Saturday, August 16, 2008

Family Camp Part 2

When last we visited Family Camp via this blog, we had made it through packing, set up, and the beginnings of our many fishing trip. This entry goes from there.



I believe every child should know how to fish. This last year I took my class fishing and the vast majority of them had never been fishing. They did not know how to handle a rod, how to bait a hook, how to cast, or anything. The sheer joy on their face when they actually caught something was amazing and reminded me how important it is. We fish at least once a year. Very rarely do we catch anything, but it's good for them. They both learn to be patient, to be competent, and to break gender stereotypes.



Another of our "everyday" activities while camping is swimming. Just down the road from Promonotry is a swim dock with a small beach. The first day we went swimming Pupp and I took the four kids and all three dogs. If your math isn't too rusty you will realize that means there were TWO adults with *7* things to watch. Let's say it was less than relaxing. I am hypervigilant around water. I refuse to let my children get near large bodies of water without a life jacket. This year was the first time that either of them even questioned it. Samantha wanted to know if she still had to wear hers, and our decision was that she still needed to wear it until she could prove she could swim across the lake without it. What we're looking for is for her to be strong enough to not panic and get herself out of a situtation if something were to happen. She is a strong swimmer and I bet next year she'll be out without a life jacket.



Jay loves swimming here. He hasn't questioned the life jacket. It gives him the security to swim in deeper water, to jump off the dock, and to play freely. He's a good swimmer, but not real strong yet.



It was Dobby's first time in the lake. He has always shown somewhat of an aversion to water but enjoyed the lake. He thought wading was a great thing. He would chase Tank and Jett and any other dog that was there. He got up on the dock once, the labs pushed him off and we discovered that he does NOT swim well. they say dogs are natural swimmers, NOT Berners. At least not this one. :) Pupp and I thought we were going to have to go in and rescue him. He made it back to shore, but not with any grace.

2 comments:

Pupp said...

Jett and Tank say that he jumped in ALL BY HIMSELF!

Sue KuKu said...

Then why didn't Jett and Tank jump in also and help save him?