RMCNews with Pennie Wredberg – Fort Morgan, Colorado … The usually quiet gymnasium during the summer months at Lighthouse Adventist Christian School, instead was filled with laughter and the sounds of basketballs dribbling during July.

Partnering with Fort Morgan Adventist church, Lighthouse school ran a basketball camp during the mornings and an art camp during the afternoons. Everyone was invited, no matter the age or ability level.

“The first year of having a Lighthouse Basketball Camp was really about learning some basic skills like dribbling and passing,” stated Brian Nadon, volunteer and parent at Lighthouse Adventist Christian School. “We tried to make that fun with games and obstacle courses that focused on improving these skills.”

Pretending to be a pirate, basketball students would steal the ball and dribble away, leaving their friends behind to become the new pirate. They drew a random number and practiced that many chest passes or bounce passes with a partner. To work on accuracy, they bounced the basketball on pretend water lilies on the floor, trying to beat the number of water lilies their friends hit. They even learned to hit the magic corner on the backboard when running a layup.

The planning for both the basketball camp and the art camp began months in advance. The first art camp offered easier projects that were linked to a children’s book. A favorite picture created by the students was of what you would see if you shone a flashlight in the woods at night. Would it be a bear, a skunk, or maybe a bat?

Later in the day, a more advanced art camp utilized multiple mediums in the creation of pieces of art. A picture might use torn paper, chalk pastels, acrylic paint, and a sharpie. Using all those mediums on one piece increased not only the complexity but also the involvement of the participants.

“Last summer was difficult”, said Pennie Wredberg, Lighthouse Head Teacher. “And even during this school year, I saw my students having to relearn social skills. We wanted to provide fun, safe activities this summer where anyone could be involved and feel successful and retain those social skills. I believe we succeeded. What I loved the most was having parents stay and do the projects with their kids or a grandmother practicing basketball skills alongside her grandson.”

–RMCNews with Pennie Wredberg, headteacher at Lighthouse Adventist Christian School; photos supplied