Camp Story Contest: Sarandon

Entry Authored By: Sarandon, Coral’s Mom, Age 7

              Just before school was out last year, I invited two of my then, seven-year-old daughter’s closest friends to also attend PAW with us.  It would be our first year at PAW, but our last year at my daughter’s elementary school and I really wanted to find something that the three of them could enjoy together, one last time before we changed schools in the fall and would be separated.  

            Happily, the two other families accepted our invitation and we were all pleasantly surprised at how excited our girls were each day, recounting the exercises of the day, awaiting the distribution of roles and learning lines.  I had no idea my child could memorize so much information so quickly!  The final performance was so creative and smart and above all, level-friendly for all participants.  I was really impressed with the original lyrics to songs that my daughter and I still have fun singing over when the original songs come on the radio.  The choreography, the stage directions, the witty script and most of all the fun that they had together one last time was magical for the girls on stage and I’m sure for all of us as parents in the crowd.  Every video I took had us giggling with delight at the conviction with which our young girls sang, danced and delivered their lines.

            A couple times during the year, I recalled the performance and wondered if possibly my daughter’s experience was enhanced because she had her best girlfriends with her, but just this week I told her we should start thinking about the summer and she perked up and said, “I definitely want to do the Performance Arts Workshop again!”  What I didn’t mention is that last summer was the first summer that the grandparents gave us a summer budget and decided to let her have a “buffet” of summer experiences.  She did everything from track and field to cooking to sewing to ice skating…and of course did the PAW workshop.  Out of all of those experiences, PAW is the one experience she said she wants to do this year if she can only choose one.  

            So…naturally this year’s summer planning will revolve around PAW, and one of the mothers of the two girlfriends has also contacted me to see which workshop we plan to do, because her daughter also had an amazing time and would also love to reconnect with her friend. We are happily making Performance Arts Workshop a tradition in our home and hopefully the workshop will help keep our girls connected for many years to come!  Thanks, PAW!