End of summer carnivals are traditions in many neighbourhoods. It's a time of celebration of all the fun activities and freedom summer has to offer. It's a time to let loose a bit before the formality of school and routine takes over again. For the past two months, I have had the pleasure to work with a handful of fabulous summer students who have given it their all AND more to provide new and interesting adventures and experiences to kids who may not otherwise have had the opportunties. 
Trips to museums, galleries, outdoor concerts and plays, afternoons spent at the local pool, time on the river in a kayak for the first time ever, mornings creating crafts, telling stories................and just hanging out on rainy days playing Monopoly or Scrabble were all on the itinerary. Both the kids and the staff thrived in the interactions and connections. It has been such a successful summer of programming for these kids and it all has to do with the dedication the summer counsellor staff had to the kids in their care.
So, today was a celebration complete with colourful jumping castles, face painting, various games and activities and lots and lots of popcorn. I bounced around from one activity to another chatting it up with kids and some moms...........getting to know some of them so that in the future my face will be familiar and friendly in their community. And I realized that for the afternoon, under a clear blue beautiful sky, we were all surrounded by colour.
Laughter and comraderie accompanied by upbeat carnivale music was eye catching and heart smiling. I loved the innocence of the little ones who get all excited about having fun even though perhaps the day to day realities may be adult like serious.
This week's theme for Carmi's thematic photography is colourful. I don't know whether I am supposed to pick one photo and go with it, but I can't seem to do that...........Colourful means cornucopia of candids. Click here to check out the rest of the photos.
8 comments:
Life can be very colourful. What a wonderful happening and great pictures. Bless you Dana
marja. it was great fun to be a small part of. It's the best part of what I do in my job. Tomorrow, we celebrate with the students over a big breakfast and wish them well in their studies too this fall. I'm going to miss them all. What energy they all have!
These are fantastic photos. The pics and the occasion are p-e-r-f-e-c-t for the theme. It looks like a wonderful day.
How very special! And it looks so fun, too. I've never been a part of anything like this. I feel like I've missed out on something good.
-smarmoofus
TP has never been that structured. Some people put up one photo for the week, some put up more than one, some post every day until the next prompt, some post only once, some do something in between. The theme is pretty flexible, and there's no "competition", so enter as many as you like as often as you find them. In fact, Carmi usually encourages multiple submissions in any of his memes.
And you've captured the theme perfectly. I think my favorite may be the sandal-clad foot in the pink capri pants (isn't that what those things are called?). Regardless, carnivals are always a great source of color!
Nicely done.
- Mojo
barb.....thank you. it was a great day. I spoke to one of the summer staff today who also was a student intern with me last spring. He realized about halfway through the summer that it really didn't matter what the activities were (though yesterday was most definately special).....once you had connected with the kids on a level of trust and respect, they showed up no matter what because of the bond. Those bonds, between an young adult mentor and a child have the potential to leave such sweet encouragement in the hearts of the little ones.
smarmoofus......well, it's never too late to take part in one! :)
mojo....the photo you liked best is my favourite too.
Fabulous colourful slices of life! xo
FABULOUS PHOTOS! Very colorful and much more than that, too!
I love the close ups of all the kids....So much going on in the one little girls face, and you captured it all!
And, Indeed....Lots and Lots of colorful stuff here, my dear!
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