Hunter and Seb

I can't remember what the exact assignment was for this week's blog, but from what I've read so far we're supposed to give an update on our kids.  Hunter goes back and forth with his behavior.  Sometimes he can be a great leader and a big help, and other times he can cause us all a headache.  He seems to be negatively influenced by Nick a bit lately, but he showed Thursday that even if Nick is being miserable all day, he can still have a good time.  He has a problem with his anger outbursts, but he knows it, and he seems willing to admit that they are wrong and he has been receptive to working on that aspect of his behavior.  In fact he is one of the only campers who has been able to give himself a "time out" on a couple of occasions to cool his head.  He's told a couple of us about some trouble he has at home with Jacob and his aunt and uncle and I think he carries that over into camp a lot, especially with regards to overreacting when someone blames him for something.  I think he tends to be the scapegoat at his home, and that might affect his sensitivity toward receiving blame for something at camp as well.  In all Hunter is doing well and, in my opinion, benefitting quite a bit.  He tells us that he is having a great time at camp quite often, and I genuinely believe that's the truth.  

Seb is a very strange young man.  He is constantly looking for attention, and he often does this by acting a lot younger than one would expect a thirteen year old to act.  He comes off as rather immature.  He has a strange fascination with dressing up (sometimes in slightly effeminate ways) and he, more so than many of the younger kids, goes out of his way to make ludicrous comments and suggestions.  For example, if one would ask him about a club choice, a likely response might be, "Ra ra," followed by his laughter and no one else's.  As I've seen from his self-evaluation and from his behavior in camp, he is very concerned about girls, which is a reminder that he is actually thirteen years old.  He really dwells on the relationships between himself and some of the female campers, and he seems to hold having a "girl friend" in the highest regard.  This has created some interesting social situations in camp, though nothing too major.  It might help Seb if we went out of our way to put him into more leadership positions, but that could also backfire on us if he's going to just wriggle around on the floor muttering "Bacon," as he's been known to do.