Camp Ribeiro Rides Again

Published in The Fauquier Times-Democrat Weekend on July 1st, 2011
Summer can be a difficult time for working parents, and even more so for those at home. Ten weeks of free time can be a little daunting unless it is well carved out. Often this includes camps, vacations, activities, and play dates.


People ask if I send my kids to camp. I don’t need to. Right here, at home, I have the amazing and thrilling “Camp Ribeiro” running once again. It doesn’t promise any life-changing experiences, just life skills, plain and simple.


Here’s how a day at Camp Ribeiro works: First thing in the morning, we study Place Values. That is, we empty the dishwasher and put everything away. There is great Value in having everything in Place. Some children can do this quickly while others manage to let time yawn before them, stretching any given task out. Adding a timer to routine domestic chores ensures focused task completion and efficient time management. Those unable to complete the task in the allotted time are given extra practice time with yet another chore, timed of course.


Right after the lesson on Place Values, there are concurrent seminars on Nourishment and the Declaration of Independence. That is, if a child can maneuver to and open the refrigerator, I Declare him/her to be Independent enough to get his/her own breakfast. Also, while the independent young learners are gathering their breakfast, can they make the younger ones and me something to eat too? Now we have even incorporated a lesson on service.


Immediately following is my workshop on “Cleaning the Environment,” also known as put your dishes in the sink and wipe up the table around you. Also, if you have spilled crumbs, go get the broom, gather your offerings in the dustpan, and place them in the trash. Like a game of musical chairs, if you are the one left with trash that just won’t fit into the liner, you get to empty it in the dumpster outside. One lucky child each morning will be chosen to do further studies on Purification by loading the dishwasher.


Soon after that come Horticulture and Early Child Development classes. For the younger ones, it translates to “time to play outside.” For others, it involves learning to identify weeds and carefully collecting these specimens by their roots. This could be mistaken for weeding, so you must be careful not to use that term. Those interested in younger children can monitor their activity and possibly engage their attention with sidewalk chalk or other outdoor toys. There will be a quick Place Values refresher before we come indoors.


Then follows Hygiene, mostly having to do with washing of hands after playing outside, before eating, and after flushing. (Yes, there will be Remedial Flushing for those with severe attention deficiencies.) As a bonus, there will be Technology Training, but this will be reserved for “gifted” children who possess special mechanical aptitude. They will be taught to replenish the toilet paper roll. For others, this skill will likely never be used, and is considered a futile effort, right along with capping toothpaste tubes. Therefore, to preserve my sanity, these are omitted from the curriculum of Camp Ribeiro.


If it is too hot outdoors, we progress to “Treasure Hunting” indoors. This might involve emptying out the kitchen/junk drawer, wiping it down and sorting items into piles. As a reward, loose change can be counted and divided amongst the hunters…(see that math lesson sneaking in there?). For older children, there will be “Exploration and the Value of Open Space.” Basically, this entails opening up mystery boxes that have been designated repositories of junk.


Then there is my Creative Cooking class – how can we use rice/pasta/potatoes to form the base of yet another quick but healthy lunch for a number of hungry children? We can’t figure out a new dish? This is where we combine Thankfulness with Nutrition. Whoever said, “Hunger is the best sauce” probably did not have access to a drive-through for fast food where there are at least five or six different sauces to choose from. A few children will be chosen for this task while others help set the table, straight out of the dutiful dishwasher, and so on and so forth.


After lunch, we rotate tasks so others have a chance to “Care for the Environment” while readers take small children along to read them a story. There might be a chance after that to just relax and play, color, or draw while we listen to a story on tape.


Who knows, if there is free time before starting supper, we might combine Apparel Care (known as folding laundry) while we (gasp) watch a TV show or movie. Just as the entertainment ends, we apply Place Values to Apparel – put away the hanging and folding.


Before you know it, the day is gone, but my brain cells are not. The children will have little time to complain about being bored. All that’s left for me to decide is the camp uniform. What do you think of orange jumpsuits?