today i traded on my enormous popularity at camp and went and asked for a small detail of volunteers to CLEAN THE OUTHOUSE.
they were all like "ME! ME!!!"
so i took four of them and taught them how to use a broom properly. i taught them how to scrub a sink.
the actual toilet cleaning part had to be done by me because according to policy, only adults may clean toilets (because pathogens and imperfect handwashing in children?) and for some reason they wanted to watch me clean the toilets.
"what do you do to do that?" they asked.
"you can come see. it's not a secret."
and so a small group of tourists followed me from stall to stall.
and then when we got back to main camp girls were coming up to me asking if i will let them be on outhouse detail tomorrow.
HIGH-larious.
the sensible explanation is that i have no actual supervisory duties. i don't have to line them up or get them from place to place. i just come and instruct all the fun things. and often i am taking a small group and teaching them something new, or just in general paying attention on a small scale to them.
my theory here is that no matter the chore, it is individual attention and personalized instruction and they like that.
plus they got to come to flag circle at the end of day and report that they cleaned the outhouse and they VOLUNTEERED, so they got to take pride in being good citizens.
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2 comments:
My personal experience with children and cleaning toilets--and all other chores--is that it's only something they want to do with any great interest the first time or two. Once it's not a novel experience and is just a CHORE-chore, then they require more, um, incentive.
Same is true of adults, I suppose.
You got them before they were taught too much disgust.
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