Have you ever been at an arena for a sporting or music event and right as the game is starting or the lights fade before the musicians take the stage there is a palpable hum to the venue?  You can feel the enthusiasm and excitement fill the open space like foamy caulking.  There is a moment of quiet just before the entire place erupts with the din of nervous anticipation of what’s to come.

This was the experience of over 100 children in the Y’s Vacation Camp Program the week before Christmas.  Kids from Longmont and Firestone schools gathered for full days of adventure, activities, and fun while school was out for the holiday break.  Some who participated were familiar with Vacation Camp because they’ve been a part of the Before and After School Program since August.  Others were back and anxious to see the friends they had made during Summer Camp.  Most were nervous because this was their first experience with the Y’s school age program.   You could feel the energy in the room.

We huddled as a group each morning to go over the day’s activities.  As staff announced the agenda of art projects, sports, active games, brain teasers, reading, swimming, and science experiments, the room began to buzz louder than the already high frequency that comes with kids at Christmas time.  They were ready to move larger and longer beyond the small fidgets that the huddle allowed.

The days came and went quickly.  Staff kept the kids busy and running to allow an outlet for all their excitement.  Everyone participated in the high energy games because they had it in them to run.  All went home exhausted from these active days, especially the grown ups.  Everything was working just as it should.  Parents were thrilled to pick up their tired children after work and be able to get them to bed this week with very little negotiation or protest.  Staff were happy to see the kids wanting to play the running games.  The kids were happy to try new things.   And then came the snow.

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of working with a group of kids over the course of a year, you know how the barometric pressure can affect them.  Snow is particularly exciting because it brings the promise of snowmen, snow ball fights, snow angels, forts, sledding, and hours of frosty outdoor fun resulting in a kitchen thaw over a steamy cup of cocoa.  So to recap, the kids are out of school, in a very active program, it’s the week before Christmas, and now it’s snowing.  “Now if we only had a full moon” quipped one staff member trying to hold the frenzy at bay during a particularly wild game of Reindeer Tag.

Everyone made it through the week without a hitch.  The noise level may have gone up a decibel or two each day as Christmas approached, and it took longer to go through each day’s agenda due to the group’s inherent need to giggle and pester.  But as the lights went out on the first week of Vacation Camp, we knew it was just another typical Winter Break and the audience went home fully entertained.