Fun With Choice Time
Juggling campers
At Smirkus Camp, the morning routine is a series of rotations for the campers to go over general skills of the acrobatics, aerials, clowning, and juggling disciplines. This time is for the campers to get a basic understanding of what circus is. Campers move from one tent to the next with their group learning and practicing the different talents and acts together
The afternoon routine looks much differently, however. In the afternoons for the first week of Session IV for example, campers are given the opportunity of choice time. These special blocks are for the campers to work even more closely with the coaches to break down different skills and talents. Campers can build upon the morning lessons, as well as get to experience and try skills and acts that they have not yet gotten to experiment with.
Henry Wachs (In orange) and friends work on a clowning act
Another appealing aspect of choice time is that there are a multitude of offerings that change from day-to-day. On any particular day, campers can hoop dive, walk on wire, work on walkovers, play on the mini tramp, and partake in parkour. A huge white board is displayed at Flo, the nurses tent, listing the daily choice time blocks. Campers diligently plot out their schedules making sure to hit all of their top choices.
Molly Barger, lead of the acrobatics tent, loves choice time because it allows for all of the coaches to teach their expertise. Barger says that choice time “makes it really fun to coach, and that hopefully the campers feel that energy and fun as well.”
Camper Henry Wachs agrees that choice time is special. He states it is one of his favorite parts of the camp schedule because there are so many options. Henry particularly likes practicing improvisation during the clowning blocks.
There is a lot of fun to be had at camp and choice time gives campers the opportunity to practice the circus skills they have fallen in love with.
Molly Barger helps campers on in the acrobatics tent