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Session
II: The Colonies
The
campers rolled off the bus on July 21st. They quickly set
up their Colonies and began reliving life as early American
colonists. Each teacher met and worked with two Colonies daily.
The colonists chronicled their experiences about colonial
life and their natural environment in their journals.
The
first step in creating a Colony involved everyone getting
together to design flags and choose representatives who would
meet at delegate meetings. At these meetings, delegates collaborated
to write the Camp Constitution based on ideas that the colonists
felt were important. Within Colonies, the campers also wrote
letters to the King to request freedom and respect. Monique
Fowler, age 9 (Navy Yard), said that this was the most important
thing she learned at camp, because she realized how different
people have fought for freedom throughout American History.
 The
colonists also learned how to utilize their environment to
build a satisfactory home and used this information to compose
fictitious memoirs. All eight of the Camp Madison Colonies
combined their efforts and toiled together to build a stone
wall in the stable area. They quickly discovered that working
together in an assembly line fashion expedited their efforts.
After a great deal of work, they also speculated on how long
it must have taken to build an entire house. Shaniqua West,
age 9 (Hoe Avenue), said that this was her favorite activity
because if she is not able to afford a house one day, her
building skills will certainly come in handy. The colonists
also built model villages from the stones and wood they found
in heir environment. Many students reported that the colonists
really had to work together.
Campers
learned that the colonists in early America did not only build
their houses, but also made use of almost everything around
them. Uniqua Gray, age 8 (Navy Yard), also observed that the
colonists must not have had much to throw away because they
used everything. The Colonies at camp made soap, paper candles,
dolls and kites. Many colonists commented that it would have
been difficult living without Toys R Us, but Izoria Fields,
age 8 (Help 1) mentioned that making toys was a good skill
because some people can't afford to buy lots of toys. She
eloquently explained that, "Money wasn't worth anything
then. They didn't have banks and they even turned their silver
coins into silverware. If you had money, the King would tax
you. Today we use money to buy everything. Back in the old
times, they had to make everything they had."
 The
colonists learned all about their environments, from identifying
rocks to tracking animals. In the woods, we found many turkey
feathers and some deer footprints. On the final Saturday,
the colonies gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving. Many colonists
commented on how lucky we are today to have restaurants and
grocery stores because it was a lot of work to, "Get
all of my food by cutting chickens' heads off and getting
corn from the fields."
To
culminate their lives as colonists, each Colony wrote and
performed skits, or produced their own movies that portrayed
their impressions of colonial life. Most skits included songs
and dances. Some Colonies focused on attaining freedom from
the King. One group highlighted the social conflicts between
different religious beliefs. Most groups based some characters
in their stories on different colonial occupations, particularly
focusing on the differences in medical attention. The colonists
designed costumes and props to add historical significance.
Many colonists said that this was their favorite activity
because they were able to work well together and practice
for their future careers as movie stars.
Nicola
Prahl - Break-Away Instructor
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