I spent the last weekend with about 55 middle and high schoolers having an amazing time. We were on a church retreat at the local YMCA campsite. Just being around that many students is exciting! I think it's impossible not to feed off of their wild energy. However, if you are an adult, it is impossible to keep up 100% of the time. Througout the weekend, there were some small perks that helped keep me refreshed and renewed. I share these in case you or someone you know spends some extended time with students. These small ideas make a big impact on the lives of adults, allowing us to spend all of our energy on making a big impact on youth.
1. Adult time. We ate most of our meals together as adults. And most of the time, we didn't talk about the students! It was just nice to have some adult conversation.
2. Student time. We spent a lot of time walking the mile or so from one activity to the next. That was the perfect way to let the students goof off, run around, talk, and work out some energy. We spent less time reigning them in because they had more time to be teenagers.
3. Adult treats. One of our chaperones ran out early in the morning to seek the fruit of the gods: Starbucks coffee. He brought back a hot carafe of the liquid gold for the adults on our last morning. Caffeine never tasted so good. The thoughtfulness of the gesture was also something special!
4. Freedom. This retreat offered a lot of ways to be flexible and go along with the mood or vibe of the students. This allowed the adults to goof off, play games, talk, or do whatever was best to create an open and safe environment for relationship-building and honest conversation. That freedom also helped us address any issues that came up along with the way-without being micromanaged. Common sense goes a long way!
5. Reasonable wake-up and lights-out times. 'Nuff said.
