Counselor Ben tells everyone at Camp Adventure a story about silly snorkeling. Plus a sing-along, some world building, rock paper scissors, and trying new things.
Counselor Ben tells everyone at Camp Adventure a story about silly snorkeling. Plus a sing-along, some world building, rock paper scissors, and trying new things.
We’d love to feature you and your fellow campers on our next episode. Share your camp space and your new camp flag for Camp Adventure on social media using #AKBAsummer or write to us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com.
Camp Adventure: A Kids Summer Camp Podcast
S1 E5 “Fish Walking”
[INTRODUCTION]
Ari: Welcome to Camp Adventure! Camp is in your living room. Camp is in your car on the way to the store. Camp is under your blanket fort. Camp is everywhere. And Camp Adventure is for everyone, no matter where in the world you are. And camp counselors Ben and Hannah are ready to welcome you.
It’s week number 5 here at camp, and this week we’re exploring what it looks like to open our minds. That sounds kind of strange, doesn’t it? How do you open up your brain? Well, I promise it’s not that weird. Counselor Ben is going to tell a story about snorkeling, and underwater fishing, and the time when he learned to try something that he thought he would never ever like. Have you ever had to try something new, and you thought you would hate it, but it turned out pretty cool? Yeah...it’s a story about something like that, and I can’t wait.
I’m camp counselor Ari, and I’m so glad to be here at camp with you every week. It’s a beautiful day at Camp Adventure. Let’s say hello to the incredible Counselor Ben to kick things off.
Ben: Hello to you, as well, Ari! Thank you for the kind introduction, and many thanks to YOU—my fellow campers—for joining all of us on this fifth week of our great exploration—our great journey through Camp Adventure.
And I just gotta say…I love the mail bag—and we’ll get to that in a couple minutes, here—and I love the other counselors who make this happen—all of them!! And our camp music leader, Hannah is one of those very special counselors because she brings us the sweet melodies, and the harmonious vibes that bring us together—each and every one—so that we can sing our camp songs!
If you like Hannah’s singing and music playing, I think you should maybe send her a letter and let her know. It would make her smile; I know that for sure. But most importantly, you and me and all of us—we should sing along.
And that’s what Hannah is here to do—to help us sing these songs together—so, without further ado, please put your hands in the air, or clap them together, or stomp up and down as loud as you can—let’s make some NOISE for the one and only, the great and knowledgeable—the woman who ALWAYS keeps red licorice in her car and who NEVER says no to baby carrots—my good friend, HANNAH GLAVOR!!!
[CAMP SONG]
Hannah: Well, thank you, Camp Counselor Ben. We have been friends for a long time, and I love being able to make all these new friends at Camp Adventure.
This week we’re talking about KEEPING AN OPEN MIND - mmm I like that sound of that. When I something is new ahead of me, or things change - its not always a bad thing just because its different. Maybe I’ll learn something new or I discover that I like it! I just remember that I need to be KEEPING AN OPEN MIND . . . oh man, that sounds beautiful.
Now on our first week, I asked us all a question, do you remember - but let me reframe it in song form…
Hannah: [sings]
Do you feel a little freaky, when you’re trying something new
Like rollerblading in the jungle . . . or when learning the kazoo? Or the trumpet - I don’t know
Let me share my little secret to help us change our point of viewwww
Adventure is trying new things and you’ll grow stronger as you do
Adventure (adventure)
We venture (we venture)
Together with courage
We learn and grow STRONG
We learn from (we learn from)
Eachother (eachother)
So let's discover and uncover
Great adventures bright and new
Hannah: And now just a liiiiittle faster...
Hannah: [sings]
Adventure (adventure)
We venture (we venture)
Together with courage
We learn and grow STRONG
We learn from (we learn from)
Eachother (eachother)
So let's discover and uncover
Great adventures bright and new
Hannah: OK, friends, that was good. Real good. And before I hand it over, I just want to make one last request: Send in your letters and as you’re KEEPING AN OPEN MIND do a brave thing and maybe send it a video or photo of you singing along - OR Maybe you’re a musician too - I would love to see what kind of cool tunes you are making these days! I cannot wait to hear those kazoo solos.
Now it's one of my favorite times of the day where we get to hear from YOU! That’s right folks, drumroll please - it's time for . . . MAILBAG!
[MAILBAG]
AKBA Counselor: Hi everyone. I'm Camp Counselor Savannah, and I'm here with a mail bag. It's where we keep all the mail we receive from our campers.
This has been a slow mail week, which is probably right from all the rain that we've been having. How has the weather been where you are? Sending you thoughts for lots of wonderful sunshine though.
I've got to admit that listening to the rain from inside my cabin is pretty great and I'm not complaining about the hot chocolate that I make myself.
Speaking of where you are, did you know that we've got campers listening to this podcast from all around the world? The world is pretty big, so that's a pretty big deal.
You've heard counselor Ben talk about his place in Portland, Oregon, which is in the United States. It turns out that about one in 10 of you listen to Camp Adventure from outside the U S though. And I thought it might be nice to take a minute to acknowledge that we've got Camp Adventure campers in Canada, which is nearby. We also have campers in Germany and in the United Kingdom and in Northern Ireland and in Saudi Arabia, all of which are way across the Atlantic ocean from us. We even have campers all the way in Australia, which is halfway across the world. And yet we're all in the same camp together. That's pretty special.
We’d love get to know you, hear about your camp experiences, and see the projects you’re working on. How, you might be asking? You can send us photos and videos and mail to listen@akidspodcastabout.com or on social media using #AKBAsummer. We’ll share as many things as we can from our Mail Bag each week.
That’s listen@akidspodcastabout.com or on social media using #AKBAsummer.
And that’s it! Have a great day at camp!
AKBA Counselor: Hello hello, campers! It’s camp counselor Ari, and today I have something pretty special for you.
BUT, before we jump in I want you to do something. Trust me, I think it’ll be fun. Okay, Think of a color. Any color. Maybe it’s your favorite, or maybe it’s something different. And THEN, I want you to think of an animal. ANY animal. It could even be an animal that isn’t real. All right, let’s hit pause for just a moment to think of it. Okay, you got those in your head?
Now, here’s something really cool! Did you know that our brains are SUPER adventure building, storytelling machines? Yeah, they really are! You know, on the rainy days at camp when we can’t adventure outside, I like to play a game called Dungeons and Dragons with the other campers and counselors here. We get to create whole worlds in our minds. AND we get to build our very own adventurers to explore the worlds we’ve built.
What would your adventurer be like? My adventurer has bright, electric blue hair. They wear hiking boots and clothes with a ton of pockets to carry lots of sweets and snacks. And their name is Coral. Coral is a zoologist, which means someone who studies animals in their natural habitat—kinda like observing ants in their anthills. But Coral is on a mission to find and study a mysterious creature.
What do you think that creature is? No, really? You already created it with your super adventure-building, storytelling machine! At the beginning of the activity, what color and animal did you think of? Did you think of a bear? Or a bunny? Or a butterfly? Did you think of magenta? Or lime green? Or rainbow sparkles? Now, put your color and your animal together and you may have a mysterious new creature like a golden frog or a purple jackalope. What else do you think it can do? Fly or glow or breathe bubbles?
Let me know what new creatures you created for our adventurers to find! Draw a picture of your new animal and the world they live in, and have your grownup help share it with us. Now, hang on to those drawings, cause I’ll be back in a couple weeks for some more adventure building.
I’m so excited to see what you created for our adventure!
Matthew: What’s up, campers? It’s Camp Counselor Matthew, Games Director at Camp Adventure and today I brought with me one of my absolute FAVORITE campers to play our game.
Care to introduce yourself?
Julia: My name is Julia.
Matthew: Hi, Julia!
One of the things that makes Julia extra special to me is that she’s my daughter. Another is that she LOVES playing games with me. So today I thought we’d play a few rounds of a game you can play absolutely anywhere: Rock Paper Scissors.
Jules, do you like Rock Paper Scissors?
Julia: Yes.
Matthew: Are you good at it? Oh boy, should I be nervous?
Julia: Yes.
Matthew: I should be nervous? Oh no!
This is a game that’s played all over the world. And, sometimes it has a different name. Sometimes it has different symbols or objects, but the way you play the game is always the same.
This is a game for two players, but it goes really, really fast. So if you are in a group there’s nothing to worry about. You won’t have a long wait for your turn.
There are three hand shapes. Jules, show me, how do we make rock? Yeah, you close your fist for rock. How do you make paper? Make a flat hand for paper. And then finally, how do we do scissors? Two fingers are out like a V, while the rest are tucked underneath. That’s scissors. So, to begin, both players say together “Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT,” and on “shoot” you show your hand shape.
Rock beats scissors.
Scissors beats paper.
And what does paper beat?
Julia: Rock.
Matthew: Paper beats rock.
Ready? Let’s show them, Jules!
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT
Matthew: Scissors and scissors, we have a tie.
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT
Matthew: Scissors and paper, I beat you! One more?
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT
Matthew: Paper paper, that’s another tie. Let’s do it one more time.
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT
Matthew: Scissors scissors! One more.
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT
Matthew: Rock beats scissors. I won that time. Good game!
We usually play to see who wins the most out of 3 games total. And here’s the fun twist: You can use Rock Paper Scissors to make decisions and settle disputes, like what movie to watch, who gets to eat the last cookie, and who gets first turn on the skateboard.
Should we show them, Jules, how we use it to make a decision?
Cool! Okay, if I win, you have change out of your pajamas. But if you win, you can wear your pajamas all day. Deal?
Julia: Yes.
Matthew: Yeah? OK, Here we go.
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
Matthew: Scissors beats paper. I have one point.
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
Matthew: Oh you did scissors and I did paper. You have one point. We have another tie! It’s another deal breaker. Ready?
Julia: Okay.
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
Matthew: Paper beats rock. You win! You get to wear pajamas all day!
Julia: Yayyy! But if I want, I can change into my clothes.
Matthew: That’s true. Okay so if you want to play again, do you want to make up what the rule is? So if you win, what do you get this time?
Julia: Um I get to bake cookies with Mommy.
Matthew: If you win you get to bake cookies, you get to bake cookies with Mommy?
Julia: And I get to eat all of them.
Matthew: Wait wait wait, then if I win I get to eat all the cookies. Here we go.
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
Matthew: Scissors beats paper. I have one point.
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
Do you want to do one?
Matthew: Oh you did scissors and I did paper. It’s one to one. It’s a tie again. This is very intense. The cookies are on the line. Who’s gonna win?
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
Matthew: Oh no! Your rock beats my scissors, you get to eat all the cookies.
So, when we play, we keep the game fun and keep the rewards something we both agree on, that way everyone feels welcome in the game.
All right, listeners at home, do you want to play with us? Okay, here we go! Rock Paper Scissors podcast edition!
Jules, we're going to see what the listeners do. We’re gonna say it together, ready?
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
Matthew: Okay, Jules had paper, I had scissors. Did we beat you? Or did your did you beat one of us? We’ll do it one more time. Ready?
Julia and Matthew together: Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
Matthew: Op, Julia had paper and I had rock, I wonder if you beat us or if we beat you.
Thank you for playing with us today, campers!
Hey, wanna sneak one more time? Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
I had scissors, did you beat me?
Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
I had paper, did you beat me? Last one!
Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!
I had rock. Did you beat me? Jules beat me! Oh, good luck campers!
Ari: All right campers, after this break we’re going to hear a story from Camp Counselor Ben, and I promise, you won’t want to miss it!
[BREAK]
Ari: Okay, we’re back, and it’s storytime! Are you excited? Me too!
So, let’s get ready for this week’s story! Let’s do some BIG stretches before we get cozy. Do you think you can touch you head with your feet? Try it out! Oof, that was hard! All right, in just a sec let’s hit pause to get in this week’s perfect listening spot. 3, 2, 1 GO! Where’d you pick? This week I’m listening under my favorite tree at the park—wherever you go, get comfy!
Are you ready, Counselor Ben?
[STORYTIME]
Ben: Ari—you’re the best. Thank you for always introducing me and being so kind.
And campers – thank you once more for being here. It is story time, and this week’s story is called “Fish Walking.”
Have you ever taken a dog for a walk? Or maybe seen someone taking their dog for a walk? Well, well imagine if the leash had a fish on it, rather than a dog!! And rather than WALKING behind the fish, the person is swimming behind the fish!
That’s what happened to me...and this is the story about how it happened . . . And it begins when I was seven years old, while I was camping in the northern part of Wisconsin, at a lake called “Razorback Lake.” My family camped at Razorback every summer for our summer vacation. We stayed in tents, for two weeks—and always at Razorback, which had crystal clear water and was filled with fish! Golden walleyes with white bellies, and bluegills and perch and smallmouth bass—even HUGE northerns and muskies—those ones get big and always scared me a little . . .
But I did not try to catch those giant scary ones most days. I was good at catching bluegills and smallmouth bass, at least for a 7-year-old kid.
Christy, my sister, and were good at bike riding, so we rode our bikes around a lot. And we were really good at building sandcastles, so we made sand castles at the beach a LOT.
We were good at lots of camping stuff—whittling sticks into spears with our pocket knives, and catching fish and building forts. We even knew how to trap chipmunks with a box and a stick! WE LOVED doing this kind of stuff—we were really GOOD at it, so we LIKED it a LOT.
But we did NOT like doing things we weren’t good at. And we did NOT like trying things we had never tried before.
Do you ever feel that way? How do YOU feel when you’re doing something you are really GOOD at? (Pretty good, right?) And how do you feel when you’re about to try something you have never done before? (Feels a little freaky, doesn’t it? Sometimes it even makes you feel sad and blue to try something NEWWWW.)
I bet you’re kind of like me—I bet it’s easier to do familiar things than to try new things. That’s the way it is for almost ALL people, really. So that’s OK. But when you stop trying new things or thinking about new things—guess what happens to your mind? IT CLOSES UP—You become “CLOSE MINDED”, and then you won’t try new things . . . and that is NOT good because you miss adventures, then.
Adventure’s trying new things, and you’ll grow stronger as you do . . .
Here’s a secret: To discover and uncover new things, bright things, fun and interesting things you’ve never learned about or experienced before—to do this, you have to OPEN YOUR MIND. That means, saying, “OK . . . I will think about that.” Or “OK . . . I will listen.” Or even, “OK . . . I will give it a try.”
But as a seven-year-old, it was hard for me to stay OPEN MINDED.
Sometimes on our vacation, we would drive to the little town called St. Germain to get donuts at the BEST bakery – it was like a donut fantasy world, with twisty cinnamon donuts, and a million different kinds of jelly filled and custard filled . . . AND THE SPRINKLE DONUTS!!! So many colors of the rainbow, sprinkled all over the donuts . . . But guess what?!
I only EVER got the plain chocolate, round, with chocolate frosting. It was simple, and I knew I liked it. My mind was closed about donuts—I ONLY wanted to try one kind, and I REFUSED to think about another flavor . . . So guess what? Yeah . . . I missed out on a lot of donut adventures.
[Louder, here] Adventure’s trying new things, and you’ll grow stronger as you do ...
One day, my sister and I were on Razorback’s lakeshore, and we were VERY busy with our sandcastle . . . but dad came down to the beach and ruined our fun: “Come on kids! We’re going to the other side of the lake.” He had a bunch of stuff in a bag that I did not recognize…
“No!” I hollered out. “I don’t want to! We’re working on our sandcastle!”
“But check this out!,” Dad said. He pulled out flippers for swimming and goggles for seeing underwater, and a tube for breathing underwater called a “snorkel.”
Dad tried to explain what all the stuff was for, but I did not care. I was not listening OR interested—my mind was CLOSED about snorkeling, that’s for sure.
Why would I want to do swim around with my face in the water? That seemed dumb.
“Well, you don’t have to get in the water,” he said, “but I can’t leave you here alone, so you still have to come on the boat.”
“Fine,” I said, and reluctantly got in. We motored over the lake to a smooth back bay, filled with lily pads and sparkling crystal clear water. The blue skies and fluffly white clouds reflected on the surfaces, and I saw green-headed dragonflies zooming around. And dad jumped in with his flippers on, and he put his goggles on, and he stuck the breathing tube in his mouth . . . And guess what?!
He started snorkeling . . . It looked so weird! What was he doing? He was swimming slowly across the top of the water, with his face under the water, and the tube sticking up over his head. I could hear him breathing . . .
And sometimes he would yell through the tube: “Ohhhh!!!” or “Uuuuuu” or “Ahhhhhh”—What was he seeing? I was interested, now—I really wanted to know.
THEN, with a big SPALOOOOSH he disappeared under the water. When he came back up, he shot his hand high in the air and yelled out “I found a lure!!” It was a little cleo spoon, which is an excellent fishing lure painted chrome and candy apple blue—the smallmouth bass love it!!
“Where did you get that????!!!” I yelled to him from the boat.
“Under the water!” he said. “With the snorkeling stuff, you can see UNDERWATER!!!”
So now I kind of wanted to try snorkeling. I hadn’t thought before that I might find treasures . . . And then I started thinking about other things, like, “What else might be under the water?”
Then my mind did something—I started thinking that it probably would not hurt to at least try on the flippers and see what they felt like on my feet. And then I tried breathing through the snorkeling tube. That was not too bad, actually.
Campers, I have a question: Can anyone tell me what was happening to my mind? When I started thinking about snorkeling, instead of just saying “NO!” and when I started asking questions about snorkeling, what was my mind doing?
YES! It was opening up. Before, my mind was closed to snorkeling. But NOW, it was opening up.
Guess what happened next? I started thinking that this snorkeling thing actually looked pretty fun. He swam back over the boat and asked, “How about now? Do you maybe want to give it a try…?”
He helped me into the water, and he taught me how to use my goggles and the breathing tube. The flippers were fun—I could swim a lot faster with them on. And then, my friends, I can’t even describe the beauty that I saw . . . It was like a strange space world where everything floats around slowly.
Seaweed hovered and flowed back and forth, like huge brushes shaped like tubes – flowing smoothly in the greenish clear water . . . I saw red and gray and black rocks on the bottom, and it looked like it was so far down . . . And old tree logs and branches.
I almost choked in TERRIBLE FEAR when I saw the first school of fish swim by. I had never seen that before, and they sparkled like little silver rockets shooting through the water. And I saw a NORTHERN hanging out at the bottom—I GASPED FOR AIR, and was absolutely terrified for a second—Northerns have rows of razor sharp teeth, and they look like snakes kind of . . . with a pointy, mean, snarling kind of face. They look like they want to bite everyone.
So I did not stay in that part of the bay . . . I paddled out of there as fast as I could. I was close minded about swimming with Northerns, and I think I still AM!!
“BEN!! Come here, you have to check this out.” We swam closer to the shore, and we watched two turtles swimming down under the water, eating seaweed from a rock on the bottom.
And then he pointed his finger underwater, showing me something up ahead . . . As we approached, we were coming to a rock-pile . . . rocks so big, they were the size of cars and trucks – HUGE boulders . . . And as we got closer, my heart started beating fast . . . I had never known that this is what lakes look like underwater . . . I was feeling a little freaky . . . This was different.
“Do you feel a little freaky, when you’re trying something new? When your life is so much different and you don’t know what to do?”
Remember how Hannah’s Camp Adventure song goes?!
Adventure’s trying new things, and you’ll grow stronger as you do . . .
This is OK, I thought. I’m not so nervous . . . I’m getting stronger – AND THEN – right under my dad, who was swimming next to me, I saw a group of BIG smallmouth bass swim down behind a boulder. Dad pointed. I agreed – we should go see where they are hiding.
We loved to catch smallmouth bass. We cleaned them and ate them for dinner almost every day! And by snorkeling and checking out where they lived, we could find the perfect place to go fishing.
But then dad had an idea!! I thought it was silly at first – but I tried to keep an open mind about it, so I could at least see what he was doing. We went to shore and got two sticks, about as long as a baseball bat.
Then we swam back to the boat and got a chunk of fishing line, and a bait with hooks on it to tie onto the end of the line.
And then we swam back over to the smallmouth bass . . . We would dangle the bait right in front of the, and the swam up and touched their noses to it . . . and opened and shut their round mouths, like they were saying “mo mo mom o” –
And then a BIG one SHOT up from the bottom and CHOMPED dad’s bait and WHOOOM!!!! Dad had a fish on!!! The bass jolted and flashed under the water, swimming and tugging until . . . gone . . . it got off the line and slipped away . . .
Dad hollered out through his snorkel tube!!! Our hearts were racing . . . Soon he had another one on the line – the fish pulling and lashing under water . . . Dad scooped it up and put it in our boat.. And then the craziest thing happened.
I was watching the fish moving around on the bottom . . . breathing and floating, checking out our baits. But one of them was gigantic .. I mean the biggest smallmouth bass I had ever seen. Like the grand HOG, just lurking in the shadows, deep in the greenish clear water . . . So I got my best bait – a leech on a hook – and slowly swam over near it . . . And it checked out my bait, but swam away . . . so I was patient . . . And then, out from behind a boulder WHOOOOM!!!!! That bass slammed it so hard it nearly snapped my underwater fishing stick in half!!!
I couldn’t hardly hang on – pulling and thrashing – I saw his scales flashing sun and stirring up the water . . . and then I felt myself moving . . . and then I stopped swimming and kicking, and I just let the bass pull...and guess what?!?!
I was walking a fish! Just like you see people walking dogs on the sidewalk or at the park, I was holding a leash, and this smally—that’s what we called smallmouth bass, “smallies” – was taking me for a ride . . . It pulled and flapped its tail, as it tugged me along, around the rock bar.
My friends – the world was amazing underwater – from the big slimy northern that scared me, to the turtles and flashing silver minnows – we saw seaweed and other fishies swimming around, and found treasures—When the afternoon was over and we had to go back to camp, I was exhausted but still did not want to quit. “I don’t want to stop!!! I love snorkeling. This is SO SO Good!!”
“You love snorkeling, huh?” he asked, smiling at. “I thought you said you would hate it. I thought you knew for SURE that you wouldn’t like it.”
I smiled at him, too. He was right. “Maybe the next time I invite you to try something new, you can keep a more open mind, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I told him. “That sounds good . . . and thank you for taking me snorkeling.”
I wonder if you have any stories like that? Where you assumed something would be bad, but in the end, it turned out to be so, SO good?
If we keep OUR MIND CLOSED, that means that we aren’t going to listen—it means we don’t want to hear or try anything new. Campers, in my experience, that keeps me lonely and afraid.
But if we OPEN OUR MIND and ask questions and wonder, then we start listening to others, and we discover so much. That is a sure way to learn, and to become strong, and—like I say so often—it’s a sure way to have good adventures!
Campers, we human beings are listeners, and we are meant to be learners with open minds—explorers who uncover and discover new things—even learning to catch fish while you are swimming right alongside them!! Even taking a fish for walk around the rock bar. Who knew?!
And that seems like a perfect set-up for our Weekly Challenge . . . This is our fifth week of camp, and we’ve got a perfect challenge for the fifth week . . . One that will thrill you . . . One that will open your mind . . . One that you’ll want to take pictures of!!! Hang on, I’ll be right back with your Weekly Challenge!!
[WEEKLY CAMP CHALLENGE]
Ben: All right campers. This week’s challenge might be SUPER hard and might be kind of easy, depending on what you decide to do. The hardest part is going to be deciding what to do, because for this challenge, you get to choose ANYTHING you want to do.
This week, you will only have one rule—well, two maybe—but the first and most important rule is that you have to do something you have never done before. Here are a few ideas!
I mean the most obvious one is, if you have never been snorkeling in Razorback Lake in northern Wisconsin, I recommend that you do that. Lots of rock bars to check out. That’s actually why they call it “razorback,” because it has a line of rock bars down the middle of it, like a spine
Anyway, that is good to do if you’ve never done that. HOWEVER, I think it might be kind of tricky for most of us to pull that off, so here are a few suggestions.
The first is food – we kids like the foods we like, and we often don’t want to try other foods. This week, challenge yourself to try something from another culture – a food from world you have never been to, or new food you have not tried. Until I moved to Portland, Oregon, I had never tried food from Thailand. Now, it’s one of my faves!! It’s a spicy food, too, which I had to get used to.
So, try a new kind of food . . . Crunch into a bell pepper—or maybe other vegetables from the garden that you’re pretty sure you won’t like. Have an open mind, and give it a try. You might LOVE it.
Or maybe you only read school books but don’t like to read other books. Try reading a chapter book. I remember NOT wanting to read chapter books because they have no pictures, but when I had a more open mind about it, I tried a chapter book, and it was an exciting, surprisingly awesome book.
Maybe you read lots of fiction books, or pretend stories, and you don’t like the idea of non-fiction. This week, make your challenge to read a new kind of book that you don’t usually read.
Or maybe you think “I would not like reading at all.” This week, THAT would be wonderful challenge—to read a good book.
Maybe you have wanted to play a sport but have assumed you would not like it – this week, with an open mind, say, “OK, I’ll try it out. I might like it; I might not, but I will at least try.” Maybe it’s time to try the piano, or a new musical instrument you figured you wouldn’t like.
The options are endless, my campers. You can go big and take on a whole new hobby, or you can keep it small and try a new kind of donut. It’s up to you! The only rule is that it’s something NEW.
I mentioned a second rule, and it’s not really a rule, but after you do something new, write to Camp Adventure’s counselors about it. and maybe we can read it during the Mail Bag time!! Send us a picture of the new food you’re going to try—or your facial expression after you try it!! Show us pictures! Write us stories!!!
I’m looking forward to what happens when you open up your mind to think about something new, and ask questions and learn things. Because adventure is about keeping an open mind, trying new things, and growing stronger as you do.
Most of all, be safe and always get your grownups’ permission. And—never forget the biggest rules for all weekly challenges—no hurry, and no worry—you don’t have to hurry to get anything done, and you never have to worry about doing it just right—the big goal is to have lots of fun.
Sound good? Sounds good to me. And I cannot wait to see the new things you try, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing you next week. I always do :)
[CLOSING]
Ari: Thanks, Ben! And thank you, campers for joining us at Camp Adventure this week. We’d love to feature you and your fellow campers on our next episode. Share your camp space and all your weekly camp challenge creations on social media using #AKBAsummer or write to us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com.
Camp Adventure is written by Ben Tertin with help from the A Kids Podcast About team. Original music is by Hannah Glavor. Check out Hannah’s albums at https://hannahglavor.bandcamp.com.
The show is edited and produced by Matthew Winner with help from me, Ari Mathae.
Audio production is by Chad Michael Snavely and the team at Sound On Studios. Our executive producer is Jelani Memory. And this show was brought to you by A Kids Podcast About.
Listen to other podcasts made for kids just like you by visiting akidsbookabout.com. While you’re there, be sure to check out Ben’s book, A Kids Book About Adventure.
See you back at Camp Adventure next week.