
*Counselor Hack: Decorate your name at the top with bubble letters, fun handwriting, and doodles. Cover the page with stickers and designs. Encourage your players to keep their page in a special place! (Shout out to Cabin 2, 2003 and my counselor Susanna P., I still have mine. – Kristy)
We hope this gives you some warm and fuzzy feelings!