14 September 2006

What do Dads do at Homeschool Camps?

All the homeschooling camps we attend are family affairs where everyone in the family tries to attend. I was very shocked to find this is not so common in the US. Some of the homeschooling events there are for the mothers, with a discount rate for the fathers if they wish to attend and play with the children.
So what do Dads do at family homeschool camps?
One dad was the microphone man for the sports carnival and concert. He was also involved in some of the pre camp organisation for these events with games and certificates. Here he is hosting one of the games nights and checking his watch for the time left for charades. Father is not actually doing a groovy dance. He is playing charades.
Other dads joined in with various activities as sports team leaders, beach patrol and generally keeping an eye out for any mischief that might get out of hand. The dad in this photo is an excellent sand castle builder. The fort was built by him with many helpers strengthening the walls in a valiant attempt to stop the returning tide from reclaiming the castle. Peter is inside the castle helping build the walls while Rose is behind him (in the pink swimmers) playing in the sand and water.
I gave a talk on the man as head of the family to a mixed group of husbands and wives. The best part of the talk was the resulting conversation afterwards with many couples sharing their experiences, views and ideas. During the week the dads also had the opportunity to discuss many fascinating topics, well beyond the typical sport and weather. Religion, politics, history and all manner of normally controversial topics were just normal manner of fare.
It is just hard to imagine a camp without all the family taking part.

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