Blood, Sweat, Tears & Peanut Butter

Pirate ship flags! Team Angry Birds, Team Nothing, Team Tiger and Team Lion.

Crucial ingredients for a super fun fifth- and sixth-grade summer English camp, right? This group of kids put my patience to the test the week of August 8 (just before my summer vacation), but I dug deep and completed a semi-successful camp, then fled Korea for a week in Thailand.

English names in this class ranged from ordinary (Sally, Sam, Tom and Tommy, Mike and Michael) to amusing (Alvin, Simon, Teo) to unusual (Chany, Demon, Prancisco). Personalities ran the gamut from ultra-quiet (I'm not sure I heard Michelle or Sara talk) to ultra-loud (Kyle didn't talk; he yelled everything) to enthusiastic and respectful (Jace, Kevin and Sam were my favorites) to sensitive and emotional (Tom burst into tears mid-class because he was thinking of his brother, who's sick).

We made eye patches! (Click to enlarge.)
Sitting L-R: Tommy, Annie, Elly, Sara, Teo, Kyle, Mike
Standing L-R: Sam (in green), Kevin, Jace, Simon, Lindsay Teacher, Michael, Tom, Chany, Prancisco
Not pictured: Alvin, Demon, Sally, Michelle

I realized quickly that my expectations were unreasonably high after a week with the charming third- and fourth-graders. The pirate-themed camp I'd planned with Ji-eun was less than a hit from the start. Most kids were advanced, so words like hat, sail, ship and island were a breeze. On the other hand, sword, parrot and even pirate needed some pronunciation practice.

Whereas little kids did well with crafts, coloring and songs, older kids needed action and movement to stay interested. Hot, humid weather prevailed over the rain, so we were able to get outside for slightly-tweaked traditional games. Red Light, Green Light became Nice Captain, Mean Captain. Duck, Duck, Goose became Parrot, Parrot, Pirate. Red Rover didn't change because practicing Rs is always a good idea with Korean students. After 20-30 minutes (and a water break), students returned to the lovely air-conditioned classroom with damp shirts and dripping brows.

Left: Taking a break from pirates, students play tag,
Right: Mike nabs Tommy in a heated game of Parrot, Parrot, Pirate.

I was more than relieved when Red Rover was completed injury-free, but our treasure hunt went somewhat awry. With free reign of the whole school and playground, each team hid a 2D treasure chest, planted obstacles like squid and typhoons, then wrote directions to the prize. Team Angry Birds decided to hide its treasure among the folds of a fire hose tucked inside a metal cabinet on the fifth floor. When Tommy eagerly reached into the cabinet, a jagged edge caught his knuckle and blood instantly gushed from his finger.

I sent him to the bathroom to wash the wound and I hustled to get my lone emergency bandage (fittingly emblazoned with the WWII slogan "Keep Calm and Carry On"), which I miraculously hadn't yet needed for a self-inflicted wound of my own. Luckily, camp was over for the day so we sent Tommy home with the (inadequate) red bandage and a wad of (quickly bloodied) toilet paper. Ji-eun and I surveyed the damage upstairs. It was evident from the trail of dime- and quarter-sized blood splatters that he had first headed to a bathroom on the south end of the school. Finding it locked, he had to go to the other end of the building where the trail ended in blood smears on the sink and faucet. Though I feared his mother wouldn't let him return the next day, he came back for more piratey adventures.

(Click to enlarge.)
Left: Mike hides a decoy treasure, Center: Simon tapes up a squid obstacle,
Right: Ji-eun cleans up the treasure hunt aftermath.

Cooking day brightened our spirits with chocolate and peanut butter. Ji-eun had mistakenly asked the students to bring ladles from home rather than rubber spatulas, but I was ready with extra bowl scrapers. The kids were suddenly angels as they watched me melt butter, measure peanut butter, and roll out balls of the gooey cereal/sugar/peanut butter mixture. After practicing cooking terminology and watching the demonstration, they whipped up their own batches of chocolate-covered "cannon balls." Who knew that a Christmastime treat from my mom's kitchen would find its way into a Korean classroom (with a corny new name)? "Smells delicious," they exclaimed repeatedly, and I caught more than one student dipping his fingers into the peanut butter jar when I'd stepped away.

Top left: Rapt students observe the peanut butter cannon ball-making process,
Bottom left: Kyle, Teo and Jace excitedly combine ingredients, Right: Elly, Annie, Mike and
Prancisco enjoy the fruits of their labors.

The campers' patience with the pirate theme was rewarded on the last day with a game of dodgeball, pizza & Coke and a partial viewing of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. We sent campers off with bags of treats and their pirate "Wanted" posters (which they'd given a weathered appearance using a sophisticated crumpling-tearing-and-tea-bag-dyeing method). I thanked Ji-eun for her help and practically sprinted home to pack for summer vacation.