During the summer of 2016, a colleague and I had the opportunity to intern for the Indigenous Cultures Institute. My colleague Paulina and I were in charge of the visual arts portion of the camp hosted by the Indigenous Cultures Institute in San Marcos. The summer camp consisted of three different sections, music, visual arts and dance. All which implemented knowledge of their Indigenous heritage and culture. We had to lead a class of about 40 children , ages ranging from 7 to 15 years old. Paulina and I were given all teaching and artistic freedom, which was very nice but also nerve wrecking. Beforehand we had created multiple lesson plans, budgeted our materials, and did some research about indigenous cultures.

We taught 2-3 lessons everyday, teaching them about color, unconventional art materials, pattern and mainly self-expression through different mediums. The main theme of the camp this year was the Elements, water, earth, air, fire , movement and love.  When we weren't teaching our lessons we were assisting the other instructors with music and dance, having lunch with the children and we even went on a field trip to the Sacred Springs in San Marcos. 

What I valued the most about this experience was the amount of trust that the directors of the Indigenous Cultures Institute gave us. They let us be ambitious and supported all of our ideas. And I think because of that the visual arts component of the camp really grew. We wanted to impress them and honestly the kids impressed all of us. Their attention and participation meant a lot to me. Seeing that they enjoyed the activities we planned out for them and being proud of their work is something I can't wait to relive again in the classroom.

This internship taught me that teaching takes effort, care and passion. The camp was held for 5 days straight, all the instructors had to be there at 7 am and were done everyday at 7pm. We had meetings every morning and evening to get feedback and talk about our day. Overall this experience taught me that teamwork and passion for what you do makes a huge difference. I could tell all the instructors and directors wanted to be there, wanted to make the camp the best it could be and really did it for the children's experience more than anything else. Yes we were sleep deprived , but it was all worth it.