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Wednesday, September 28, 2005Off and on during periods of free time in transition to activities or during our periodic free time we are given in my outdoor leadership program I'm in Camouflage has proven to be a well loved game of all. Some background on where this is played, I'm a selected student in a group of 39 students who applied to The Bronte Creek Project last Spring. It's a 5 month four credit course that covers a wide range of areas including healthy active living, cooperative skills, team work, teaching skills, outdoor living and much more. The students are split into two groups of 18 though regardless spend a lot of time with each other as well as in the smaller groups, everyone gets to know each other like a family. Naturally people become casual and closer friends with people who share interests as anywhere else in the world though. As part of the program each group has their own 2-3 overnights where we teach grade 5 & 6 students from area schools a outdoor leadership program called Earthkeepers run by Virginia, U.S. based Earth Education who teaches the hands-on environmental program across the world in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Finland, Australia and Japan. During a free time block recently during the training overnight where we had to bring our maturity down a couple notches and act like we were back in grade 5 for two days through their timetable and activities we teach we played a crazy round of camouflage in this vast valley on part of the 100 acre property The Bronte Creek Project shares with a Latvian camp and church group in the countryside of Burlington, Ontario just outside of Toronto. Camouflage has become a favourite of many in the group overnight. It's played in the woods or any location with sufficient cover for its players to "camouflage" themselves. Someone is selected to count to 20 with their eyes closed as the other people scatter around the area. You duck into ravines, behind trees, in long grass even inside logs, anywhere you can can scramble to without being seen. The person who's IT then has to stay on their spot, and can only rotate. Their eyes scan for clothing and movement, if you suspect someone is there you must state their name (this can often cause brain pain as you can't catch someone without saying their name!) they then come and join you. You can also call "food and water for 10", 20 or 30. This means the person who's IT closes their eyes, holds their hands out and all those in hiding must race to slap your hand (this can get pretty agressive as sometimes this stretches to hugs, pushing or sliding someone as happened to me recently that was accompanied by screaming and a muffled fi......v........e!) and then return to their spots if possible. If not then the closest new place you can get to. If you spot them before they get back you they join you and are elimanted. Those who are skilled who last thing long then have to carefully peer from their positions for the IT person to hold a certain number of fingers up as they call out "fingers". Shortly following this, they call the game and each person must come out standing adjacent to their spots. It can either be the person who is closest to the person who gets the right fingers or the furthest away who becomes IT next time. You then continue meandering through the woods when the new person screams out "CAMOUFLAGE" and the classic and immensely fun game continues! On this same occasion I was spotted and was in hiding at the top of a hill, whilst it was pouring rain and the slope had wet mud abound. I started slipping and began grabbing at nearby trees, kept sliding that emitted a incredibly loud scream and wail as I slid down a solid 20 feet or more. All in the area heard and my new Bronte buddies will never forget it. Now whenever a group plays Camouflage and someone slips even slightly, its reported to me. They always tell me that mine was the best though! Get out and try this out and let me know how it goes! Check out The Bronte Creek Project at www.thebrontecreeproject.org & The Institute of Earth Education http://www.eartheducation.org/default.asp Teague Neal blogged on 1:09 AM
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Teague Neal |