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Resource: Turn Around.
Author/Editor: Jill Cameron, the Rev. Brenda S. Lindsey Harcourt, Frank Ramirez, Bill and Donna Rose-Heim, Steve Venable, and Heather A. Withrow.
Published by: New Earth Christian Resources for the Outdoors.
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What is the content and design of the curriculum or resource?
This curriculum is divided into six daily themes, or "Discoveries," each focused on a different Bible story and variation on the theme of "Turning Around." The six themes are constant for all ages, but the curriculum consists of activities based on the main theme for four distinct age groups: primary, older children (10-12), younger youth (12-14), and older youth (14-18). Activities are clearly marked according to their objectives (i.e. Bible study, caring for creation, mission) and identified by the modes of learning they employ (i.e. bodily/kinesthetic, naturalist). The daily curriculum is introduced with a Biblical and theological reflection on the six Discoveries and concluded with sections of additional ideas for community building, environmental stewardship, creative arts and worship and music. Finally, there is a section on adapting the material to other settings, such as day camps and weekend retreats. Best of all, the activities in the curriculum are truly interchangeable and adaptable with the use of the CD-ROM that comes with the printed curriculum. The CD allows you to choose the activities you want to use and organize them according to your needs. Once you have copied and pasted elements, they can even be edited to suit your program. - What outdoor ministry
setting could you use these materials?
This resource is designed for use in a week-long camp session, but can also be adapted to day camps and weekend retreats. The curriculum could also be accommodated for camps with sessions longer than one week; there are ample activities and the themes are sufficiently rich. - What
are the strengths of the resource?
This curriculum is extremely adaptable to a variety of situations thanks to the CD-ROM version of the text. The activities are explained in sufficient detail, but the descriptions are brief enough to allow for easy planning: staff can quickly read through a menu of ideas that relate to the day's theme, picking and choosing with relative ease. The activities are sensitive to a variety of learning styles and do a good job of relaying the theme, particularly for younger campers. Particularly helpful is the Biblical and theological reflection section, which succinctly and appropriately guides college-age or volunteer staff with regard to the Biblical content in each day's theme. - What are the
weaknesses of the resource?
A considerable number of the activities involve the use of resources that might be cumbersome (paper handouts carried in quart-sized ziplock bags) or antithetical to outdoor ministry (digital cameras, televisions, vcr's). However, there are so many quality activities to choose from that these can be avoided with relative ease if so desired. A more serious weakness is found in one of the greatest strengths of the curriculum: its adaptability. The elements of the curriculum are so ripe for picking and choosing that a camp staffer who is not attuned to the importance of conveying a particular theme might choose a combination of activities that fail to get the message across. The curriculum does a good job of providing activities that seamlessly weave the theme into the regular activities of the day, but if they are not used in some consistent manner, the day's "Discovery" could be lost on campers. However, I think that most camp directors would gladly accept this potential problem in exchange for the significant benefits of the highly adaptable format. - Is
this a resource you would use?
This curriculum is exciting, adaptable and offers a wide variety of ways to communicate the message of spiritual turning toward the Christian life. There are very few "duds" among the activities, so there are more than enough good ideas from which to choose. Turn Around provides camp staff with a Biblical and theological grounding of the material and then gives them the ability to take ownership of the curriculum. I would definitely use this resource.