Anyone who has ever been to summer camp knows what a magical time it is! It’s an opportunity to cut the cord with your family, make new friends, discover new places, and play all kinds of games. But all of this would be impossible without the help of camp counselors, these adults with a childlike spirit who supervise all these little campers. Today, Toombow Kids interviews Marie-Claude, a cheerful septuagenarian who has worked in this field!
Toombow Kids: Hello Marie-Claude, thank you for sharing your experience with us! When did you first become an instructor and what made you want to do this job?
Marie-Claude: Hello Toombow Kids, it’s my pleasure! My goodness, it’s been… a long time! Ha ha ! I was born in 1944 and started at 18. I’ll let you do the math! At that time, I got my instructor’s diploma and joined the UFCV, which organizes sporting holiday for kids aged 4-18. I always wanted to work with children and I was often entrusted with young people in difficulty because I’m good at communicating with them.
Toombow Kids: What kind of games did you play back then?
Marie-Claude: Relays, potato sack races, and, where you knock down coconuts with wooden balls. The children were very inventive and sometimes they would find games too!
Toombow Kids: Which big game did the kids like best?
Marie-Claude: I will always remember it! It was during a camp in Brittany in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins where we were by the sea. I organized a big costume day where we collected everything we needed from the locals to create our costumes ourselves. With the paper, fabrics, shells and other materials, many boys dressed as pirates, and the girls dressed as mermaids. I was Captain Haddock, and I would organize contests that made them laugh!
Toombow Kids: What do you think makes a good camp?
Marie Claude: Children who have fun in a well supervised and secure environment. I’ve been in disorganized camps and it was really awful!
Toombow Kids: What are your best memory ?
Marie-Claude: On the last night of camp, I allowed the kids to have a pillow fight and we made a deal that if the director ever came out of the counselor’s room to see if the students were sleeping, I had to sing a song loudly. That was the signal for them to stop and pretend to be asleep. Every time he came out of the room, the director couldn’t understand why I was singing at the top of my lungs. The kids enjoyed it and we had a lot of fun!
Toombow Kids: Thank you Marie-Claude for sharing your experience with us. See you soon on Toombow Kids!