I was led to believe there would be a medal ...

This is it. The day I have been looking forward to for months. The day camp is over. The longest possible time until I have to go on the next camp. Already the reality of camping is subsiding under the weight of nostalgia as I look back the last two days (in reality 24 hours of camping) and strategically pick out the good bits to keep and douse the unpleasant recollections in petrol and start looking for matches.

The reality of being a primary teacher is that you have to do the lot - like it or not. I am blessed that I actually enjoy teaching reading, writing, maths, science, health, social studies, the arts, technology, languages and even some p.e. - but camping for me is like the thing I'd like to pretend I didn't know how to do and get a specialist in to do it for me.

I got through the dread of the lead up to this one  (my third camp with 5 & 6 year olds - hence the medal expectations!) by telling myself that this was the chance for some of the kids in my class to have their best school-related memory. The time that someone who wasn't the best reader or the fastest runner got to do something that felt really good that would help them better understand who they were. That's the thing I do love about camp - and I saw it again this time. Kids who get a glimpse at their own potential and realise they are good at something they didn't even know they could do.

That is why (moan as I will) I will be going to camp again.